Ophir STEAM Academy

Ophir STEAM Academy operates as a small primary school in Newcastle, California, part of Loomis Union Elementary. Current enrollment sits at 200 students spanning grades K through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 57% leaner than the state mean of about 465.

Loomis Union Elementary comprises 7 schools with combined enrollment of 2,826 students; Ophir STEAM Academy is among them.

Looking at the student body, Ophir STEAM Academy logs that the largest single group is White, at 77% of enrollment; the rest comes out to 15% Hispanic, 6% multiracial.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 10 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 19.3:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 22.3:1, putting Ophir STEAM Academy tighter than the state norm the norm. About 21% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Placer County runs at roughly 33%, so the school's eligibility rate is lower than the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Ophir STEAM Academy performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 67.0%, the actual is 64.8%, a residual of -2.2 points.

In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for Placer County indicate median household income runs about $115,998, roughly 43% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Ophir STEAM Academy is one of 123 public schools in Placer County (combined enrollment of about 70,590 students).

Nearest neighbor: Harvest Ridge Cooperative Charter, around 1.7 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Ophir STEAM Academy at 2nd of 5; the average score across the group is 44.8%.

The campus sits in a rural setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 13%: 231 students in 2018 compared to 200 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 22.5:1 in 2018 to 19.3:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.