Palomares Elementary

Set in Castro Valley, California, Palomares Elementary is a tiny K-5 school, run under Castro Valley Unified. It educates 135 students across grades K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 465 students per school, that is 71% smaller than typical.

Palomares Elementary is one of 15 schools operated by Castro Valley Unified, a district that serves 9,548 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Palomares Elementary logs that the largest single group is Hispanic at 35%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 25% multiracial, 21% White, 16% Asian, 2% Black. That is noticeably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 23%.

On the income-and-resources front, The school lists 6 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 22.5:1. That tracks the state average closely. Roughly 36% of students at Palomares Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Alameda County runs at roughly 49%, so the school's eligibility rate is below the surrounding baseline.

With demographic context factored in, Palomares Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 57.9% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 58.8%.

Across the wider county, census data for Alameda County shows median household income runs about $129,367, about 52% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. Palomares Elementary is one of 394 public schools in Alameda County (combined enrollment of about 210,511 students).

The closest other public school is Jensen Ranch Elementary, roughly 1.3 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Palomares Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Palomares Elementary at 6th of 9; the average score across the group is 57.8%.

Palomares Elementary operates from an outer-ring location.

Looking at the recent track record. Palomares Elementary's enrollment has fell 7% since 2018, when it stood at 145 (now 135). Over the same period, the White share declined from 39% to 21%.

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