Elementary school (grades K-5) · Bakersfield, CA

Sing Lum Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Sing Lum Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 23/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 060639009336
0/100100/10023/100
👥 S:T ratio
0
🌟 Gifted program
70
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Sing Lum Elementary earns 23/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 94% of California schools.

#74 of 97
elementary schools in Bakersfield · Resource Index
23
Resource Index · Lower
28.9:1
large classes for California
59.5%
free-lunch eligible

Sing Lum Elementary has class sizes larger than 94% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Sing Lum Elementary ranks #74 of 97 elementary schools in Bakersfield, CA.

Enrollment

809

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

28.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

28.9:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+34% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

59.5%

vs 55.5% California avg

+7% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Sing Lum Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians

Larger classes than state median

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

What stands out at Sing Lum Elementary

Sing Lum Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Bakersfield, California, enrolling 809 students.

Class loads run heavy: 28.9:1 is larger than about 94% of California schools and 34% above the 21.5:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 59.5% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

Enrollment of 809 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.

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

Against 1,330 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #731.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (64%) and White (18%) (diversity index 54/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 45.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 18.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Bakersfield's elementary schools, it stands alongside Dolores S. Whitley Tk-8 (1,151 students): Sing Lum Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (28.9:1 vs 25.6:1).

Panama-Buena Vista Union also operates Dolores S. Whitley Tk-8 (1,151 students) and Douglas J. Miller Elementary (994 students) alongside Sing Lum 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 Sing Lum Elementary compares

Sing Lum 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 28.9:1 ▲ 34% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 59.5% ▲ 7% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 809 top 17% - -

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

28.9:1
Leaner classes than 2% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
809
Bigger than 86% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
59.5%
free-lunch eligible - 7% 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
28.9:1
students per teacher - 34% above state mean
Top 94% in California - lower ratio than 6% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Engagement
45.4%
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.
Funding equity
$14,357
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
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 7 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

Hispanic or Latino 64.4%
White 17.9%
African American 7.9%
Asian 4.8%
Two or More 4.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 64.4% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 54.3/100

Simpson diversity index - at 54.3, Sing Lum Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Panama-Buena Vista Union, which includes Sing Lum Elementary.

$14,357
Per student
-13%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-13%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 10.2%
State 71.3%
Federal 18.5%

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 Sing Lum Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Dolores S. Whitley Tk-8 Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Douglas J. Miller Elementary Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Stonecreek Junior High Similar size Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Earl Warren Junior High Similar size Lower economic need Lower S:T ratio
Berkshire Elementary Similar size Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Sing Lum Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Panama-Buena Vista Union · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Bakersfield

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Sing Lum Elementary'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 Sing Lum Elementary

How many students attend Sing Lum Elementary?

Sing Lum Elementary has 809 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Bakersfield, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Sing Lum Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Sing Lum Elementary is 28.9:1, which is 34% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 84% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sing Lum Elementary?

59.5% of students at Sing Lum Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sing Lum Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Sing Lum Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 64.4% of enrollment, in Bakersfield, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 54.3/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Sing Lum Elementary?

Sing Lum Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (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 Sing Lum Elementary rank among elementary schools in Bakersfield?

By Resource Investment Index, Sing Lum Elementary ranks #74 of 97 elementary schools in Bakersfield, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Bakersfield on the city page.

Is Sing Lum Elementary a good school?

Sing Lum Elementary earns 23/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 94% of California schools. 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 Panama-Buena Vista Union?

Besides Sing Lum Elementary, Panama-Buena Vista Union also operates Dolores S. Whitley Tk-8 (1,151 students), Douglas J. Miller Elementary (994 students), and Stonecreek Junior High (986 students). See the Panama-Buena Vista Union 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.

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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.