Morris Elementary

As a tight-knit elementary campus in McKinleyville, California, Morris Elementary serves 255 students from grades 3 through 5, part of McKinleyville Union Elementary. Enrollment runs roughly 45% below the state mean of about 465.

Across the 3 schools in McKinleyville Union Elementary (840 students total), Morris Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On demographics, Morris Elementary reports that the largest single group is White at 54%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 17% Hispanic, 17% multiracial, 8% Native American. That is noticeably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 72%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 9 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 28.3:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 22.3:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. About 57% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

After controlling for student poverty, Morris Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 45.4%, the actual is 36.7%, a residual of -8.7 points.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Humboldt County indicate the typical household earns roughly $61,160 per year, 33% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 11%. In all, Humboldt County runs 92 public schools (combined enrollment of about 17,319 students), of which Morris Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Mad River High (Continuation), around 0.4 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Morris Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Morris Elementary at 3rd of 5; the average score across the group is 36.7%.

Geographically, the school is in a town-based area.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Morris Elementary has ticked down 31%, going from 368 students in 2018 to 255 in 2025. The White share of enrollment fell from 62% to 54% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio grew from 21.6:1 in 2018 to 28.3:1 today.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.