Enrollment
403
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 061044001170
Steve Luther Elementary — La Palma, CA
Federal NCES profile for Steve Luther Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 18
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 57
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
District: Cypress Elementary · California
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)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.6:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
39.1%
vs 55.5% California avg
-30% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Steve Luther Elementary 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
Steve Luther Elementary reports 403 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 19.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% 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 30% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 39.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 30% below the California average and 25% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 17.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Cypress Elementary spends $17,835 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 57.8% from local sources (property taxes), 33.7% from the state, and 8.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D), calculated from 3 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 Steve Luther Elementary 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 | 20.6:1 | ▼ 5% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 39.1% | ▼ 30% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 403 | top 40% | — | — |
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
39.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 30% 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
20.6:1
students per teacher
— 5% below state mean
Top 35% in California — lower ratio than 65% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
17.1%
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
$17,835
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
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 403 Top 40% in California — larger than 60% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 19.0
Students per teacher 20.6:1 -5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 39.1% -30% vs state
NCES ID 061044001170
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 40.0%
Asian 31.3%
White 12.4%
Two or More 11.7%
African American 4.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.7%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 40.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 17.1%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cypress Elementary, which includes Steve Luther Elementary.
$17,835
Per student
-1%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-8%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 57.8%
State 33.7%
Federal 8.4%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 662
- Students per teacher
- 26.5:1
- Enrollment
- 650
- Students per teacher
- 25.3:1
- Enrollment
- 562
- Students per teacher
- 26.8:1
- Enrollment
- 560
- Students per teacher
- 26.5:1
- Enrollment
- 431
- Students per teacher
- 24.9:1
Similar elementary schools in La Palma
2 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) 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 Steve Luther Elementary
How many students attend Steve Luther Elementary?
Steve Luther Elementary has 403 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in La Palma, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Steve Luther Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Steve Luther Elementary is 20.6:1, which is 5% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 30% higher 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 Steve Luther Elementary?
39.1% of students at Steve Luther Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Steve Luther Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Steve Luther Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 40.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in La Palma, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Steve Luther Elementary?
Steve Luther Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.