Enrollment
692
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Cathedral City, CA
Sunny Sands Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Sunny Sands Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 31/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 062955009603
👥 S:T ratio 11
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 45
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sunny Sands Elementary earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.
- #2 of 5
- elementary schools in Cathedral City · Resource Index
- 31
- Resource Index · Lower
- 22.3:1
- students per teacher
- 96.7%
- free-lunch eligible
Sunny Sands Elementary has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Sunny Sands Elementary ranks #2 of 5 elementary schools in Cathedral City, CA.
School address
District: Palm Springs Unified · California
NCES ID 062955009603 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.3:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
+4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
96.7%
vs 55.5% California avg
+74% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sunny Sands Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Sunny Sands Elementary
Sunny Sands Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Cathedral City, California, enrolling 692 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.
Economic need is high: 96.7% of students qualify for free meals, 74% above the California average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 692 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 771 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #233.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (84% of enrollment) (diversity index 28/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 692 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 22.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Among Cathedral City's elementary schools, it stands alongside Agua Caliente Elementary (645 students): Sunny Sands Elementary is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (22.3:1 vs 23:1).
Palm Springs Unified also operates Desert Hot Springs High (1,687 students) and Palm Springs High (1,497 students) alongside Sunny Sands 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 Sunny Sands Elementary compares
Sunny Sands 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 | 22.3:1 | ▲ 4% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 96.7% | ▲ 74% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 692 | top 24% | - | - |
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.
692
Bigger than 80% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
96.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 74% above the California average of 55.5%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; 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
22.0%
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
$17,520
per pupil, district-wide
- above California avg of $16,509
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 692 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.1 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 84.2%
White 7.4%
Asian 4.9%
Two or More 2.3%
African American 0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 84.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 28.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 28.3, Sunny Sands Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Palm Springs Unified, which includes Sunny Sands Elementary.
$17,520
Per student
+6%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+6%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 36.1%
State 54.5%
Federal 9.5%
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 Sunny Sands Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desert Hot Springs High | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Palm Springs High | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Rancho Mirage High | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Cathedral City High | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| James Workman Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Sunny Sands Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,687
- Students per teacher
- 18.7:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 1,497
- Students per teacher
- 21.7:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 1,401
- Students per teacher
- 20.6:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 1,334
- Students per teacher
- 19.3:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 1,020
- Students per teacher
- 22.7:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
Similar elementary schools in Cathedral City
4 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Agua Caliente Elementary
Standard public school
645 students 23:1 students per teacher
Rio Vista Elementary
Standard public school
637 students 19.3:1 students per teacher
Cathedral City Elementary
Standard public school
606 students 19.5:1 students per teacher
Landau Elementary
Standard public school
579 students 19.3:1 students per teacher
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 (~692 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~22.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sunny Sands Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Sunny Sands Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Palm Springs 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 Sunny Sands Elementary
How many students attend Sunny Sands Elementary?
Sunny Sands Elementary has 692 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Cathedral City, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sunny Sands Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Sunny Sands Elementary 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 Sunny Sands Elementary?
96.7% of students at Sunny Sands Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sunny Sands Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Sunny Sands Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 84.2% of enrollment, in Cathedral City, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sunny Sands Elementary?
Sunny Sands Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (lower 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 Sunny Sands Elementary rank among elementary schools in Cathedral City?
By Resource Investment Index, Sunny Sands Elementary ranks #2 of 5 elementary schools in Cathedral City, 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 Cathedral City on the city page.
Is Sunny Sands Elementary a good school?
Sunny Sands Elementary earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. 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 Palm Springs Unified?
Besides Sunny Sands Elementary, Palm Springs Unified also operates Desert Hot Springs High (1,687 students), Palm Springs High (1,497 students), and Rancho Mirage High (1,401 students). See the Palm Springs 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.