Montemalaga Elementary

As a middle-of-the-pack elementary campus in Palos Verdes Estates, California, Montemalaga Elementary serves 416 students from grades K through 5, run under Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified.

Across the 17 schools in Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified (10,131 students total), Montemalaga Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On demographics, Montemalaga Elementary reports that the most-represented group is Asian (43%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Other groups include 30% White, 15% Hispanic, 12% multiracial. That is noticeably more Asian than the county at large, where the share is closer to 15%.

On the income-and-resources front, Montemalaga Elementary records 20 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 21.2:1. The state averages around 22.3:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 6% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Los Angeles County (around 70%), the school's rate is noticeably below typical.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Montemalaga Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 76.2%; this one delivers 85.1%.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Los Angeles County) reports that the typical household earns roughly $90,112 per year, about 36% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. In all, Los Angeles County runs 2244 public schools (combined enrollment of about 1,265,907 students), of which Montemalaga Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Cornerstone at Pedregal Elementary, around 0.7 miles off. 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), Montemalaga Elementary ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 80.0%.

Montemalaga Elementary operates from a commuter-belt location.

Looking at the recent track record. Montemalaga Elementary's enrollment has shrank 13% since 2018, when it stood at 476 (now 416). The White share of enrollment contracted from 42% to 30% over that span. Class-load math has tightened: from 27.1:1 in 2018 to 21.2:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.