Joel J. Hidahl Elementary

Joel J. Hidahl Elementary is an elementary-level community of cozy scale in Ceres, California, overseen by Ceres Unified, serveing 393 students in grades K through 6.

Within Ceres Unified, which oversees 23 schools and 13,665 students, Joel J. Hidahl Elementary is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Joel J. Hidahl Elementary shows that nearly all students (85%) are Hispanic. Other groups include 7% White, 4% Asian, 2% multiracial. That is noticeably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 50%.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Joel J. Hidahl Elementary has 16 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 24.6:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 22.3:1 average. About 86% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Stanislaus County (around 71%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Joel J. Hidahl Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 28.3%; this one delivers 22.3%.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Stanislaus County indicate median household income runs about $81,468, about 20% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 11%. In all, Stanislaus County runs 190 public schools (combined enrollment of about 106,477 students), of which Joel J. Hidahl Elementary is one.

Patricia Kay Beaver Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Joel J. Hidahl Elementary comes 5th of 6 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 30.9%.

The campus sits in a countryside setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Joel J. Hidahl Elementary's enrollment has decreased 15% since 2018, when it stood at 463 (now 393). Over the same period, the Hispanic share rose from 78% to 85%. Class-load math has loosened: from 23.1:1 in 2018 to 24.6:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Joel J. Hidahl Elementary community share and discuss school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.