Edward Russell Elementary

Edward Russell Elementary is an average-sized elementary school in Santa Ana, California, overseen by Garden Grove Unified. The school caters to 473 students in grades K through 6.

Within Garden Grove Unified, which oversees 64 schools and 36,994 students, Edward Russell Elementary is one campus in the system.

Demographically, Edward Russell Elementary shows that 96% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. Other groups include 2% White, 2% Asian. That is meaningfully more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 34%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school lists 15 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 32.1:1. The state averages around 22.3:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Around 93% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Orange County runs at roughly 55%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, Edward Russell Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 24.2%, the actual is 28.9%, a residual of +4.7 points.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for Orange County put the typical household earns roughly $116,289 per year, about 44% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Across Orange County's 649 public schools (combined enrollment of about 430,458 students), Edward Russell Elementary is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is College and Career Preparatory Academy, roughly 0.5 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Edward Russell Elementary at 4th of 7; the average score across the group is 27.4%.

The school occupies a city-core site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 10%: 524 students in 2018 compared to 473 in 2025. Class-load math has grew: from 24.9:1 in 2018 to 32.1:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Edward Russell Elementary community share and discuss open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.