Enrollment
245
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Pauma Valley, CA
Pauma Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Pauma Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 18/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 060006908610
👥 S:T ratio 0
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 2
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Pauma Elementary earns 18/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 90% of California schools.
- 18
- Resource Index · Lower
- 27.2:1
- large classes for California
- 77.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 245
- students enrolled
Pauma Elementary has class sizes larger than 90% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Valley Center-Pauma Unified · California
NCES ID 060006908610 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
9.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
27.2:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
+27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
77.0%
vs 55.5% California avg
+39% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pauma Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Pauma Elementary
Pauma Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Pauma Valley, California, enrolling 245 students.
Class loads run heavy: 27.2:1 is larger than about 90% of California schools and 27% above the 21.5:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 77.0% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 245 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Among 837 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #708, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (78%) and American Indian / Alaska Native (17%) (diversity index 37/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 490 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 51.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Valley Center-Pauma Unified also operates Valley Center High (1,075 students) and Valley Center Middle (766 students) alongside Pauma Elementary.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Pauma Elementary compares
Pauma Elementary on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 27.2:1 | ▲ 27% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 77.0% | ▲ 39% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 245 | top 79% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
27.2:1
Leaner classes than 3% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
245
Bigger than 25% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
77.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 39% above the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
27.2:1
students per teacher
- 27% above state mean
Top 90% in California - lower ratio than 10% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Engagement
51.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,038
per pupil, district-wide
- below California avg of $16,509
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 77.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 17.1%
White 4.1%
Two or More 1.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 77.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 36.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 36.7, Pauma Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Valley Center-Pauma Unified, which includes Pauma Elementary.
$14,038
Per student
-15%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 44.6%
State 41.7%
Federal 13.7%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Pauma Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Center High | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Valley Center Middle | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Valley Center Primary | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Valley Center Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Lilac | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Pauma Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,075
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Resource Index
- 20/100
- Enrollment
- 766
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Resource Index
- 12/100
- Enrollment
- 496
- Students per teacher
- 20.7:1
- Resource Index
- 12/100
- Enrollment
- 476
- Students per teacher
- 25.1:1
- Resource Index
- 9/100
- Enrollment
- 438
- Students per teacher
- 20.9:1
- Resource Index
- 22/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of California, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~245 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~27.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Pauma Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Pauma Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Valley Center-Pauma Unified's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Pauma Elementary
How many students attend Pauma Elementary?
Pauma Elementary has 245 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Pauma Valley, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pauma Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Pauma Elementary is 27.2:1, which is 27% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 73% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Pauma Elementary?
77.0% of students at Pauma Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pauma Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Pauma Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 77.6% of enrollment, in Pauma Valley, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pauma Elementary?
Pauma Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 18/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Pauma Elementary a good school?
Pauma Elementary earns 18/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 90% of California schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Valley Center-Pauma Unified?
Besides Pauma Elementary, Valley Center-Pauma Unified also operates Valley Center High (1,075 students), Valley Center Middle (766 students), and Valley Center Primary (496 students). See the Valley Center-Pauma Unified district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.