Palo Verde Elementary

Palo Verde Elementary, a mid-sized elementary campus in Tulare, California, run under Palo Verde Union Elementary, teaches 511 students, covering grades K through 8.

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

Demographically, Palo Verde Elementary shows that 92% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. Other groups include 6% White. By comparison, Tulare County as a whole is about 67% Hispanic, so the school skews meaningfully more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, The school reports having 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 22.2:1. The state averages about 22.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 88% of students at Palo Verde Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Tulare County runs at roughly 77%, so the school's eligibility rate is above the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Palo Verde 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 27.3%; this one delivers 44.1%, a residual of +16.8 points.

Around the school, Tulare County reports that median household earnings sit near $71,300, about 17% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 15%. Palo Verde Elementary is one of 196 public schools in Tulare County (combined enrollment of about 101,494 students).

Nearest neighbor: Cypress Elementary, around 3.5 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Palo Verde Elementary. On composite proficiency, Palo Verde Elementary comes 1st of 7 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 23.9%.

The school occupies an outlying site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Palo Verde Elementary's enrollment has shrank 10% since 2018, when it stood at 566 (now 511). White enrollment moved from 11% to 6% across the same window. Class-load math has narrowed: from 26.9:1 in 2018 to 22.2:1 in 2025.

On allk12, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.