Enrollment
330
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Pismo Beach, CA
Shell Beach Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Shell Beach Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 32/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 062308003529
👥 S:T ratio 12
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 48
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Shell Beach Elementary earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.
- 32
- Resource Index · Typical
- 22:1
- students per teacher
- 27.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 330
- students enrolled
Shell Beach Elementary has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Lucia Mar Unified · California
NCES ID 062308003529 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
15.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
+2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
27.1%
vs 55.5% California avg
-51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Shell Beach Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Shell Beach Elementary
Shell Beach Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Pismo Beach, California, enrolling 330 students.
At 22:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the California median, within a few percentage points of the 21.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 27.1% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 330 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 748 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #394.
Its student body is led by White (56%) and Hispanic or Latino (26%) (diversity index 59/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 660 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.9% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Lucia Mar Unified also operates Arroyo Grande High (2,012 students) and Nipomo High (819 students) alongside Shell Beach Elementary.
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 Shell Beach Elementary compares
Shell Beach Elementary on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 22:1 | ▲ 2% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 27.1% | ▼ 51% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 330 | top 70% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
22:1
Leaner classes than 10% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
330
Bigger than 37% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
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
22:1
students per teacher
- 2% above state mean
Top 53% in California - lower ratio than 47% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
20.9%
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
$13,869
per pupil, district-wide
- below California avg of $16,509
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
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: 0.9 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 56.4%
Hispanic or Latino 26.1%
Two or More 14.5%
Asian 2.7%
African American 0.3%
Largest group: White at 56.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 59.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 59.2, Shell Beach Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lucia Mar Unified, which includes Shell Beach Elementary.
$13,869
Per student
-16%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 58.3%
State 30.7%
Federal 10.9%
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 Shell Beach Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arroyo Grande High | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Nipomo High | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Harloe Elementary | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Dana Elementary | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lange (Dorothea) Elementary | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Shell Beach Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,012
- Students per teacher
- 20.3:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
- Enrollment
- 819
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Resource Index
- 18/100
- Enrollment
- 619
- Students per teacher
- 25.8:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
- Enrollment
- 612
- Students per teacher
- 23.5:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
- Enrollment
- 577
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
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 (~330 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Shell Beach Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Shell Beach Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Lucia Mar Unified'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 Shell Beach Elementary
How many students attend Shell Beach Elementary?
Shell Beach Elementary has 330 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Pismo Beach, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Shell Beach Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Shell Beach Elementary is 22:1, which is 2% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 40% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Shell Beach Elementary?
27.1% of students at Shell Beach Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Shell Beach Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Shell Beach Elementary is White at 56.4% of enrollment, in Pismo Beach, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 59.2/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Shell Beach Elementary?
Shell Beach Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (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 Shell Beach Elementary a good school?
Shell Beach Elementary earns 32/100 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 Lucia Mar Unified?
Besides Shell Beach Elementary, Lucia Mar Unified also operates Arroyo Grande High (2,012 students), Nipomo High (819 students), and Harloe Elementary (619 students). See the Lucia Mar Unified 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.