Enrollment
191
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 060202112922 Charter school
Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning — Nevada City, CA
Federal NCES profile for Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 44/100.
👥 Class size 53
📚 AP courses 15
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 62
📋 Attendance 61
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
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)
14.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.7:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-46% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
43.9%
vs 55.5% California avg
-21% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning 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
Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning reports 191 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 14.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 11.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 46% 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 26% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 43.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 21% below the California average and 15% below the national baseline. The school offers 3 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 191 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning District spends $15,415 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 79.4% from local sources (property taxes), 14.6% from the state, and 6.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (D), 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 Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning 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 | 11.7:1 | ▼ 46% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 43.9% | ▼ 21% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 191 | top 17% | — | — |
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
43.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 21% below the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.7:1
students per teacher
— 46% below state mean
Top 5% in California — lower ratio than 95% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
15.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$15,415
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 191 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 191 Top 17% in California — larger than 83% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 14.0
Students per teacher 11.7:1 -46% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 43.9% -21% vs state
NCES ID 060202112922
Student demographics
White 66.8%
Two or More 17.6%
Hispanic or Latino 13.4%
Asian 1.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.1%
Largest group: White at 66.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 3
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 191:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.7%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 12
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning District, which includes Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning.
$15,415
Per student
-15%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-21%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 79.4%
State 14.6%
Federal 6.0%
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.
Similar high schools in Nevada City
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 Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning
How many students attend Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning?
Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning has 191 students enrolled. It is a high school in Nevada City, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning?
The student-teacher ratio at Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning is 11.7:1, which is 46% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 26% 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 Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning?
43.9% of students at Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning?
The largest demographic group at Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning is White at 66.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Nevada City, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning?
Sierra Academy of Expeditionary Learning has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (D) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.