Carl E. Gilbert Elementary

Carl E. Gilbert Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school in Buena Park, California, one of the schools within Buena Park Elementary. The school enrolls 490 students in grades K through 5.

Within Buena Park Elementary, which oversees 7 schools and 3,675 students, Carl E. Gilbert Elementary is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, Carl E. Gilbert Elementary reports that nearly all students (88%) are Hispanic. The remainder reads as 4% Black, 3% Asian, 3% multiracial. By comparison, Orange County as a whole is about 34% Hispanic, so the school skews noticeably more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Carl E. Gilbert Elementary has 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 27.0:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 22.3:1, putting Carl E. Gilbert Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. An estimated 94% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is above Orange County's rate of about 55%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Carl E. Gilbert Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 23.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 22.8%.

In the broader community, ACS estimates for Orange County put the typical household earns roughly $116,289 per year, 44% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Across Orange County's 649 public schools (combined enrollment of about 430,458 students), Carl E. Gilbert Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Buena Park Middle is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.7 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Carl E. Gilbert Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Carl E. Gilbert Elementary at 8th of 8; the average score across the group is 40.5%.

Geographically, the school is in a residential area.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Carl E. Gilbert Elementary has edged down 23%, going from 635 students in 2018 to 490 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 82% to 88% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio grew from 25.4:1 in 2018 to 27.0:1 today.

Inside the community feed, posts here usually surface around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.