Burrel Elementary

Burrel Elementary is a K-5 school of one-room-style scale in Riverdale, California, operated by Burrel Union Elementary, teacheing 94 students in grades K through 8. That puts it 80% smaller than the typical public school in California, which averages around 465 students.

Burrel Union Elementary is the operating authority for Burrel Elementary, handling staffing, calendars, and reporting to the state department of education.

On demographics, Burrel Elementary logs that nearly all students (96%) are Hispanic. Beyond that, the school lists 3% White. By comparison, Fresno County as a whole is about 55% Hispanic, so the school skews considerably more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Burrel Elementary reports 8 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 11.8:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 22.3:1 average. An estimated 85% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Fresno County (around 75%), the school's rate is noticeably above typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Burrel Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 28.8% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 21.4%.

In the broader community, census data for Fresno County shows the typical household earns roughly $74,201 per year, roughly 24% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 14%. Burrel Elementary is one of 368 public schools in Fresno County (combined enrollment of about 206,072 students).

Helm Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 6.7 miles from this campus. Within ten miles, there are 8 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas. On composite proficiency, Burrel Elementary comes 4th of 5 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 29.8%.

The school occupies a low-density site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 20%: 117 students in 2018 compared to 94 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 91% to 96% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 14.6:1 in 2018 to 11.8:1 today.

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