Cottonwood Canyon Elementary

Located at 32100 Lost Rd., in Lake Elsinore, California, Cottonwood Canyon Elementary is an expansive K-5 school that works with 813 students (grades K through 5), part of Lake Elsinore Unified. Enrollment runs roughly 75% larger than the state mean of about 465.

Cottonwood Canyon Elementary is one of 24 schools operated by Lake Elsinore Unified, a district that caters to 20,539 students overall.

Looking at the student body, Cottonwood Canyon Elementary records that 46% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. The remainder consists of 35% White, 7% multiracial, 6% Black, 5% Asian.

In terms of school funding signals, The school currently runs with 35 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 23.1:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 22.3:1, putting Cottonwood Canyon Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. An estimated 54% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Riverside County runs at roughly 74%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat below the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Cottonwood Canyon Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 47.4%, the actual is 50.2%, a residual of +2.8 points.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Riverside County indicate the typical household earns roughly $93,074 per year, 26% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. Cottonwood Canyon Elementary is one of 543 public schools in Riverside County (combined enrollment of about 424,872 students).

Nearest neighbor: Canyon Lake Middle, around 0.2 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Cottonwood Canyon Elementary. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Cottonwood Canyon Elementary ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 42.1%.

Geographically, the school is in a commuter-belt area.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Cottonwood Canyon Elementary has shrank 5%, going from 855 students in 2018 to 813 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share ticked down from 51% to 35%.

On this page, posts here usually surface around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.