Del Lago Elementary

Del Lago Elementary is an elementary-level community of cozy scale in Mission Viejo, California, overseen by Saddleback Valley Unified, enrolling 362 students in grades K through 6. That puts it 22% smaller than the typical public school in California, which averages around 465 students.

Within Saddleback Valley Unified, which oversees 33 schools and 22,646 students, Del Lago Elementary is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Del Lago Elementary reports that the largest single group is Hispanic at 42%, but no single group is in the majority. The remainder is composed of 33% White, 13% Asian, 11% multiracial.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 20.0:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 22.3:1, putting Del Lago Elementary tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 49% of students at Del Lago Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

After controlling for student poverty, Del Lago Elementary is in the bottom 10% of California public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 50.2%; Del Lago Elementary posts 34.8%, -15.4 points below that line.

In the area at large, census data for Orange County shows median household income runs about $116,289, about 44% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Del Lago Elementary is one of 649 public schools in Orange County (combined enrollment of about 430,458 students).

Trabuco Hills High is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Del Lago Elementary ranks 8th on composite proficiency, beneath the local average of 57.0%.

The campus sits in a suburban setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Del Lago Elementary's enrollment has ticked down 28% since 2018, when it stood at 503 (now 362). White enrollment moved from 42% to 33% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 25.1:1 in 2018 to 20.0:1 today.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.