Enrollment
499
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Coachella, CA
Federal NCES profile for Peter Pendleton Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 13/100.
The verdict
Peter Pendleton Elementary earns 13/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.
Peter Pendleton Elementary has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Peter Pendleton Elementary ranks #6 of 7 elementary schools in Coachella, CA.
NCES ID 060907000927 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Enrollment
499
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Teachers (FTE)
22.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.7:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
+6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
90.9%
vs 55.5% California avg
+64% vs state
How Peter Pendleton Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
Slightly above state median
22.7:1 - 1.2 above the California state median of 21.5:1, indicating larger average class loads than typical schools in the state.
Peter Pendleton Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Coachella, California, enrolling 499 students.
At 22.7:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the California median, within a few percentage points of the 21.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need is high: 90.9% of students qualify for free meals, 64% above the California average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
With 499 students, its enrollment sits close to the California median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 94% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 1,360 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #1,212, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (98% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 3/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 48.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 15.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Coachella's elementary schools, it stands alongside Imagine Schools Riverside County (1,454 students): Peter Pendleton Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (22.7:1 vs 26.4:1).
Coachella Valley Unified also operates Coachella Valley High (2,300 students) and Desert Mirage High (1,875 students) alongside Peter Pendleton 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
Peter Pendleton 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 | 22.7:1 | ▲ 6% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 90.9% | ▲ 64% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 499 | top 45% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
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.
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 98.4% of enrollment.
Simpson diversity index - at 3.2, Peter Pendleton Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Coachella Valley Unified, which includes Peter Pendleton Elementary.
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.
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coachella Valley High | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Desert Mirage High | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Toro Canyon Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Saul Martinez Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Coral Mountain Academy | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Peter Pendleton Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
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.
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Peter Pendleton Elementary's federal record.
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.
Peter Pendleton Elementary has 499 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Coachella, CA.
The student-teacher ratio at Peter Pendleton Elementary is 22.7:1, which is 6% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 45% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
90.9% of students at Peter Pendleton Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
The largest demographic group at Peter Pendleton Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 98.4% of enrollment, in Coachella, CA.
Peter Pendleton Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 13/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
By Resource Investment Index, Peter Pendleton Elementary ranks #6 of 7 elementary schools in Coachella, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Coachella on the city page.
Peter Pendleton Elementary earns 13/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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.
Besides Peter Pendleton Elementary, Coachella Valley Unified also operates Coachella Valley High (2,300 students), Desert Mirage High (1,875 students), and Toro Canyon Middle (989 students). See the Coachella Valley Unified district page for the complete list.
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.
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PlainSchools, “Peter Pendleton Elementary, Coachella CA.” Compiled from NCES Common Core of Data, Civil Rights Data Collection, and the NCES F-33 finance survey; data as of June 2026. https://plainschools.com/schools/peter-pendleton-elementary-ca
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