Elementary school (grades K-5) · Pasadena, CA

Willard Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Willard Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 33/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 062994004691
0/100100/10033/100
👥 S:T ratio
28
🌟 Gifted program
70
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Willard Elementary earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 79% of California schools.

#5 of 11
elementary schools in Pasadena · Resource Index
33
Resource Index · Typical
17.9:1
small classes for California
58.6%
free-lunch eligible

Willard Elementary has class sizes smaller than 79% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Willard Elementary ranks #5 of 11 elementary schools in Pasadena, CA.

School address

Enrollment

394

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

22.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

17.9:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-17% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

58.6%

vs 55.5% California avg

+6% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Willard Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Willard Elementary

Willard Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Pasadena, California, enrolling 394 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 17.9:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 58.6% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

With 394 students, its enrollment sits close to the California median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 1,516 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #402.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (66%) and White (11%) (diversity index 53/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 65.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Pasadena's elementary schools, it stands alongside Longfellow (Henry W.) Elementary (546 students): Willard Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (17.9:1 vs 23.7:1).

Pasadena Unified also operates Marshall Fundamental (1,689 students) and Pasadena High (1,303 students) alongside Willard Elementary.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Willard Elementary compares

Willard Elementary on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 17.9:1 ▼ 17% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 58.6% ▲ 6% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 394 top 61% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

17.9:1
Leaner classes than 25% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
394
Bigger than 46% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
58.6%
free-lunch eligible - 6% 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
17.9:1
students per teacher - 17% below state mean
Top 21% in California - lower ratio than 79% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
65.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$17,889
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Somewhat 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
1
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

Hispanic or Latino 66.2%
White 10.9%
Asian 10.2%
African American 7.4%
Two or More 5.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 66.2% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 53.1/100

Simpson diversity index - at 53.1, Willard Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pasadena Unified, which includes Willard Elementary.

$17,889
Per student
+8%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 45.4%
State 40.3%
Federal 14.3%

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.

How Willard Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Marshall Fundamental Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Pasadena High Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
John Muir High Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Blair High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Jackson Elementary Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Willard Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Pasadena Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Pasadena

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of California, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Willard Elementary's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Willard Elementary

How many students attend Willard Elementary?

Willard Elementary has 394 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Pasadena, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Willard Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Willard Elementary is 17.9:1, which is 17% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 14% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Willard Elementary?

58.6% of students at Willard Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Willard Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Willard Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 66.2% of enrollment, in Pasadena, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 53.1/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Willard Elementary?

Willard Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Willard Elementary rank among elementary schools in Pasadena?

By Resource Investment Index, Willard Elementary ranks #5 of 11 elementary schools in Pasadena, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Pasadena on the city page.

Is Willard Elementary a good school?

Willard Elementary earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 79% of California schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Pasadena Unified?

Besides Willard Elementary, Pasadena Unified also operates Marshall Fundamental (1,689 students), Pasadena High (1,303 students), and John Muir High (1,206 students). See the Pasadena Unified district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.