Jim Thorpe Fundamental

Located at 2450 West Alton, in Santa Ana, California, Jim Thorpe Fundamental is an expansive elementary campus that instructs 738 students (grades K through 5), part of Santa Ana Unified. That puts it 59% larger than the typical public school in California, which averages around 465 students.

Across the 51 schools in Santa Ana Unified (35,993 students total), Jim Thorpe Fundamental accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, Jim Thorpe Fundamental lists that 90% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. The remainder consists of 6% Asian, 2% multiracial. That is considerably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 34%.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Jim Thorpe Fundamental has 29 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 25.4:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 22.3:1 average. Around 72% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is noticeably above Orange County's rate of about 55%.

With demographic context factored in, Jim Thorpe Fundamental sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 36.7%; this one delivers 46.9%.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Orange County put the typical household earns roughly $116,289 per year, roughly 44% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Orange County runs 649 public schools (combined enrollment of about 430,458 students), of which Jim Thorpe Fundamental is one.

The closest other public school is Segerstrom High, roughly 0.2 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Jim Thorpe Fundamental comes 2nd of 7 in the immediate cluster, ahead of the nearby-schools average of 30.5%.

Geographically, the school is in a downtown area.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 26%: 1,001 students in 2018 compared to 738 in 2025. Class-load math has fell: from 29.4:1 in 2018 to 25.4:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.