Isbell Middle

Isbell Middle, a medium-sized junior high in Santa Paula, California, overseen by Santa Paula Unified, works with 634 students, covering grades 7 through 8.

Across the 10 schools in Santa Paula Unified (4,570 students total), Isbell Middle accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, Isbell Middle logs that 95% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. Other groups include 4% White. By comparison, Ventura County as a whole is about 44% Hispanic, so the school skews meaningfully more Hispanic than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 30 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 20.9:1 students per teacher. The state averages about 20.7:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. An estimated 84% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is above Ventura County's rate of about 59%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Isbell Middle tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 29.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 25.0%.

Across the wider county, the surrounding county (Ventura County) logs that median household income runs about $109,797, roughly 36% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Ventura County runs 238 public schools (combined enrollment of about 147,841 students), of which Isbell Middle is one.

The closest other public school is Santa Paula High, roughly 0.6 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Isbell Middle comes 5th of 7 in the immediate cluster, below the nearby-schools average of 28.2%.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 51%: 1,286 students in 2018 compared to 634 in 2025. Class-load math has fell: from 22.7:1 in 2018 to 20.9:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.