Golden Hills Elementary

As a moderately sized K-5 school in Tehachapi, California, Golden Hills Elementary educates 663 students from grades K through 5, one of the schools within Tehachapi Unified. Enrollment runs roughly 43% larger than the state mean of about 465.

Golden Hills Elementary is one of 7 schools operated by Tehachapi Unified, a district that teaches 4,156 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Golden Hills Elementary shows that the largest single group is White at 48%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 48% Hispanic, 3% multiracial. Compared to Kern County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 29 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 22.9:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. An estimated 50% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Kern County runs at roughly 76%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully below the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, Golden Hills Elementary falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 49.5%; this one comes in at 24.1%, -25.4 points off the demographic line.

In the broader community, 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%. Golden Hills Elementary is one of 279 public schools in Kern County (combined enrollment of about 197,431 students).

The closest other public school is Tompkins Elementary, roughly 2.4 miles away. Within five miles, there are 7 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Golden Hills Elementary at 6th of 6; the average score across the group is 33.3%.

The campus sits in a town-based setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Golden Hills Elementary has ticked down 4%, going from 694 students in 2018 to 663 in 2025. The White share of enrollment fell from 64% to 48% over that span. Class-load math has pulled in: from 25.2:1 in 2018 to 22.9:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the feed for Golden Hills Elementary typically covers sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.