Oak Valley Elementary

Set in Buellton, California, Oak Valley Elementary is a compact elementary campus, part of Buellton Union Elementary. It instructs 377 students across grades K through 5.

Buellton Union Elementary runs 2 schools in total, collectively educating 545 students. Oak Valley Elementary is one of those campuses.

Demographically, Oak Valley Elementary reports that the most-represented group is Hispanic (51%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. The remainder consists of 38% White, 8% multiracial. Compared to Santa Barbara County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

Looking at school resources, The school lists 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 20.9:1. The state averages around 22.3:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 57% of students at Oak Valley Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Santa Barbara County (around 68%), the school's rate is south of typical.

With demographic context factored in, Oak Valley Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 45.7%; this one delivers 35.9%.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Santa Barbara County) logs that the typical household earns roughly $98,161 per year, roughly 37% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Santa Barbara County runs 129 public schools (combined enrollment of about 66,191 students), of which Oak Valley Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is Jonata Middle, roughly 0.5 miles away. 3 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Oak Valley Elementary comes 7th of 7 in the immediate cluster, behind the nearby-schools average of 53.7%.

Oak Valley Elementary operates from a small-town location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 5%: 396 students in 2018 compared to 377 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share fell from 46% to 38%. Class-load math has tightened: from 22.0:1 in 2018 to 20.9:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.