Blaker-Kinser Junior High

Blaker-Kinser Junior High, an average-sized middle-grades school in Ceres, California, part of Ceres Unified, serves 603 students, covering grades 7 through 8.

Ceres Unified runs 23 schools in total, collectively educating 13,665 students. Blaker-Kinser Junior High is one of those campuses.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Blaker-Kinser Junior High reports that nearly all students (86%) are Hispanic; the rest breaks down as 8% White, 3% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 50% Hispanic, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 21.4:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 20.7:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Around 90% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Stanislaus County (around 71%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Blaker-Kinser Junior High tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 25.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 28.0%.

Zooming out to the county, Stanislaus County reports that median household earnings sit near $81,468, roughly 20% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Stanislaus County runs 190 public schools (combined enrollment of about 106,477 students), of which Blaker-Kinser Junior High is one.

The closest other public school is Sinclear Elementary, roughly 0.6 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Blaker-Kinser Junior High at 4th of 7; the average score across the group is 25.7%.

The campus sits in an outer-ring setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 10%: 671 students in 2018 compared to 603 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 25.6:1 in 2018 to 21.4:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.