Enrollment
302
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Bakersfield, CA
Sunset
Federal NCES profile for Sunset, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 35/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 064113006783
👥 S:T ratio 29
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 40
📋 Attendance 42
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sunset earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 80% of California schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.
- #16 of 97
- elementary schools in Bakersfield · Resource Index
- 35
- Resource Index · Typical
- 17.8:1
- small classes for California
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
Sunset has class sizes smaller than 80% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Sunset ranks #16 of 97 elementary schools in Bakersfield, CA.
School address
District: Vineland Elementary · California
NCES ID 064113006783 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.8:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 55.5% California avg
+80% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sunset compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Sunset
Sunset is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Bakersfield, California, enrolling 302 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 17.8:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need is high: 100.0% of students qualify for free meals, 80% above the California average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 302 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 388 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #91.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (98% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 3/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 302 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 23.2% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 15.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Bakersfield's elementary schools, it stands alongside Dolores S. Whitley Tk-8 (1,151 students): Sunset is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (17.8:1 vs 25.6:1).
Its district, Vineland Elementary, also runs Vineland Elementary (336 students).
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 Sunset compares
Sunset on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.8:1 | ▼ 17% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 80% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 302 | top 74% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
17.8:1
Leaner classes than 26% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
302
Bigger than 33% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 80% 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
17.8:1
students per teacher
- 17% below state mean
Top 20% in California - lower ratio than 80% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
23.2%
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
$17,630
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 302 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 27 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.6 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 98.3%
White 1.7%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 98.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 3.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 3.3, Sunset is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Vineland Elementary, which includes Sunset.
$17,630
Per student
+7%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+6%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 10.9%
State 73.7%
Federal 15.4%
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.
How Sunset Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vineland Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Sunset's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 336
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
Similar elementary schools in Bakersfield
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Dolores S. Whitley Tk-8
Standard public school
1,151 students 25.6:1 students per teacher
Veterans Elementary
Standard public school
1,002 students 27.8:1 students per teacher
Douglas J. Miller Elementary
Standard public school
994 students 29.2:1 students per teacher
Colonel Howard Nichols Elementary
Standard public school
960 students 24:1 students per teacher
Berkshire Elementary
Standard public school
932 students 28.2:1 students per teacher
Patriot Elementary
Standard public school
931 students 23.3:1 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 (~302 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sunset's federal record.
- Compare Sunset against another school. Compare schools
- Vineland Elementary'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 Sunset
How many students attend Sunset?
Sunset has 302 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Bakersfield, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sunset?
The student-teacher ratio at Sunset is 17.8:1, which is 17% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 13% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sunset?
100.0% of students at Sunset are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sunset?
The largest demographic group at Sunset is Hispanic or Latino at 98.3% of enrollment, in Bakersfield, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sunset?
Sunset has a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (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 Sunset rank among elementary schools in Bakersfield?
By Resource Investment Index, Sunset ranks #16 of 97 elementary schools in Bakersfield, 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 Bakersfield on the city page.
Is Sunset a good school?
Sunset earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 80% of California schools. 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 Vineland Elementary?
Besides Sunset, Vineland Elementary also operates Vineland Elementary (336 students). See the Vineland Elementary 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.