Enrollment
264
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 062724004128
Pomona Elementary — Costa Mesa, CA
Federal NCES profile for Pomona Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 32/100.
👥 Class size 24
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 3
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: Newport-Mesa Unified · 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)
16.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.9:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
85.1%
vs 55.5% California avg
+53% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pomona Elementary 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
Pomona Elementary reports 264 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 16.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% 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 19% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 85.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 53% above the California average and 64% above the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 39.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Newport-Mesa Unified spends $21,699 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 74.9% from local sources (property taxes), 17.7% from the state, and 7.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (F), calculated from 3 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 Pomona Elementary 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 | 18.9:1 | ▼ 13% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 85.1% | ▲ 53% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 264 | top 22% | — | — |
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
85.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 53% 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
18.9:1
students per teacher
— 13% below state mean
Top 21% in California — lower ratio than 79% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
39.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$21,699
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
7
in-school suspensions + 10 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 264 Top 22% in California — larger than 78% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 16.0
Students per teacher 18.9:1 -13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 85.1% +53% vs state
NCES ID 062724004128
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 97.3%
African American 1.1%
White 0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Two or More 0.4%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 97.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 39.0%
In-school suspensions 7
Out-of-school suspensions 10
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Newport-Mesa Unified, which includes Pomona Elementary.
$21,699
Per student
+20%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+11%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 74.9%
State 17.7%
Federal 7.4%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,106
- Students per teacher
- 22.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,084
- Students per teacher
- 23.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,730
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Enrollment
- 976
- Students per teacher
- 19.6:1
- Enrollment
- 875
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
Similar elementary schools in Costa Mesa
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Maude B. Davis Elementary
Standard public school
570 students 24.8:1 students per teacher
Heinz Kaiser Elementary
Standard public school
539 students 24:1 students per teacher
Woodland Elementary
Standard public school
487 students 18.9:1 students per teacher
College Park Elementary
Standard public school
473 students 19.1:1 students per teacher
Killybrooke Elementary
Standard public school
473 students 21.2:1 students per teacher
Whittier Elementary
Standard public school
454 students 19.8:1 students per teacher
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 Pomona Elementary
How many students attend Pomona Elementary?
Pomona Elementary has 264 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Costa Mesa, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pomona Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Pomona Elementary is 18.9:1, which is 13% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 19% 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 Pomona Elementary?
85.1% of students at Pomona Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pomona Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Pomona Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 97.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Costa Mesa, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pomona Elementary?
Pomona Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (F) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.