Elementary school (grades K-5) · La Puente, CA

Sunset Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Sunset Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 26/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 061632502065
0/100100/10026/100
👥 S:T ratio
19
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
43
📋 Attendance
12
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Sunset Elementary earns 26/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.

#10 of 19
elementary schools in La Puente · Resource Index
26
Resource Index · Lower
20.3:1
students per teacher
69.0%
free-lunch eligible

Sunset Elementary has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Sunset Elementary ranks #10 of 19 elementary schools in La Puente, CA.

Enrollment

142

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

7.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

20.3:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-6% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

69.0%

vs 55.5% California avg

+24% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Sunset Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians

At or below 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 Sunset Elementary

Sunset Elementary is a higher-need, small elementary school in La Puente, California, enrolling 142 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 20.3:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 69.0% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 142 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.

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

Among 365 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #272, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 284 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 35.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among La Puente's elementary schools, it stands alongside Fairgrove Academy (749 students): Sunset Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (20.3:1 vs 25.8:1).

Hacienda La Puente Unified also operates Los Altos High (1,592 students) and Glen a. Wilson High (1,456 students) alongside Sunset 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 Sunset Elementary compares

Sunset 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 20.3:1 ▼ 6% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 69.0% ▲ 24% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 142 top 87% - -

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

20.3:1
Leaner classes than 15% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
142
Bigger than 14% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
69.0%
free-lunch eligible - 24% 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
20.3:1
students per teacher - 6% below state mean
Top 37% in California - lower ratio than 63% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
35.2%
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
$16,162
per pupil, district-wide - below California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.4 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.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hacienda La Puente Unified, which includes Sunset Elementary.

$16,162
Per student
-2%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-3%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 18.2%
State 68.2%
Federal 13.5%

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 Sunset Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Los Altos High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Glen a. Wilson High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Mesa Robles Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Cedarlane Academy Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
La Puente High Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Sunset Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Hacienda La Puente Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in La Puente

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Sunset Elementary'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 Sunset Elementary

How many students attend Sunset Elementary?

Sunset Elementary has 142 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in La Puente, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Sunset Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Sunset Elementary is 20.3:1, which is 6% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 29% 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 Elementary?

69.0% of students at Sunset Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Sunset Elementary?

Sunset Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (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 Sunset Elementary rank among elementary schools in La Puente?

By Resource Investment Index, Sunset Elementary ranks #10 of 19 elementary schools in La Puente, 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 La Puente on the city page.

Is Sunset Elementary a good school?

Sunset Elementary earns 26/100 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 Hacienda La Puente Unified?

Besides Sunset Elementary, Hacienda La Puente Unified also operates Los Altos High (1,592 students), Glen a. Wilson High (1,456 students), and Mesa Robles (1,246 students). See the Hacienda La Puente 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.