Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary

Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary is a compact primary school in Richmond, California, run under West Contra Costa Unified. The school teaches 375 students in grades K through 6.

Across the 52 schools in West Contra Costa Unified (25,133 students total), Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary lists that 61% of the student body identifies as Hispanic. Beyond that, the school lists 23% Black, 7% Asian, 6% multiracial, 3% White. By comparison, Contra Costa County as a whole is about 28% Hispanic, so the school skews noticeably more Hispanic than its surroundings.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 17 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 22.1:1 students per teacher. The state averages about 22.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 90% of students at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Contra Costa County runs at roughly 45%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, On a poverty-adjusted basis, Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 25.8%; actual is 6.6%, a gap of -19.2 points.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Contra Costa County) reports that median household earnings sit near $127,229, 45% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary is one of 280 public schools in Contra Costa County (combined enrollment of about 167,423 students).

Nearest neighbor: John F. Kennedy High, around 0.3 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary ranks 5th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 11.6%.

The campus sits in a bedroom-community setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary has ticked down 20%, going from 470 students in 2018 to 375 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 32% to 23% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 26.1:1 in 2018 to 22.1:1 today.

On allk12, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.