Enrollment
297
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 060330000254
Santa Margarita Elementary — Santa Margarita, CA
Federal NCES profile for Santa Margarita Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 20/100.
👥 Class size 3
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 28
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Atascadero Unified · California
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
11.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
24.3:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
25.5%
vs 55.5% California avg
-54% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Santa Margarita Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Santa Margarita Elementary reports 297 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 11.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 24.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 12% above the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 53% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 25.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 54% below the California average and 51% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 29.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Atascadero Unified spends $14,782 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 63.5% from local sources (property taxes), 30.2% from the state, and 6.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 20/100 (F), calculated from 3 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Santa Margarita Elementary compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against California state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 24.3:1 | ▲ 12% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 25.5% | ▼ 54% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 297 | top 26% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
25.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 54% 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
24.3:1
students per teacher
— 12% above state mean
Top 76% in California — lower ratio than 24% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
29.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,782
per pupil, district-wide
— below California avg of $18,039
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
1
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 297 Top 26% in California — larger than 74% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 11.0
Students per teacher 24.3:1 +12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 25.5% -54% vs state
NCES ID 060330000254
Student demographics
White 68.7%
Hispanic or Latino 19.2%
Two or More 9.8%
Asian 1.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Largest group: White at 68.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 29.0%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Atascadero Unified, which includes Santa Margarita Elementary.
$14,782
Per student
-18%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 63.5%
State 30.2%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,157
- Students per teacher
- 19.6:1
- Enrollment
- 845
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
- Enrollment
- 403
- Students per teacher
- 27.6:1
- Enrollment
- 382
- Students per teacher
- 27.5:1
- Enrollment
- 377
- Students per teacher
- 23.9:1
Similar elementary schools in Santa Margarita
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Santa Margarita Elementary
How many students attend Santa Margarita Elementary?
Santa Margarita Elementary has 297 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Santa Margarita, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Santa Margarita Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Santa Margarita Elementary is 24.3:1, which is 12% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 53% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Santa Margarita Elementary?
25.5% of students at Santa Margarita Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Santa Margarita Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Santa Margarita Elementary is White at 68.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Santa Margarita, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Santa Margarita Elementary?
Santa Margarita Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 20/100 (F) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.