Enrollment
162
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Occidental, CA
Salmon Creek School - a Charter
Federal NCES profile for Salmon Creek School - a Charter, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 33/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 061662001736Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 19
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 60
📋 Attendance 23
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Salmon Creek School - a Charter earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.
- 33
- Resource Index · Typical
- 20.3:1
- students per teacher
- 27.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 162
- students enrolled
Salmon Creek School - a Charter has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Harmony Union Elementary · California
NCES ID 061662001736 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
8.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.3:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
27.1%
vs 55.5% California avg
-51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Salmon Creek School - a Charter compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Salmon Creek School - a Charter
Salmon Creek School - a Charter is a small charter elementary school in Occidental, California, enrolling 162 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 20.3:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 27.1% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 162 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 198 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #99.
Its student body is led by White (71%) and Hispanic or Latino (16%) (diversity index 46/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 203 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 30.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Harmony Union Elementary spends $30,170 per pupil, 83% above the California average, a better-resourced district than most.
Among Occidental's elementary schools, it stands alongside Harmony Elementary (71 students): Salmon Creek School - a Charter is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (20.3:1 vs 23.7:1).
Its district, Harmony Union Elementary, also runs Harmony Elementary (71 students).
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 Salmon Creek School - a Charter compares
Salmon Creek School - a Charter on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.3:1 | ▼ 6% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 27.1% | ▼ 51% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 162 | top 85% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
20.3:1
Leaner classes than 15% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
162
Bigger than 16% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
27.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 51% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
20.3:1
students per teacher
- 6% below state mean
Top 37% in California - lower ratio than 63% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
30.9%
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
$30,170
per pupil, district-wide
- above California avg of $16,509
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.8 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.2 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
White 71.1%
Hispanic or Latino 16.4%
Two or More 11.3%
Asian 1.3%
Largest group: White at 71.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 45.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 45.5, Salmon Creek School - a Charter is about as mixed as the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Harmony Union Elementary, which includes Salmon Creek School - a Charter.
$30,170
Per student
+83%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+82%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 44.4%
State 49.2%
Federal 6.3%
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 Salmon Creek School - a Charter Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harmony Elementary | Smaller | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Salmon Creek School - a Charter's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 71
- Students per teacher
- 23.7:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
Similar elementary schools in Occidental
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
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 (~162 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Salmon Creek School - a Charter's federal record.
- Compare Salmon Creek School - a Charter against another school. Compare schools
- Harmony 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 Salmon Creek School - a Charter
How many students attend Salmon Creek School - a Charter?
Salmon Creek School - a Charter has 162 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Occidental, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Salmon Creek School - a Charter?
The student-teacher ratio at Salmon Creek School - a Charter is 20.3:1, which is 6% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 29% 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 Salmon Creek School - a Charter?
27.1% of students at Salmon Creek School - a Charter are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Salmon Creek School - a Charter?
The largest demographic group at Salmon Creek School - a Charter is White at 71.1% of enrollment, in Occidental, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Salmon Creek School - a Charter?
Salmon Creek School - a Charter has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (typical 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 Salmon Creek School - a Charter a good school?
Salmon Creek School - a Charter earns 33/100 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 Harmony Union Elementary?
Besides Salmon Creek School - a Charter, Harmony Union Elementary also operates Harmony Elementary (71 students). See the Harmony 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.