Enrollment
225
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Santa Nella, CA
Romero Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Romero Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 26/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 061632309552
👥 S:T ratio 18
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 55
📋 Attendance 2
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Romero Elementary earns 26/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.
- 26
- Resource Index · Lower
- 20.5:1
- students per teacher
- 76.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 225
- students enrolled
Romero Elementary has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Gustine Unified · California
NCES ID 061632309552 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
11.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.5:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
76.3%
vs 55.5% California avg
+37% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Romero Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Romero Elementary
Romero Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Santa Nella, California, enrolling 225 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 20.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 76.3% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 225 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.
Against 694 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #478.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (90% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 19/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 225 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 39.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Gustine Unified also operates Gustine High (531 students) and Gustine Elementary (483 students) alongside Romero 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 Romero Elementary compares
Romero 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 | 20.5:1 | ▼ 5% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 76.3% | ▲ 37% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 225 | top 81% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
20.5:1
Leaner classes than 14% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
225
Bigger than 22% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
76.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 37% 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
20.5:1
students per teacher
- 5% below state mean
Top 39% in California - lower ratio than 61% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
39.1%
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
$14,725
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 225 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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 89.8%
White 4.9%
Two or More 4.0%
Asian 0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 89.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 18.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 18.9, Romero Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Gustine Unified, which includes Romero Elementary.
$14,725
Per student
-11%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-11%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 16.5%
State 70.6%
Federal 12.8%
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 Romero Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gustine High | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Gustine Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Gustine Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Pioneer High (Continuation) | Smaller | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Romero Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 531
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Resource Index
- 25/100
- Enrollment
- 483
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Resource Index
- 15/100
- Enrollment
- 370
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Resource Index
- 20/100
- Enrollment
- 18
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 58/100
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 (~225 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~20.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Romero Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Romero Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Gustine 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 Romero Elementary
How many students attend Romero Elementary?
Romero Elementary has 225 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Santa Nella, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Romero Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Romero Elementary is 20.5:1, which is 5% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 31% 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 Romero Elementary?
76.3% of students at Romero Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Romero Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Romero Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 89.8% of enrollment, in Santa Nella, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Romero Elementary?
Romero Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (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 Romero Elementary a good school?
Romero Elementary earns 26/100 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.
What other schools are in Gustine Unified?
Besides Romero Elementary, Gustine Unified also operates Gustine High (531 students), Gustine Elementary (483 students), and Gustine Middle (370 students). See the Gustine 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.