Desert Willow Elementary School

Desert Willow Elementary School operates as an intimate K-5 school in Cave Creek, Arizona, operated by Cave Creek Unified District (4244). Current enrollment sits at 338 students spanning grades pre-K through 6. Compared to the state average of about 451 students per school, that is 25% below typical.

Cave Creek Unified District (4244) runs 8 schools in total, collectively educating 3,821 students. Desert Willow Elementary School is one of those campuses.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Desert Willow Elementary School lists that the largest single group is White, at 70% of enrollment; the rest comes out to 21% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, 3% Asian. By comparison, Maricopa County as a whole is about 59% White, so the school skews considerably more White than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, Desert Willow Elementary School lists 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.8:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 17.0:1 average.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for Maricopa County put the typical household earns roughly $89,300 per year, about 37% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 8%. In all, Maricopa County runs 1352 public schools (combined enrollment of about 725,139 students), of which Desert Willow Elementary School is one.

The closest other public school is Lone Mountain Elementary School, roughly 1.2 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools.

Desert Willow Elementary School operates from a city-core location.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 46%: 626 students in 2018 compared to 338 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share fell from 80% to 70%. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 22.2:1 in 2018 to 14.8:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Desert Willow Elementary School typically covers fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.