Other / mixed grade configuration · Santa Barbara, CA

Santa Barbara County Community

Federal NCES profile for Santa Barbara County Community, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 25/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 069103410658
0/100100/10025/100
👥 S:T ratio
46
🌟 Gifted program
30
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Santa Barbara County Community earns 25/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 92% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California.

#5 of 5
schools in Santa Barbara · Resource Index
25
Resource Index · Lower
13.5:1
small classes for California
66.7%
free-lunch eligible

Santa Barbara County Community has class sizes smaller than 92% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Santa Barbara County Community ranks #5 of 5 schools in Santa Barbara, CA.

Enrollment

27

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

2.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

13.5:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-37% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

66.7%

vs 55.5% California avg

+20% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Santa Barbara County Community compares with California and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median
0:135:113.5:1

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Santa Barbara County Community

Santa Barbara County Community is a higher-need, small combined-grade school in Santa Barbara, California, enrolling 27 students.

Classes run notably small here: at 13.5:1, Santa Barbara County Community is leaner than roughly 92% of California schools and 37% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 66.7% of students eligible for free meals.

This is a small campus: fewer students than 96% of California schools, with 27 enrolled.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.

Among 116 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #96, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (96% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 7/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 70.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 20.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Discipline events run high: 9 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 27 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.

Among Santa Barbara's public schools, it stands alongside Trivium Charter School Voyage (297 students): Santa Barbara County Community is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (13.5:1 vs 18.6:1).

Santa Barbara County Office of Education also operates Santa Barbara County Special Education (49 students) and Santa Barbara County Juvenile Court (31 students) alongside Santa Barbara County Community.

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 Santa Barbara County Community compares

Santa Barbara County Community on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 13.5:1 ▼ 37% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 66.7% ▲ 20% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 27 top 96% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

13.5:1
Leaner classes than 62% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
27
Bigger than 3% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
66.7%
free-lunch eligible - 20% 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
13.5:1
students per teacher - 37% below state mean
Top 8% in California - lower ratio than 92% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
70.4%
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.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 33.3 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 96.3%
White 3.7%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 96.3% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 7.1/100

Simpson diversity index - at 7.1, Santa Barbara County Community is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

How Santa Barbara County Community Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Santa Barbara County Special Education Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Santa Barbara County Juvenile Court Similar size Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Santa Barbara County Community's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Santa Barbara County Office Of Education · 2 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Santa Barbara

4 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

Similar other 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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Santa Barbara County Community's federal record.

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 Santa Barbara County Community

How many students attend Santa Barbara County Community?

Santa Barbara County Community has 27 students enrolled. It is an alternative school in Santa Barbara, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Santa Barbara County Community?

The student-teacher ratio at Santa Barbara County Community is 13.5:1, which is 37% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 14% lower 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 Santa Barbara County Community?

66.7% of students at Santa Barbara County Community are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Santa Barbara County Community?

The largest demographic group at Santa Barbara County Community is Hispanic or Latino at 96.3% of enrollment, in Santa Barbara, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Santa Barbara County Community?

Santa Barbara County Community has a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Santa Barbara County Community rank among schools in Santa Barbara?

By Resource Investment Index, Santa Barbara County Community ranks #5 of 5 schools in Santa Barbara, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Santa Barbara on the city page.

Is Santa Barbara County Community a good school?

Santa Barbara County Community earns 25/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 92% of California schools. 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 Santa Barbara County Office of Education?

Besides Santa Barbara County Community, Santa Barbara County Office of Education also operates Santa Barbara County Special Education (49 students) and Santa Barbara County Juvenile Court (31 students). See the Santa Barbara County Office of Education district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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.