Enrollment
435
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 062955004571
Vista Del Monte Elementary — Palm Springs, CA
Federal NCES profile for Vista Del Monte Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 34/100.
👥 Class size 26
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 13
📋 Attendance 26
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: Palm Springs Unified · 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)
26.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.5:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
95.4%
vs 55.5% California avg
+72% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Vista Del Monte 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
Vista Del Monte Elementary reports 435 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 26.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 14% 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 16% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 95.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 72% above the California average and 84% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 435 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 29.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Palm Springs Unified spends $19,325 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 36.1% from local sources (property taxes), 54.5% from the state, and 9.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (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 Vista Del Monte 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 | 18.5:1 | ▼ 14% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 95.4% | ▲ 72% | 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
95.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 72% 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
18.5:1
students per teacher
— 14% below state mean
Top 20% in California — lower ratio than 80% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
29.7%
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
$19,325
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 435 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.5 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) 26.0
Students per teacher 18.5:1 -14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 95.4% +72% vs state
NCES ID 062955004571
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 89.9%
White 5.3%
Two or More 2.3%
African American 1.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Asian 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 89.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 435:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 29.7%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Palm Springs Unified, which includes Vista Del Monte Elementary.
$19,325
Per student
+7%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-1%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 36.1%
State 54.5%
Federal 9.5%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,687
- Students per teacher
- 19.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,497
- Students per teacher
- 23:1
- Enrollment
- 1,401
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,334
- Students per teacher
- 20.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,020
- Students per teacher
- 22.8:1
Similar elementary schools in Palm Springs
4 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Cielo Vista Charter
Standard public school
824 students 22.4:1 students per teacher
Katherine Finchy Elementary
Standard public school
464 students 19.5:1 students per teacher
Cahuilla Elementary
Standard public school
399 students 21.1:1 students per teacher
Virtual Pre
Standard public school
3 students
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 Vista Del Monte Elementary
How many students attend Vista Del Monte Elementary?
Vista Del Monte Elementary has 435 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Palm Springs, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Vista Del Monte Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Vista Del Monte Elementary is 18.5:1, which is 14% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 16% 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 Vista Del Monte Elementary?
95.4% of students at Vista Del Monte Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Vista Del Monte Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Vista Del Monte Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 89.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Palm Springs, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Vista Del Monte Elementary?
Vista Del Monte Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (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.