Enrollment
258
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Smith River, CA
Smith River Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Smith River 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 061077001199
👥 S:T ratio 0
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Smith River Elementary earns 23/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 84% of California schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.
- 23
- Resource Index · Lower
- 25.8:1
- large classes for California
- 64.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 258
- students enrolled
Smith River Elementary has class sizes larger than 84% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Del Norte County Unified · California
NCES ID 061077001199 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
10.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
25.8:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
+20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
64.1%
vs 55.5% California avg
+15% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Smith River Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Smith River Elementary
Smith River Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Smith River, California, enrolling 258 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 25.8:1 puts it in the larger third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 64.1% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 258 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 868 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #602.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (45%) and White (31%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 67/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 516 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Del Norte County Unified also operates Del Norte High (918 students) and Crescent Elk Middle (507 students) alongside Smith River 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 Smith River Elementary compares
Smith River 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 | 25.8:1 | ▲ 20% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 64.1% | ▲ 15% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 258 | top 78% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
25.8:1
Leaner classes than 4% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
258
Bigger than 26% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
64.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 15% 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
25.8:1
students per teacher
- 20% above state mean
Top 84% in California - lower ratio than 16% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Funding equity
$15,514
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 + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.7 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 45.0%
White 30.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 17.4%
Two or More 5.8%
Asian 0.8%
African American 0.4%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 45.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 67.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 67.0, Smith River Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Del Norte County Unified, which includes Smith River Elementary.
$15,514
Per student
-6%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-7%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 25.0%
State 60.2%
Federal 14.8%
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 Smith River Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Del Norte High | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Crescent Elk Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Redwood Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Joe Hamilton Elementary | Similar size | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Pine Grove Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Smith River Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 918
- Students per teacher
- 18.7:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 507
- Students per teacher
- 20.3:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 452
- Students per teacher
- 25.1:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
- Enrollment
- 298
- Students per teacher
- 19.9:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 265
- Students per teacher
- 22.1:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
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 (~258 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Smith River Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Smith River Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Del Norte County 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 Smith River Elementary
How many students attend Smith River Elementary?
Smith River Elementary has 258 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Smith River, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Smith River Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Smith River Elementary is 25.8:1, which is 20% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 64% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Smith River Elementary?
64.1% of students at Smith River Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Smith River Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Smith River Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 45.0% of enrollment, in Smith River, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 67.0/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Smith River Elementary?
Smith River Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Smith River Elementary a good school?
Smith River Elementary earns 23/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 84% of California schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Del Norte County Unified?
Besides Smith River Elementary, Del Norte County Unified also operates Del Norte High (918 students), Crescent Elk Middle (507 students), and Redwood Elementary (452 students). See the Del Norte County 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.