Palisades Elementary

Located at 26462 Via Sacramento, in Capistrano Beach, California, Palisades Elementary is a modestly sized elementary campus that enrolls 332 students (grades K through 5), part of Capistrano Unified. That puts it 29% smaller than the typical public school in California, which averages around 465 students.

Across the 58 schools in Capistrano Unified (40,251 students total), Palisades Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Palisades Elementary lists that the largest single group is White at 55%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest reads as 27% Hispanic, 17% multiracial. That is noticeably more White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 43%.

On the resource side, On paper, Palisades Elementary has 15 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 22.1:1. That tracks the state average closely. An estimated 48% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

After controlling for student poverty, Palisades Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 51.0%; this one delivers 62.4%.

In the broader community, community-level numbers for Orange County indicate median household income runs about $116,289, 44% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. In all, Orange County runs 649 public schools (combined enrollment of about 430,458 students), of which Palisades Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: California Online Public Schools Southern California, around 1.2 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 5 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Palisades Elementary ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 44.2%.

The campus sits in a commuter-belt setting.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Palisades Elementary has decreased 31%, going from 482 students in 2018 to 332 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 60% to 55% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 26.8:1 in 2018 to 22.1:1 today.

Inside the community feed, posts here usually surface around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.