Elementary school (grades K-5) · Lancaster, CA

Tierra Bonita Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Tierra Bonita Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 9/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 061191007108
0/100100/1009/100
👥 S:T ratio
6
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Tierra Bonita Elementary earns 9/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.

#27 of 28
elementary schools in Lancaster · Resource Index
9
Resource Index · Lower
23.6:1
students per teacher
77.6%
free-lunch eligible

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

By Resource Investment Index, Tierra Bonita Elementary ranks #27 of 28 elementary schools in Lancaster, CA.

Enrollment

636

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

27.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

23.6:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+10% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

77.6%

vs 55.5% California avg

+40% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Tierra Bonita Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians

Slightly above 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 Tierra Bonita Elementary

Tierra Bonita Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Lancaster, California, enrolling 636 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 23.6:1 puts it in the larger third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 77.6% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 636 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index trails 99% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.

Among 2,082 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #1,990, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (70%) and African American (21%) (diversity index 46/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 636 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 55.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 17.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Lancaster's elementary schools, it stands alongside Sundown Elementary (941 students): Tierra Bonita Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (23.6:1 vs 29.4:1).

Eastside Union Elementary also operates Gifford C. Cole Middle (697 students) and Enterprise Elementary (646 students) alongside Tierra Bonita 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 Tierra Bonita Elementary compares

Tierra Bonita 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 23.6:1 ▲ 10% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 77.6% ▲ 40% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 636 top 29% - -

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

23.6:1
Leaner classes than 7% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
636
Bigger than 76% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
77.6%
free-lunch eligible - 40% 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
23.6:1
students per teacher - 10% above state mean
Top 68% in California - lower ratio than 32% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
55.7%
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
$17,290
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 636 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 26 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.4 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.

Student demographics

Hispanic or Latino 70.1%
African American 21.4%
White 3.1%
Two or More 2.7%
Asian 2.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 70.1% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 46.1/100

Simpson diversity index - at 46.1, Tierra Bonita Elementary is about as mixed as the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Eastside Union Elementary, which includes Tierra Bonita Elementary.

$17,290
Per student
+5%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 14.0%
State 68.5%
Federal 17.5%

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 Tierra Bonita Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Gifford C. Cole Middle Similar size Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Enterprise Elementary Similar size Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Columbia Elementary Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Eastside Elementary Smaller Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Eastside Academy/Transitional Learning Center Smaller No free-lunch data No ratio data

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

Other Schools in This District

Eastside Union Elementary · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Lancaster

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 Tierra Bonita 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 Tierra Bonita Elementary

How many students attend Tierra Bonita Elementary?

Tierra Bonita Elementary has 636 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Lancaster, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Tierra Bonita Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Tierra Bonita Elementary is 23.6:1, which is 10% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 50% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Tierra Bonita Elementary?

77.6% of students at Tierra Bonita Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Tierra Bonita Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Tierra Bonita Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 70.1% of enrollment, in Lancaster, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Tierra Bonita Elementary?

Tierra Bonita Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 9/100 (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 Tierra Bonita Elementary rank among elementary schools in Lancaster?

By Resource Investment Index, Tierra Bonita Elementary ranks #27 of 28 elementary schools in Lancaster, 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 Lancaster on the city page.

Is Tierra Bonita Elementary a good school?

Tierra Bonita Elementary earns 9/100 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 Eastside Union Elementary?

Besides Tierra Bonita Elementary, Eastside Union Elementary also operates Gifford C. Cole Middle (697 students), Enterprise Elementary (646 students), and Columbia Elementary (620 students). See the Eastside Union Elementary 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.

View saved

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.