Enrollment
762
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 061692012464 Charter school
Western Center Academy — Hemet, CA
Federal NCES profile for Western Center Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 22/100.
👥 Class size 0
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 56
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: Hemet 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)
29.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
25.7:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
40.3%
vs 55.5% California avg
-27% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Western Center 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
Western Center Academy reports 762 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 29.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 25.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 19% 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 62% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 40.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 27% below the California average and 22% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 762 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 17.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Hemet Unified spends $17,595 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 24.5% from local sources (property taxes), 60.2% from the state, and 15.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 22/100 (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 Western Center 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 | 25.7:1 | ▲ 19% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 40.3% | ▼ 27% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 762 | top 81% | — | — |
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
40.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 27% below the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
25.7:1
students per teacher
— 19% above state mean
Top 88% in California — lower ratio than 12% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
17.6%
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
$17,595
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 762 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 762 Top 81% in California — larger than 19% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 29.0
Students per teacher 25.7:1 +19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 40.3% -27% vs state
NCES ID 061692012464
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 47.3%
White 31.9%
Asian 9.1%
African American 6.0%
Two or More 5.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 47.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 15
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 762:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 17.6%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 7
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hemet Unified, which includes Western Center Academy.
$17,595
Per student
-2%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 24.5%
State 60.2%
Federal 15.4%
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
- 2,414
- Students per teacher
- 23.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,857
- Students per teacher
- 23.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,761
- Students per teacher
- 21.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,123
- Students per teacher
- 22.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,113
- Students per teacher
- 24.7:1
Similar other schools in Hemet
1 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 Western Center Academy
How many students attend Western Center Academy?
Western Center Academy has 762 students enrolled. It is a other school in Hemet, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Western Center Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Western Center Academy is 25.7:1, which is 19% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 62% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Western Center Academy?
40.3% of students at Western Center Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Western Center Academy?
The largest demographic group at Western Center Academy is Hispanic or Latino at 47.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Hemet, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Western Center Academy?
Western Center Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 22/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.