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Which teacher or staff member at Pacific Union Elementary deserves more recognition?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
534
Elementary
DISTRICT 284 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PACIFIC UNION ELEMENTARY·NCES 062943004533
Pacific Union Elementary
3001 Janes Rd., Arcata, CA 95521 · (707) 822-4619 · Humboldt County
GRADES KG–08ELEMENTARY33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL534 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
18.5:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.1:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
55%
293 students
DISTRICT 66% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 78 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 49 | 9% |
| Grade 2 | 58 | 11% |
| Grade 3 | 46 | 9% |
| Grade 4 | 54 | 10% |
| Grade 5 | 54 | 10% |
| Grade 6 | 64 | 12% |
| Grade 7 | 73 | 14% |
| Grade 8 | 58 | 11% |
This year's kindergarten class (78) is 34% larger than its 8th grade class (58).
Student demographics
66%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
49.1%
CA avg 49.1% . +1.1pp since 2014
Math
39.2%
CA avg 37.7% . +5.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 49 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 39 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 1 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 5 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 17.0% | 32.1% | 28.1% | 22.8% |
| Math | 14.5% | 24.7% | 30.9% | 29.9% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 49.1% | 39.2% |
| 2023-24 | 48.7% | 39.2% |
| 2022-23 | 46.3% | 38.5% |
| 2021-22 | 46.6% | 37.3% |
| 2020-21 | 46.9% | 40.0% |
| 2018-19 | 52.8% | 40.1% |
| 2017-18 | 46.9% | 42.1% |
| 2016-17 | 47.5% | 44.7% |
| 2015-16 | 47.0% | 38.0% |
| 2014-15 | 48.0% | 34.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
43.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
47.4%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 43% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 47% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Pacific Union Elementary
Pacific Union Elementary's state test result (43.4% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Union Elementary this school | 534 | 54.9% | 43.4% |
| Kermit King Elementary Paso Robles | 507 | 55.8% | 53.5% |
| Jackson Elementary Jackson | 479 | 49.3% | 32.5% |
| Foothill Elementary Prather | 609 | 50.6% | 36.0% |
| Harloe Elementary Arroyo Grande | 619 | 54.0% | 55.3% |
| Crestmont Elementary Roseville | 451 | 51.2% | 46.8% |
Matched among California elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Pacific Union Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Humboldt County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 43.4% | #2,209 of 5,151 | #9 of 23 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 39.2% | #2,344 of 5,172 ▼ 89 | #11 of 23 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 49.1% | #2,109 of 5,172 ▼ 108 | #9 of 23 ▼ 2 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +2.2pp | #2,583 of 5,116 | #12 of 22 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 534 | #2,046 of 5,915 | #1 of 48 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.5:1 | #377 of 5,352 | #5 of 22 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.1% | #1,111 of 5,354 | #5 of 22 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 54.9% | #3,697 of 5,625 | #20 of 28 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.5% | #3,699 of 3,837 | #17 of 17 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
534
-22 (-4%) vs 2020
-18% since 1990-91, when it was 650
Student : Teacher
18.5:1
was 23.2:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 534 | 28.9 | 18.5:1 | 55% (293) |
| 2023-24 | 529 | 29.1 | 18.2:1 | 57% (302) |
| 2022-23 | 537 | 28.1 | 19.1:1 | 52% (278) |
| 2020-21 | 556 | 24 | 23.2:1 | 45% (252) |
| 2017-18 | 542 | 25.5 | 21.3:1 | 53% (288) |
| 2015-16 | 535 | 22 | 24.3:1 | 52% (277) |
| 2010-11 | 470 | N/A | N/A | 49% (232) |
| 2000-01 | 609 | 31 | 19.6:1 | 26% (161) |
| 1990-91 | 650 | 26 | 25.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Pacific Union Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 1% (542 to 534); teachers up 13% (25.5 to 28.9).
About Pacific Union Elementary
Pacific Union Elementary is one of the public schools in Arcata, California. It is a medium-sized elementary school. It covers kindergarten through 8, with a total enrollment of 534 students.
In federal data, the district for Pacific Union Elementary is the school itself.
By race and ethnicity, the largest group at Pacific Union Elementary is White (49%). Other groups make up 27% Hispanic, 13% multiracial, 7% Native American, and 2% Black. Humboldt County as a whole is about 72% White, so the school's share is lower. Pacific Union Elementary has a diversity index of 66%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The school has about 18.5 students per teacher and 28.9 full-time-equivalent teachers. That ratio is under the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California. Federal records put free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at 55%.
Pacific Union Elementary's actual average proficiency rate on state tests (43.4%) and its predicted rate (47.4%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of California schools.
Humboldt County has about 134,541 residents, and median household income is about $61,160, 33% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 11% of people live in poverty. The public schools of Humboldt County number 92 and enroll about 17,319.
The shortest distance from Pacific Union Elementary to another public school is about 0.5 miles, to Trillium Charter. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools.
The school's locale code, Town: Remote, means it is in a town far from an urbanized area.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count declined from 556 to 534. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 23.2:1; by 2024-25 it was 18.5:1.
Topics for discussion here include school safety, transportation, and start times. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Humboldt County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
134,541
Census ACS
Median income
$61,160
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
33%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
92
17,319 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Arcata
- Arcata HighHigh · 1,007 students
- Arcata ElementaryElementary · 240 students
- Coastal Grove CharterElementary · 235 students
- Sunny Brae MiddleMiddle · 232 students
- Laurel Tree CharterCombined · 197 students
- Fuente Nueva CharterElementary · 150 students
Other Pacific Union Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Pacific Union Elementary. Pacific Union Elementary is the largest of the 2.
- Pacific Union ElementaryFresno, CA · 328 students
Nearby schools
- Trillium Charter0.5 mi · 34
- Trillium Charter0.5 mi · 40
- Laurel Tree Charter0.6 mi · 197
- Arcata Educational Resource Center0.8 mi · 27
- Arcata Elementary0.9 mi · 240
- Fuente Nueva Charter1.1 mi · 150
Frequently asked questions
About Pacific Union ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Pacific Union Elementary?
Pacific Union Elementary enrolls approximately 534 students in grades KG-08.
What age range does Pacific Union Elementary serve?
Pacific Union Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pacific Union Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Pacific Union Elementary is approximately 18.5:1 (29 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Pacific Union Elementary?
At Pacific Union Elementary, the student body is approximately 49% White, 27% Hispanic, 2% Black, 2% Asian, 13% Two or more.
Is Pacific Union Elementary public or private?
Pacific Union Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Pacific Union Elementary.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.