Orchard Elementary

Orchard Elementary is a high-enrollment primary school in San Jose, California, run under Orchard Elementary. The school teaches 740 students in grades K through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 59% bigger than the state mean of about 465.

Operationally, Orchard Elementary answers to Orchard Elementary, which sets policy, hires staff, and reports enrollment to the state.

On demographics, Orchard Elementary records that 47% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. The remainder is composed of 36% Asian, 6% multiracial, 4% White, 4% Black. The wider county runs roughly 25% Hispanic, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Hispanic than the area baseline.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Orchard Elementary has 45 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 16.4:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 22.3:1 average. About 50% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Santa Clara County (around 37%), the school's rate is north of typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Orchard Elementary falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 49.6%; this one comes in at 34.6%, -15.1 points off the demographic line.

In the area at large, census data for Santa Clara County shows median household earnings sit near $164,281, roughly 57% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 4%. In all, Santa Clara County runs 412 public schools (combined enrollment of about 230,059 students), of which Orchard Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is Opportunity Youth Academy, roughly 0.3 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Orchard Elementary at 4th of 5; the average score across the group is 47.9%.

The school occupies a metropolitan site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 15%: 874 students in 2018 compared to 740 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment edged up from 36% to 47% over that span. Class-load math has pulled in: from 21.4:1 in 2018 to 16.4:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.