Enrollment
369
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 060243413905 Charter school
Vista Heritage Global Academy — Santa Ana, CA
Federal NCES profile for Vista Heritage Global Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 32/100.
👥 Class size 6
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 53
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: Vista Heritage Global Academy 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)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23.6:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
88.7%
vs 55.5% California avg
+60% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Vista Heritage Global 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
Vista Heritage Global Academy reports 369 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 18.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 23.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% above the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 48% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 88.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 60% above the California average and 71% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 710 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 19.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Vista Heritage Global Academy District spends $15,934 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 25.6% from local sources (property taxes), 61.6% from the state, and 12.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (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 Heritage Global 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 | 23.6:1 | ▲ 9% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 88.7% | ▲ 60% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 369 | top 35% | — | — |
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
88.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 60% 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
— 9% above state mean
Top 68% in California — lower ratio than 32% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
19.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$15,934
per pupil, district-wide
— below California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Per 710 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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 369 Top 35% in California — larger than 65% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 18.0
Students per teacher 23.6:1 +9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 88.7% +60% vs state
NCES ID 060243413905
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 95.4%
Two or More 2.4%
White 0.8%
African American 0.5%
Asian 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 95.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.5
Students per counselor 710:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 19.0%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Vista Heritage Global Academy District, which includes Vista Heritage Global Academy.
$15,934
Per student
-12%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-18%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 25.6%
State 61.6%
Federal 12.8%
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.
Similar other schools in Santa Ana
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Ocsa
Standard public school
2,346 students 17.1:1 students per teacher
Saddleback High
Standard public school
1,451 students 21.6:1 students per teacher
Samueli Academy
Standard public school
842 students 20.6:1 students per teacher
Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana
Standard public school
524 students 16.2:1 students per teacher
Citrus Springs Charter
Standard public school
477 students 24.8:1 students per teacher
Advanced Learning Academy
Standard public school
363 students 11.4:1 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 Vista Heritage Global Academy
How many students attend Vista Heritage Global Academy?
Vista Heritage Global Academy has 369 students enrolled. It is a other school in Santa Ana, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Vista Heritage Global Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Vista Heritage Global Academy is 23.6:1, which is 9% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 48% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Vista Heritage Global Academy?
88.7% of students at Vista Heritage Global Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Vista Heritage Global Academy?
The largest demographic group at Vista Heritage Global Academy is Hispanic or Latino at 95.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Santa Ana, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Vista Heritage Global Academy?
Vista Heritage Global Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (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.