Lake Forest Elementary

Located at 21801 Pittsford Dr., in Lake Forest, California, Lake Forest Elementary is a middle-of-the-pack primary school that serves 640 students (grades K through 6), operated by Saddleback Valley Unified. That puts it 38% bigger than the typical public school in California, which averages around 465 students.

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

On the student-mix side, Lake Forest Elementary records that 50% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 22% White, 14% Asian, 12% multiracial, 2% Black. By comparison, Orange County as a whole is about 34% Hispanic, so the school skews visibly more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Lake Forest Elementary has 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 22.7:1. The state averages about 22.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 55% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

After controlling for student poverty, Lake Forest Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 46.5%; this one delivers 48.4%.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Orange County indicate median household income runs about $116,289, about 44% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 7%. In all, Orange County runs 649 public schools (combined enrollment of about 430,458 students), of which Lake Forest Elementary is one.

Del Lago Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.9 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Lake Forest Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Lake Forest Elementary at 6th of 8; the average score across the group is 51.2%.

The campus sits in an outer-ring setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Lake Forest Elementary's enrollment has fell 26% since 2018, when it stood at 862 (now 640). Over the same period, the White share declined from 37% to 22%. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 27.8:1 in 2018 to 22.7:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Lake Forest Elementary typically covers school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.