Enrollment
20
California · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Vernalis, CA
Rising Sun
Federal NCES profile for Rising Sun, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 18/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 063003013822
👥 S:T ratio 20
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 13
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Rising Sun earns 18/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also one of the smallest schools in California.
- 18
- Resource Index · Lower
- 20:1
- students per teacher
- 61.9%
- free-lunch eligible
- 20
- students enrolled
Rising Sun has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Patterson Joint Unified · California
NCES ID 063003013822 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
1.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
61.9%
vs 55.5% California avg
+12% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Rising Sun compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Rising Sun
Rising Sun is a higher-need, small high school in Vernalis, California, enrolling 20 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 20:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 61.9% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 97% of California schools, with 20 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Among 94 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #83, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (75%) and White (10%) (diversity index 42/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 35.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Patterson Joint Unified also operates Patterson High (1,830 students) and Creekside Middle (907 students) alongside Rising Sun.
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 Rising Sun compares
Rising Sun on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20:1 | ▼ 7% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 61.9% | ▲ 12% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 20 | top 97% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
20:1
Leaner classes than 16% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
20
Bigger than 3% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
61.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 12% 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
20:1
students per teacher
- 7% below state mean
Top 35% in California - lower ratio than 65% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
35.0%
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
$14,988
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
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 75.0%
White 10.0%
Asian 10.0%
African American 5.0%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 75.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 41.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 41.5, Rising Sun is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Patterson Joint Unified, which includes Rising Sun.
$14,988
Per student
-9%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 27.2%
State 63.9%
Federal 8.9%
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 Rising Sun Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patterson High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Creekside Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Apricot Valley Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Walnut Grove Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Las Palmas Elementary | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Rising Sun's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,830
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
- Resource Index
- 23/100
- Enrollment
- 907
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
- Enrollment
- 788
- Students per teacher
- 23.2:1
- Resource Index
- 16/100
- Enrollment
- 744
- Students per teacher
- 23.3:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 642
- Students per teacher
- 22.1:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
Similar high 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 (~20 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~20:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Rising Sun's federal record.
- Compare Rising Sun against another school. Compare schools
- Patterson Joint 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 Rising Sun
How many students attend Rising Sun?
Rising Sun has 20 students enrolled. It is a high school in Vernalis, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Rising Sun?
The student-teacher ratio at Rising Sun is 20:1, which is 7% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 27% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Rising Sun?
61.9% of students at Rising Sun are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Rising Sun?
The largest demographic group at Rising Sun is Hispanic or Latino at 75.0% of enrollment, in Vernalis, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Rising Sun?
Rising Sun has a Resource Investment Index of 18/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Rising Sun a good school?
Rising Sun earns 18/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also one of the smallest schools in California. 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 Patterson Joint Unified?
Besides Rising Sun, Patterson Joint Unified also operates Patterson High (1,830 students), Creekside Middle (907 students), and Apricot Valley Elementary (788 students). See the Patterson Joint 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.