Benjamin Foxen Elementary

Benjamin Foxen Elementary is one of the compact elementary campuss in Santa Maria, California, part of Blochman Union Elementary, with 210 students on its rolls from grades K through 8. That puts it 55% leaner than the typical public school in California, which averages around 465 students.

Benjamin Foxen Elementary sits inside Blochman Union Elementary, the local public-school operator responsible for the campus.

Demographically, Benjamin Foxen Elementary logs that the largest single group is Hispanic at 47%, but no single group is in the majority. The remainder reads as 46% White, 5% multiracial. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

On the resource side, On paper, Benjamin Foxen Elementary has 10 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 21.0:1. The state averages around 22.3:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. About 45% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is below Santa Barbara County's rate of about 68%.

With demographic context factored in, Benjamin Foxen Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 52.8% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 41.2%.

In the area at large, community-level numbers for Santa Barbara County indicate median household income runs about $98,161, about 37% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 9%. In all, Santa Barbara County runs 129 public schools (combined enrollment of about 66,191 students), of which Benjamin Foxen Elementary is one.

Ralph Dunlap Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 6.6 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Benjamin Foxen Elementary ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 39.8%.

Geographically, the school is in an outlying area.

Five-year trend. Benjamin Foxen Elementary's enrollment has held roughly steady since 2018, when it stood at 212 (now 210). Class-load math has fell: from 24.2:1 in 2018 to 21.0:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.