Enrollment
99
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 060205811590 Charter school
Union Street Charter — Arcata, CA
Federal NCES profile for Union Street Charter, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 38/100.
👥 Class size 22
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 21
📋 Attendance 77
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: Union Street Charter District · 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)
5.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.4:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
39.2%
vs 55.5% California avg
-29% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Union Street Charter 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
Union Street Charter reports 99 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 5.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 10% below the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 22% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 39.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 29% below the California average and 24% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 396 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 9.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (F), 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 Union Street Charter 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 | 19.4:1 | ▼ 10% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 39.2% | ▼ 29% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 99 | top 10% | — | — |
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
39.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 29% 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
19.4:1
students per teacher
— 10% below state mean
Top 25% in California — lower ratio than 75% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
9.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Support staff
Counselors0.3 FTE
Per 396 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: 1.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 99 Top 10% in California — larger than 90% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 5.0
Students per teacher 19.4:1 -10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 39.2% -29% vs state
NCES ID 060205811590
Student demographics
White 69.7%
Hispanic or Latino 15.2%
Two or More 12.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.0%
Asian 1.0%
Largest group: White at 69.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.3
Students per counselor 396:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 9.1%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Similar elementary schools in Arcata
5 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Pacific Union Elementary
Standard public school
534 students 19.2:1 students per teacher
Arcata Elementary
Standard public school
240 students 17.5:1 students per teacher
Coastal Grove Charter
Standard public school
235 students 16.2:1 students per teacher
Fuente Nueva Charter
Standard public school
150 students 22.8:1 students per teacher
Trillium Charter
Standard public school
34 students 17:1 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 Union Street Charter
How many students attend Union Street Charter?
Union Street Charter has 99 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Arcata, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Union Street Charter?
The student-teacher ratio at Union Street Charter is 19.4:1, which is 10% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 22% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Union Street Charter?
39.2% of students at Union Street Charter are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Union Street Charter?
The largest demographic group at Union Street Charter is White at 69.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Arcata, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Union Street Charter?
Union Street Charter has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (F) 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.