Norma Coombs Elementary

As a cozy primary school in Pasadena, California, Norma Coombs Elementary caters to 370 students from grades K through 5, part of Pasadena Unified. By comparison, California's public schools average about 465 students each, so Norma Coombs Elementary sits 20% smaller than that benchmark.

Across the 23 schools in Pasadena Unified (13,639 students total), Norma Coombs Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Norma Coombs Elementary logs that the largest single group is Hispanic, at 61% of enrollment; the rest looks like 16% Black, 12% White, 7% multiracial, 4% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 48% Hispanic, putting the school's mix visibly more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 17 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 21.8:1 students per teacher. The state averages about 22.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 64% of students at Norma Coombs Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Norma Coombs Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 41.3% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 39.2%.

In the broader community, Los Angeles County reports that the typical household earns roughly $90,112 per year, roughly 36% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Los Angeles County runs 2244 public schools (combined enrollment of about 1,265,907 students), of which Norma Coombs Elementary is one.

Pasadena High is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Norma Coombs Elementary comes 6th of 6 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 52.8%.

The campus sits in a high-density setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 10%: 413 students in 2018 compared to 370 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 53% to 61% across the same window.

In the discussion threads here, posts here usually surface around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.