Melrose Elementary

Melrose Elementary is a close-knit elementary campus in Placentia, California, part of Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified. The school enrolls 354 students in grades K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 24% smaller than the state mean of about 465.

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified runs 34 schools in total, collectively educating 22,665 students. Melrose Elementary is one of those campuses.

Demographically, Melrose Elementary lists that 96% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. The wider county runs roughly 34% Hispanic, putting the school's mix visibly more Hispanic than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, Melrose Elementary records 15 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 23.6:1. The state averages around 22.3:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Roughly 94% of students at Melrose Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Orange County runs at roughly 55%, so the school's eligibility rate is above the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Melrose Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 23.4%, the actual is 22.6%, a residual of -0.9 points.

Around the school, census data for Orange County shows the typical household earns roughly $116,289 per year, about 44% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 7%. Melrose Elementary is one of 649 public schools in Orange County (combined enrollment of about 430,458 students).

The closest other public school is Valadez Middle School Academy, roughly 0.1 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Melrose Elementary ranks 8th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 37.8%.

The campus sits in a commuter-belt setting.

Five-year trend. Melrose Elementary's enrollment has ticked down 43% since 2018, when it stood at 620 (now 354). Class-load math has narrowed: from 25.8:1 in 2018 to 23.6:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.