Desert Garden Elementary

Desert Garden Elementary, a modestly sized elementary school in El Centro, California, overseen by El Centro Elementary, educates 358 students, covering grades K through 6. That puts it 23% leaner than the typical public school in California, which averages around 465 students.

Within El Centro Elementary, which oversees 12 schools and 5,157 students, Desert Garden Elementary is one campus in the system.

On demographics, Desert Garden Elementary records that nearly all students (97%) are Hispanic. That is meaningfully more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 86%.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Desert Garden Elementary has 16 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 22.4:1. The state averages about 22.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. An estimated 82% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Desert Garden Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 30.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 33.4%.

In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for Imperial County indicate median household earnings sit near $57,681, roughly 16% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 17%. Across Imperial County's 76 public schools (combined enrollment of about 36,513 students), Desert Garden Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Phoenix Rising High, around 0.5 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Desert Garden Elementary at 4th of 5; the average score across the group is 37.2%.

The campus sits in a city-core setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 12%: 406 students in 2018 compared to 358 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 91% to 97% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 30.1:1 in 2018 to 22.4:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, recent activity here tends to focus on sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.