Enrollment
346
Elementary
DISTRICT 368 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SIERRA SANDS UNIFIED·NCES 063680000434
Gateway Elementary
501 South Gateway, Ridgecrest, CA 93555 · (760) 499-1850 · Kern County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL346 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
24.6:1
14 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 22.1:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
67%
231 students
DISTRICT 64% · STATE 65%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 68 | 20% |
| Grade 1 | 53 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 56 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 53 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 61 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 55 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (68) is 24% larger than its 5th grade class (55).
Student demographics
66%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 66% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
41.4%
CA avg 49.1% . -3.6pp since 2014
Math
38.5%
CA avg 37.7% . +3.5pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 38 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 4 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 3 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 18.9% | 22.5% | 22.5% | 36.1% |
| Math | 19.5% | 18.9% | 32.5% | 29.0% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 41.4% | 38.5% |
| 2023-24 | 43.4% | 35.5% |
| 2022-23 | 44.4% | 41.3% |
| 2021-22 | 40.8% | 39.7% |
| 2020-21 | 31.5% | 27.9% |
| 2018-19 | 51.8% | 50.8% |
| 2017-18 | 45.4% | 39.5% |
| 2016-17 | 43.4% | 32.0% |
| 2015-16 | 41.0% | 31.0% |
| 2014-15 | 45.0% | 35.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
39.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
40.4%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 40% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 40% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Gateway Elementary
Gateway Elementary's state test result (39.6% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gateway Elementary this school | 346 | 66.8% | 39.6% |
| Arlington Heights Elementary Citrus Heights | 329 | 66.3% | 22.5% |
| Richmond Elementary Ridgecrest | 364 | 61.0% | 43.0% |
| Peter J. Shields Elementary Rancho Cordova | 307 | 67.4% | 40.2% |
| Skycrest Elementary Citrus Heights | 436 | 67.7% | 30.8% |
| Jamacha Elementary El Cajon | 415 | 74.0% | 40.9% |
Matched among California elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Gateway Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Kern County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 39.6% | #2,523 of 5,151 | #42 of 148 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 38.5% | #2,408 of 5,172 ▲ 144 | #37 of 150 ▲ 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 41.4% | #2,779 of 5,172 ▼ 382 | #50 of 150 ▼ 9 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -0.3pp | #1,715 of 5,116 | #43 of 147 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 346 | #4,319 of 5,915 | #127 of 163 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 24.6:1 | #4,186 of 5,352 | #124 of 145 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 65.6% | #1,175 of 5,354 | #9 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 66.8% | #3,134 of 5,625 | #122 of 153 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -13.1% | #2,285 of 3,837 | #41 of 95 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
346
-24 (-6%) vs 2020
-25% since 2000-01, when it was 463
Student : Teacher
24.6:1
was 24.7:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 346 | 14.1 | 24.6:1 | 67% (231) |
| 2023-24 | 371 | 15 | 24.7:1 | 60% (224) |
| 2022-23 | 348 | 15 | 23.2:1 | 47% (162) |
| 2020-21 | 370 | 15 | 24.7:1 | 63% (234) |
| 2017-18 | 398 | 16 | 24.9:1 | 64% (254) |
| 2015-16 | 423 | 18 | 23.5:1 | 52% (221) |
| 2010-11 | 474 | N/A | N/A | 40% (189) |
| 2000-01 | 463 | 21 | 22.1:1 | 40% (186) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Gateway Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 13% (398 to 346); teachers down 12% (16 to 14.1).
About Gateway Elementary
Gateway Elementary is a low-enrollment elementary school based in Ridgecrest, California. It reported 346 students in kindergarten through 5 in 2024-25. By comparison, elementary schools in California enroll about 465 students on average.
Sierra Sands Unified is the local district for Gateway Elementary. It runs 10 schools with 4,974 students.
The student body at Gateway Elementary has no majority group. White students lead at 47%. The next largest groups are 34% Hispanic, 8% Black, 7% multiracial, and 2% Asian. In Kern County overall, the White share is about 44%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 66%.
Classroom staffing at Gateway Elementary totals 14.1 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 24.6:1. Compared with the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California, this school's ratio is higher. Federal data show 67% of students (231) are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Compared with the 76% average for public schools in Kern County, the school's rate is lower.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 40.4% for Gateway Elementary. The school posts 39.6%, within a point of the prediction.
The school is in Kern County, where median household income comes to about $70,210, roughly 19% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 15% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Kern County's 279 public schools enroll about 197,431 students and include Gateway Elementary.
Pierce Elementary is about 1.1 miles from Gateway Elementary, the shortest distance to any other public school. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. On state test proficiency, Gateway Elementary ranks 4th in a group of 7 nearby schools.
NCES describes the area around Gateway Elementary as Town: Remote, meaning in a town far from an urbanized area.
Enrollment fell 6% over 4 years, reaching 346 in 2024-25.
Parents, students, and staff can share information on pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback here. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Kern County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
915,075
Census ACS
Median income
$70,210
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
19%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
15%
Below federal line
Schools in county
279
197,431 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Sierra Sands Unified
- Burroughs HighHigh · 1,536 students
- Murray MiddleMiddle · 643 students
- Las Flores ElementaryElementary · 526 students
- Faller ElementaryElementary · 516 students
- James Monroe MiddleMiddle · 490 students
- Richmond ElementaryElementary · 364 students
Other schools in Ridgecrest
- Burroughs HighHigh · 1,536 students
- Murray MiddleMiddle · 643 students
- Las Flores ElementaryElementary · 526 students
- Faller ElementaryElementary · 516 students
- James Monroe MiddleMiddle · 490 students
- Richmond ElementaryElementary · 364 students
Other Gateway Elementary schools
9 other US public schools in 10 states are named Gateway Elementary. Gateway Elementary is the 5th largest of the 10.
- GATEWAY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLFORT MYERS, FL · 839 students
- GATEWAY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLOMAHA, NE · 792 students
- Gateway ElementaryTravelers Rest, SC · 659 students
- GATEWAY ELEM.ST LOUIS, MO · 426 students
- Gateway Elementary SchoolConneaut, OH · 343 students
Nearby schools
- Pierce Elementary1.1 mi · 297
- James Monroe Middle1.4 mi · 490
- Burroughs High1.5 mi · 1,536
- Murray Middle1.6 mi · 643
- Richmond Elementary1.9 mi · 364
- Mesquite Continuation High2.0 mi · 95
Frequently asked questions
About Gateway ElementaryHow many students attend Gateway Elementary?
Gateway Elementary enrolls approximately 346 students in grades KG-05.
Is Gateway Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Gateway Elementary is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many teachers does Gateway Elementary have?
Gateway Elementary employs 14 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 24.6:1.
How diverse is Gateway Elementary?
Gateway Elementary reports a student body of 47% White, 34% Hispanic, 8% Black, 2% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Gateway Elementary in?
Gateway Elementary is part of Sierra Sands Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.