Enrollment
454
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 063025004724
Petaluma Junior High — Petaluma, CA
Federal NCES profile for Petaluma Junior High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 42/100.
👥 Class size 18
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 Attendance 38
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Petaluma Joint Union High · California
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
22.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.5:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
31.3%
vs 55.5% California avg
-44% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Petaluma Junior High compares with California and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Petaluma Junior High reports 454 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 22.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% below the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 29% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 31.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 44% below the California average and 40% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 284 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 24.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (D), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Petaluma Junior High compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against California state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.5:1 | ▼ 5% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 31.3% | ▼ 44% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 454 | top 48% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
31.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 44% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
20.5:1
students per teacher
— 5% below state mean
Top 34% in California — lower ratio than 66% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
24.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Support staff
Counselors1.6 FTE
Per 284 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
8
in-school suspensions + 38 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 454 Top 48% in California — larger than 52% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 22.0
Students per teacher 20.5:1 -5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 31.3% -44% vs state
NCES ID 063025004724
Student demographics
White 56.2%
Hispanic or Latino 35.2%
Two or More 4.9%
Asian 2.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%
African American 0.2%
Largest group: White at 56.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.6
Students per counselor 284:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 24.9%
In-school suspensions 8
Out-of-school suspensions 38
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,653
- Students per teacher
- 22.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,193
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
- Enrollment
- 812
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
- Enrollment
- 494
- Students per teacher
- 26.6:1
- Enrollment
- 115
- Students per teacher
- 30.8:1
Similar middle schools in Petaluma
2 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Petaluma Junior High
How many students attend Petaluma Junior High?
Petaluma Junior High has 454 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Petaluma, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Petaluma Junior High?
The student-teacher ratio at Petaluma Junior High is 20.5:1, which is 5% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 29% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Petaluma Junior High?
31.3% of students at Petaluma Junior High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Petaluma Junior High?
The largest demographic group at Petaluma Junior High is White at 56.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Petaluma, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Petaluma Junior High?
Petaluma Junior High has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.