Enrollment
205
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 069101013814
Valley Academy — El Centro, CA
Federal NCES profile for Valley Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 31/100.
👥 Class size 20
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 73
📋 Attendance 0
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: Imperial County Office of Education · 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)
8.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.9:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
90.6%
vs 55.5% California avg
+63% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Valley Academy 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
Valley Academy reports 205 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 8.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% 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 25% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 90.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 63% above the California average and 75% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 137 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 53.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (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 Valley Academy 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 | 19.9:1 | ▼ 8% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 90.6% | ▲ 63% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 205 | top 18% | — | — |
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
90.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 63% 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
19.9:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 29% in California — lower ratio than 71% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
53.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Support staff
Counselors1.5 FTE
Per 137 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 205 Top 18% in California — larger than 82% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 8.0
Students per teacher 19.9:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 90.6% +63% vs state
NCES ID 069101013814
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 95.6%
White 2.0%
African American 1.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.0%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 95.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.5
Students per counselor 137:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 53.2%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 12
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 481
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Enrollment
- 246
- Students per teacher
- 29.4:1
- Enrollment
- 11
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
Similar other schools in El Centro
2 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
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 Valley Academy
How many students attend Valley Academy?
Valley Academy has 205 students enrolled. It is a other school in El Centro, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Valley Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Valley Academy is 19.9:1, which is 8% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 25% 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 Valley Academy?
90.6% of students at Valley Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Valley Academy?
The largest demographic group at Valley Academy is Hispanic or Latino at 95.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in El Centro, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Valley Academy?
Valley Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (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.