La Madera Elementary

La Madera Elementary operates as a mid-tier primary school in Lake Forest, California, part of Saddleback Valley Unified. Current enrollment sits at 554 students spanning grades K through 6.

Across the 33 schools in Saddleback Valley Unified (22,646 students total), La Madera Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

For racial and ethnic makeup, La Madera Elementary lists that 38% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Beyond that, the school lists 33% Hispanic, 16% Asian, 13% multiracial.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 24.5:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 22.3:1, putting La Madera Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. Roughly 37% of students at La Madera Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Orange County (around 55%), the school's rate is noticeably below typical.

After controlling for student poverty, La Madera Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 57.3%; this one delivers 59.2%.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Orange County put median household income runs about $116,289, about 44% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. In all, Orange County runs 649 public schools (combined enrollment of about 430,458 students), of which La Madera Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: El Toro High, around 0.1 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, La Madera Elementary comes 1st of 6 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 53.1%.

Geographically, the school is in an outer-ring area.

Over the past 7-year window. La Madera Elementary's enrollment has edged down 12% since 2018, when it stood at 627 (now 554). The White share of enrollment decreased from 49% to 38% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 27.0:1 in 2018 to 24.5:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.