Enrollment
14
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 060006312193
Sentinel High — Waterford, CA
Federal NCES profile for Sentinel High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 37/100.
👥 Class size 58
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 86
📋 Attendance 0
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: Waterford 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)
2.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.5:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-51% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
81.0%
vs 55.5% California avg
+46% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sentinel High 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
Sentinel High reports 14 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 2.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 51% below the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 34% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 81.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 46% above the California average and 56% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 70 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 100.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Waterford Unified spends $19,800 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 24.1% from local sources (property taxes), 63.3% from the state, and 12.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (F), calculated from 5 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 Sentinel High 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 | 10.5:1 | ▼ 51% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 81.0% | ▲ 46% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 14 | top 2% | — | — |
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
81.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 46% 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
10.5:1
students per teacher
— 51% below state mean
Top 4% in California — lower ratio than 96% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
100.0%
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
$19,800
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.2 FTE
Per 70 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 21.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 14 Top 2% in California — larger than 98% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 2.0
Students per teacher 10.5:1 -51% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 81.0% +46% vs state
NCES ID 060006312193
Student demographics
White 50.0%
Hispanic or Latino 42.9%
Two or More 7.1%
Largest group: White at 50.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Counselors (FTE) 0.2
Students per counselor 70:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 100.0%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Waterford Unified, which includes Sentinel High.
$19,800
Per student
+10%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+2%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 24.1%
State 63.3%
Federal 12.6%
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
- 582
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Enrollment
- 510
- Students per teacher
- 24:1
- Enrollment
- 355
- Students per teacher
- 24.1:1
- Enrollment
- 260
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
Similar high schools in Waterford
1 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) 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 Sentinel High
How many students attend Sentinel High?
Sentinel High has 14 students enrolled. It is a high school in Waterford, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sentinel High?
The student-teacher ratio at Sentinel High is 10.5:1, which is 51% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 34% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sentinel High?
81.0% of students at Sentinel High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sentinel High?
The largest demographic group at Sentinel High is White at 50.0%. The school serves a student body in Waterford, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sentinel High?
Sentinel High has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (F) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.