Enrollment
673
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Salida, CA
Salida Middle School - Vella Campus
Federal NCES profile for Salida Middle School - Vella Campus, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 22/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 063390011496
👥 S:T ratio 21
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 33
📋 Attendance 3
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Salida Middle School - Vella Campus earns 22/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.
- #3 of 4
- public schools in Salida · Resource Index
- 22
- Resource Index · Lower
- 19.8:1
- students per teacher
- 57.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Salida Middle School - Vella Campus has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Salida Middle School - Vella Campus ranks #3 of 4 public schools in Salida, CA.
School address
District: Salida Union Elementary · California
NCES ID 063390011496 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.8:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
57.8%
vs 55.5% California avg
+4% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Salida Middle School - Vella Campus compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Salida Middle School - Vella Campus
Salida Middle School - Vella Campus is a higher-need, mid-sized middle school in Salida, California, enrolling 673 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 19.8:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 57.8% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 673 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 1,605 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #977.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (69%) and White (16%) (diversity index 49/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 337 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 38.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The federal civil-rights collection also records 2 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Salida Union Elementary also operates Dena Boer (444 students) and Mildred Perkins Elementary (362 students) alongside Salida Middle School - Vella Campus.
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 Salida Middle School - Vella Campus compares
Salida Middle School - Vella Campus on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.8:1 | ▼ 8% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 57.8% | ▲ 4% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 673 | top 25% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
19.8:1
Leaner classes than 17% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
673
Bigger than 78% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
57.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 4% 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
19.8:1
students per teacher
- 8% below state mean
Top 33% in California - lower ratio than 67% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
38.8%
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
$16,223
per pupil, district-wide
- below California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 337 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
8
in-school suspensions + 95 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 15.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 2 expulsions.
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 69.2%
White 15.9%
Asian 6.7%
Two or More 4.2%
African American 2.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 69.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 48.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 48.9, Salida Middle School - Vella Campus is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Salida Union Elementary, which includes Salida Middle School - Vella Campus.
$16,223
Per student
-2%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-2%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 20.3%
State 66.3%
Federal 13.3%
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 Salida Middle School - Vella Campus Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dena Boer | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Mildred Perkins Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Sisk Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Salida Elementary | Smaller | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Salida Middle School - Vella Campus's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 444
- Students per teacher
- 20.2:1
- Resource Index
- 16/100
- Enrollment
- 362
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Resource Index
- 19/100
- Enrollment
- 286
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
- Enrollment
- 273
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Resource Index
- 23/100
Similar middle 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 (~673 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~19.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Salida Middle School - Vella Campus's federal record.
- Compare Salida Middle School - Vella Campus against another school. Compare schools
- Salida Union Elementary'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 Salida Middle School - Vella Campus
How many students attend Salida Middle School - Vella Campus?
Salida Middle School - Vella Campus has 673 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Salida, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Salida Middle School - Vella Campus?
The student-teacher ratio at Salida Middle School - Vella Campus is 19.8:1, which is 8% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 26% 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 Salida Middle School - Vella Campus?
57.8% of students at Salida Middle School - Vella Campus are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Salida Middle School - Vella Campus?
The largest demographic group at Salida Middle School - Vella Campus is Hispanic or Latino at 69.2% of enrollment, in Salida, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Salida Middle School - Vella Campus?
Salida Middle School - Vella Campus has a Resource Investment Index of 22/100 (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).
How does Salida Middle School - Vella Campus rank among public schools in Salida?
By Resource Investment Index, Salida Middle School - Vella Campus ranks #3 of 4 public schools in Salida, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Salida on the city page.
Is Salida Middle School - Vella Campus a good school?
Salida Middle School - Vella Campus earns 22/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. 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 Salida Union Elementary?
Besides Salida Middle School - Vella Campus, Salida Union Elementary also operates Dena Boer (444 students), Mildred Perkins Elementary (362 students), and Sisk Elementary (286 students). See the Salida Union Elementary 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.