Carrisa Plains Elementary

Carrisa Plains Elementary is one of the one-room-style primary schools in Santa Margarita, California, overseen by Atascadero Unified, with 21 students on its rolls from grades K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 465 students per school, that is 95% leaner than typical.

Atascadero Unified comprises 12 schools with combined enrollment of 4,355 students; Carrisa Plains Elementary is among them.

Looking at the student body, Carrisa Plains Elementary reports that the largest single group is Hispanic at 52%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest comes out to 48% White. By comparison, San Luis Obispo County as a whole is about 25% Hispanic, so the school skews considerably more Hispanic than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Carrisa Plains Elementary has 2 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 10.6:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 22.3:1, putting Carrisa Plains Elementary tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 76% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is above San Luis Obispo County's rate of about 54%.

In the surrounding community, San Luis Obispo County reports that the typical household earns roughly $97,446 per year, 40% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. In all, San Luis Obispo County runs 83 public schools (combined enrollment of about 33,339 students), of which Carrisa Plains Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is McKittrick Elementary, roughly 23.8 miles away.

The campus sits in an outlying setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Carrisa Plains Elementary has declined 22%, going from 27 students in 2018 to 21 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 41% to 52% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 13.5:1 in 2018 to 10.6:1 today.

On allk12, recent activity here tends to focus on open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.