Ladera Ranch Elementary

Ladera Ranch Elementary is a K-5 school of moderately sized scale in Ladera Ranch, California, one of the schools within Capistrano Unified, serveing 580 students in grades K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 465 students per school, that is 25% bigger than typical.

Capistrano Unified runs 58 schools in total, collectively educating 40,251 students. Ladera Ranch Elementary is one of those campuses.

Demographically, Ladera Ranch Elementary lists that 58% of the student body identifies as White. Other groups include 15% multiracial, 15% Hispanic, 12% Asian. By comparison, Orange County as a whole is about 43% White, so the school skews visibly more White than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, Ladera Ranch Elementary shows 24 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 24.2:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 22.3:1 average. About 25% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Orange County (around 55%), the school's rate is meaningfully below typical.

With demographic context factored in, Ladera Ranch Elementary is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 64.7%; this one delivers 80.6%, a residual of +15.9 points.

Zooming out to the county, Orange County reports that median household income runs about $116,289, roughly 44% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 7%. Ladera Ranch Elementary is one of 649 public schools in Orange County (combined enrollment of about 430,458 students).

The closest other public school is Ladera Ranch Middle, roughly 0.0 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Ladera Ranch Elementary comes 2nd of 9 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 68.1%.

Ladera Ranch Elementary operates from a suburban location.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 25%: 769 students in 2018 compared to 580 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share declined from 66% to 58%. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 29.6:1 in 2018 to 24.2:1 today.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.