Panama Elementary

Set in Bakersfield, California, Panama Elementary is a sprawling elementary school, overseen by Panama-Buena Vista Union. It caters to 876 students across grades K through 6. By comparison, California's public schools average about 465 students each, so Panama Elementary sits 88% bigger than that benchmark.

Panama-Buena Vista Union comprises 25 schools with combined enrollment of 19,366 students; Panama Elementary is among them.

Demographically, Panama Elementary lists that Hispanic students make up the majority at 66%; the rest reads as 10% Asian, 10% multiracial, 8% White, 5% Black. By comparison, Kern County as a whole is about 57% Hispanic, so the school skews visibly more Hispanic than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, Panama Elementary lists 33 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 26.6:1. The state averages around 22.3:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 80% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

After controlling for student poverty, Panama Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 31.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 43.8%.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Kern County indicate median household income runs about $70,210, 19% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 15%. Across Kern County's 279 public schools (combined enrollment of about 197,431 students), Panama Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Ridgeview High is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Panama Elementary comes 1st of 9 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 35.9%.

The school occupies an inner-city site.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Panama Elementary has increased 3%, going from 854 students in 2018 to 876 in 2025. The White share of enrollment ticked down from 14% to 8% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 28.9:1 in 2018 to 26.6:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Panama Elementary community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.