Pacific Rim Elementary

Pacific Rim Elementary is a middle-of-the-pack elementary campus in Carlsbad, California, overseen by Carlsbad Unified. The school teaches 642 students in grades K through 5. By comparison, California's public schools average about 465 students each, so Pacific Rim Elementary sits 38% larger than that benchmark.

Across the 16 schools in Carlsbad Unified (10,678 students total), Pacific Rim Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, Pacific Rim Elementary logs that White students make up the majority at 64%. The remainder reads as 17% Hispanic, 10% multiracial, 8% Asian. That is meaningfully more White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 48%.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 24.7:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 22.3:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. About 17% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, San Diego County runs at roughly 54%, so the school's eligibility rate is below the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, Pacific Rim Elementary is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 69.1%; this one delivers 86.5%, a residual of +17.4 points.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (San Diego County) records that median household income runs about $106,268, 43% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 7%. Pacific Rim Elementary is one of 766 public schools in San Diego County (combined enrollment of about 467,437 students).

Nearest neighbor: Aviara Oaks Elementary, around 1.7 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Pacific Rim Elementary at 1st of 9; the average score across the group is 69.5%.

Geographically, the school is in a high-density area.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Pacific Rim Elementary has shrank 22%, going from 824 students in 2018 to 642 in 2025. Class-load math has pulled in: from 28.9:1 in 2018 to 24.7:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.