Pomona Elementary

Pomona Elementary, a compact K-5 school in Costa Mesa, California, operated by Newport-Mesa Unified, teaches 264 students, covering grades K through 6. That puts it 43% below the typical public school in California, which averages around 465 students.

Newport-Mesa Unified runs 31 schools in total, collectively educating 17,540 students. Pomona Elementary is one of those campuses.

On demographics, Pomona Elementary logs that nearly all students (97%) are Hispanic. That is noticeably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 34%.

On the resource side, Pomona Elementary reports 16 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 16.8:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 22.3:1, putting Pomona Elementary tighter than the state norm the norm. An estimated 94% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Orange County (around 55%), the school's rate is north of typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Pomona Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 23.3% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 23.6%.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Orange County indicate median household earnings sit near $116,289, 44% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Pomona Elementary is one of 649 public schools in Orange County (combined enrollment of about 430,458 students).

Nearest neighbor: Everett A. Rea Elementary, around 0.1 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Pomona Elementary ranks 8th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 40.7%.

The school occupies an urban site.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Pomona Elementary has fell 46%, going from 491 students in 2018 to 264 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 23.4:1 in 2018 to 16.8:1 today.

On the community side, members of the Pomona Elementary community share and discuss enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.