Alta Sierra Elementary

Alta Sierra Elementary is one of the close-knit primary schools in Grass Valley, California, overseen by Pleasant Ridge Union Elementary, with 338 students on its rolls from grades K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 465 students per school, that is 27% leaner than typical.

Across the 4 schools in Pleasant Ridge Union Elementary (1,440 students total), Alta Sierra Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Alta Sierra Elementary shows that White students make up the majority at 70%. Other groups include 17% Hispanic, 11% multiracial. By comparison, Nevada County as a whole is about 84% White, so the school skews considerably less White than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Alta Sierra Elementary has 14 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 24.1:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 22.3:1, putting Alta Sierra Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. Around 34% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Nevada County (around 43%), the school's rate is south of typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Alta Sierra Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 59.1%, the actual is 51.4%, a residual of -7.7 points.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (Nevada County) shows that median household income runs about $89,882, 42% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. In all, Nevada County runs 46 public schools (combined enrollment of about 13,561 students), of which Alta Sierra Elementary is one.

Chicago Park Community Charter is the nearest neighboring public school, about 3.9 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 7 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Alta Sierra Elementary comes 3rd of 7 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 43.8%.

The school occupies a town-center site.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Alta Sierra Elementary has grew 11%, going from 304 students in 2018 to 338 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 90% to 70% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio widened from 19.0:1 in 2018 to 24.1:1 today.

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