Faller Elementary

Located at 1500 West Upjohn St., in Ridgecrest, California, Faller Elementary is a moderately sized elementary-level community that serves 516 students (grades K through 5), one of the schools within Sierra Sands Unified.

Within Sierra Sands Unified, which oversees 10 schools and 4,974 students, Faller Elementary is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Faller Elementary logs that the largest single group is White at 43%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 38% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, 7% Black, 3% Asian. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school employs 22 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 23.9:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 22.3:1 average. Roughly 62% of students at Faller Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Kern County (around 76%), the school's rate is noticeably below typical.

After controlling for student poverty, Faller Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 42.7%; this one delivers 34.2%.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Kern County indicate median household income runs about $70,210, 19% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 15%. In all, Kern County runs 279 public schools (combined enrollment of about 197,431 students), of which Faller Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Ridgecrest Elem Acad for Language Music and Sci, around 0.8 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Faller Elementary ranks 4th on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 32.3%.

Geographically, the school is in a town-center area.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Faller Elementary has edged up 14%, going from 454 students in 2018 to 516 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share declined from 51% to 43%. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 25.2:1 in 2018 to 23.9:1 today.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.