Middle school (grades 6-8) · Pico Rivera, CA

Steam Academy @ Burke

Federal NCES profile for Steam Academy @ Burke, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 41/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 061218001370
0/100100/10041/100
👥 S:T ratio
11
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
47
📋 Attendance
38
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Steam Academy @ Burke earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.

#1 of 3
middle schools in Pico Rivera · Resource Index
41
Resource Index · Typical
22.3:1
students per teacher
62.8%
free-lunch eligible

Steam Academy @ Burke has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Steam Academy @ Burke ranks #1 of 3 middle schools in Pico Rivera, CA.

Enrollment

534

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

24.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

22.3:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+4% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

62.8%

vs 55.5% California avg

+13% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Steam Academy @ Burke compares with California and U.S. medians

Slightly above 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 Steam Academy @ Burke

Steam Academy @ Burke is a higher-need, mid-sized middle school in Pico Rivera, California, enrolling 534 students.

At 22.3:1, 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.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 62.8% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

With 534 students, its enrollment sits close to the California median campus size.

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

Among 1,997 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #132, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (96% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 7/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 267 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.9% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Among Pico Rivera's middle schools, it stands alongside Rivera Middle (544 students): Steam Academy @ Burke is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (22.3:1 vs 20.9:1).

El Rancho Unified also operates El Rancho High (1,995 students) and Rivera Middle (544 students) alongside Steam Academy @ Burke.

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 Steam Academy @ Burke compares

Steam Academy @ Burke on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 22.3:1 ▲ 4% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 62.8% ▲ 13% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 534 top 40% - -

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

22.3:1
Leaner classes than 10% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
534
Bigger than 66% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
62.8%
free-lunch eligible - 13% 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
22.3:1
students per teacher - 4% above state mean
Top 56% in California - lower ratio than 44% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
24.9%
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
$16,802
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 267 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 14 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.0 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 96.3%
Asian 1.5%
White 1.1%
African American 0.7%
Two or More 0.4%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 96.3% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 7.2/100

Simpson diversity index - at 7.2, Steam Academy @ Burke is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for El Rancho Unified, which includes Steam Academy @ Burke.

$16,802
Per student
+2%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+1%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 24.2%
State 61.8%
Federal 14.0%

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.

How Steam Academy @ Burke Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
El Rancho High Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Rivera Middle Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
North Park Academy of the Arts Similar size Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Rivera Elementary Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Valencia Academy of the Arts Smaller Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Steam Academy @ Burke's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

El Rancho Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Pico Rivera

2 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle 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 Steam Academy @ Burke'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 Steam Academy @ Burke

How many students attend Steam Academy @ Burke?

Steam Academy @ Burke has 534 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Pico Rivera, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Steam Academy @ Burke?

The student-teacher ratio at Steam Academy @ Burke is 22.3:1, which is 4% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 42% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Steam Academy @ Burke?

62.8% of students at Steam Academy @ Burke are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Steam Academy @ Burke?

The largest demographic group at Steam Academy @ Burke is Hispanic or Latino at 96.3% of enrollment, in Pico Rivera, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Steam Academy @ Burke?

Steam Academy @ Burke has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (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).

How does Steam Academy @ Burke rank among middle schools in Pico Rivera?

By Resource Investment Index, Steam Academy @ Burke ranks #1 of 3 middle schools in Pico Rivera, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Pico Rivera on the city page.

Is Steam Academy @ Burke a good school?

Steam Academy @ Burke earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also less 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 El Rancho Unified?

Besides Steam Academy @ Burke, El Rancho Unified also operates El Rancho High (1,995 students), Rivera Middle (544 students), and North Park Academy of the Arts (512 students). See the El Rancho Unified 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.