Enrollment
840
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 063834006453
Sundale Elementary — Tulare, CA
Federal NCES profile for Sundale Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 42/100.
👥 Class size 0
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 16
📋 Attendance 83
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: Sundale Union 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)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
25.8:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
32.6%
vs 55.5% California avg
-41% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sundale 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
Sundale Elementary reports 840 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 32.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 25.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 19% above the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 62% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 32.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 41% below the California average and 37% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 420 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 7.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sundale Union Elementary spends $13,547 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 11.8% from local sources (property taxes), 73.2% from the state, and 15.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (D), calculated from 4 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 Sundale 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 | 25.8:1 | ▲ 19% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 32.6% | ▼ 41% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 840 | top 84% | — | — |
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
32.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 41% 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
25.8:1
students per teacher
— 19% above state mean
Top 88% in California — lower ratio than 12% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
7.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$13,547
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 420 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 840 Top 84% in California — larger than 16% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 32.0
Students per teacher 25.8:1 +19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 32.6% -41% vs state
NCES ID 063834006453
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 47.5%
White 47.4%
Two or More 3.9%
Asian 0.8%
African American 0.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 47.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 420:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 7.0%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sundale Union Elementary, which includes Sundale Elementary.
$13,547
Per student
-25%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-30%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 11.8%
State 73.2%
Federal 15.1%
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 elementary schools in Tulare
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Liberty Elementary
Standard public school
861 students 23.7:1 students per teacher
Mulcahy Middle
Standard public school
745 students 19.2:1 students per teacher
Garden Elementary
Standard public school
689 students 23.3:1 students per teacher
Mission Valley Elementary
Standard public school
671 students 24.9:1 students per teacher
Pleasant Elementary
Standard public school
668 students 22.9:1 students per teacher
Alpine Vista
Standard public school
659 students 22.3:1 students per teacher
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 Sundale Elementary
How many students attend Sundale Elementary?
Sundale Elementary has 840 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Tulare, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sundale Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Sundale Elementary is 25.8:1, which is 19% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 62% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sundale Elementary?
32.6% of students at Sundale Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sundale Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Sundale Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 47.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Tulare, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sundale Elementary?
Sundale Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.