Jefferson Elementary

Jefferson Elementary is a moderately sized elementary school in Santa Ana, California, part of Santa Ana Unified. The school educates 616 students in grades K through 5. That puts it 32% larger than the typical public school in California, which averages around 465 students.

Within Santa Ana Unified, which oversees 51 schools and 35,993 students, Jefferson Elementary is one campus in the system.

Demographically, Jefferson Elementary reports that nearly all students (91%) are Hispanic; the rest is composed of 4% Asian. That is noticeably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 34%.

On the resource side, On paper, Jefferson Elementary has 30 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 20.4:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 22.3:1, putting Jefferson Elementary tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 84% 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.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Jefferson Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 29.7%; this one delivers 33.6%.

In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for Orange County indicate median household earnings sit near $116,289, roughly 44% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 7%. Across Orange County's 649 public schools (combined enrollment of about 430,458 students), Jefferson Elementary is one campus in the mix.

McFadden Institute of Technology is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Jefferson Elementary comes 5th of 9 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 31.3%.

The campus sits in a high-density setting.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Jefferson Elementary has edged down 14%, going from 717 students in 2018 to 616 in 2025. Class-load math has pulled in: from 21.7:1 in 2018 to 20.4:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, posts here usually surface around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.