Enrollment
435
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 063846002796
Vargas Elementary — Sunnyvale, CA
Federal NCES profile for Vargas Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 31/100.
👥 Class size 22
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 42
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: Sunnyvale · 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)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.6:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
35.0%
vs 55.5% California avg
-37% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Vargas Elementary 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
Vargas Elementary reports 435 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 21.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% 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 23% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 35.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 37% below the California average and 32% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 23.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sunnyvale spends $26,000 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 82.4% from local sources (property taxes), 12.6% from the state, and 5.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (F), calculated from 3 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 Vargas Elementary 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 | 19.6:1 | ▼ 9% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 35.0% | ▼ 37% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 435 | top 45% | — | — |
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
35.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 37% 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
19.6:1
students per teacher
— 9% below state mean
Top 26% in California — lower ratio than 74% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
23.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$26,000
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 435 Top 45% in California — larger than 55% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 21.0
Students per teacher 19.6:1 -9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 35.0% -37% vs state
NCES ID 063846002796
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 59.5%
Asian 20.0%
White 10.6%
Two or More 7.4%
African American 1.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 59.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 23.4%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sunnyvale, which includes Vargas Elementary.
$26,000
Per student
+44%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+33%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 82.4%
State 12.6%
Federal 5.0%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,053
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Enrollment
- 768
- Students per teacher
- 23.2:1
- Enrollment
- 697
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
- Enrollment
- 622
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
- Enrollment
- 586
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
Similar elementary schools in Sunnyvale
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Louis E. Stocklmeir Elementary
Standard public school
840 students 24.9:1 students per teacher
Ellis Elementary
Standard public school
768 students 23.2:1 students per teacher
Cherry Chase Elementary
Standard public school
622 students 20.8:1 students per teacher
Cumberland Elementary
Standard public school
586 students 21:1 students per teacher
Ponderosa Elementary
Standard public school
524 students 22.8:1 students per teacher
Bishop Elementary
Standard public school
465 students 20.5:1 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 Vargas Elementary
How many students attend Vargas Elementary?
Vargas Elementary has 435 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Sunnyvale, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Vargas Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Vargas Elementary is 19.6:1, which is 9% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 23% 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 Vargas Elementary?
35.0% of students at Vargas Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Vargas Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Vargas Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 59.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Sunnyvale, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Vargas Elementary?
Vargas Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (F) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.