Enrollment
359
Elementary
DISTRICT 389 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO UNIFIED·NCES 063753006349
Ponderosa Elementary
295 Ponderosa Rd., South San Francisco, CA 94080 · (650) 877-8825 · San Mateo County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL359 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 46% of California public elementary schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C+Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
22.4:1
16 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.5:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
35%
127 students
DISTRICT 43% · STATE 65%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 72 | 20% |
| Grade 1 | 47 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 48 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 63 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 63 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 66 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (72) is 9% larger than its 5th grade class (66).
Student demographics
67%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 63% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
55.0%
CA avg 49.1% . +11.0pp since 2014
Math
49.7%
CA avg 37.7% . +14.7pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 50 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 11 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 15 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 22.0% | 33.0% | 17.0% | 28.0% |
| Math | 19.1% | 30.6% | 26.2% | 24.0% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 55.0% | 49.7% |
| 2023-24 | 50.0% | 50.0% |
| 2022-23 | 53.2% | 49.1% |
| 2021-22 | 56.9% | 45.4% |
| 2020-21 | 43.9% | 46.3% |
| 2018-19 | 52.8% | 53.8% |
| 2017-18 | 55.1% | 53.6% |
| 2016-17 | 41.3% | 47.1% |
| 2015-16 | 48.0% | 44.0% |
| 2014-15 | 44.0% | 35.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
51.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
58.8%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 51% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 59% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Ponderosa Elementary
Ponderosa Elementary's state test result (51.2% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ponderosa Elementary this school | 359 | 35.4% | 51.2% |
| Lincoln Elementary Newark | 286 | 37.8% | 53.1% |
| Frost (Earl) Elementary San Jose | 313 | 33.2% | 48.0% |
| John F. Kennedy Elementary Newark | 455 | 31.0% | 53.0% |
| Baldwin (Julia) Elementary San Jose | 425 | 35.1% | 46.6% |
| Theuerkauf Elementary Mountain View | 308 | 38.6% | 39.6% |
Matched among California elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Ponderosa Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In San Mateo County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 51.2% | #1,638 of 5,151 | #57 of 96 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 49.7% | #1,613 of 5,172 ▼ 84 | #58 of 96 ▼ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 55.0% | #1,692 of 5,172 ▲ 213 | #56 of 96 ▲ 3 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +1.2pp | #2,950 of 5,116 | #44 of 96 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 359 | #4,195 of 5,915 | #55 of 106 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 22.4:1 | #2,544 of 5,352 | #57 of 99 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.4% | #956 of 5,354 | #33 of 99 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 35.4% | #4,536 of 5,625 | #49 of 103 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -13.5% | #2,218 of 3,837 | #46 of 79 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
359
-22 (-6%) vs 2020
-8% since 1990-91, when it was 392
Student : Teacher
22.4:1
was 20.1:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 359 | 16 | 22.4:1 | 35% (127) |
| 2023-24 | 370 | 18 | 20.5:1 | 33% (121) |
| 2022-23 | 351 | 18 | 19.5:1 | 28% (100) |
| 2020-21 | 381 | 19 | 20.1:1 | 24% (93) |
| 2017-18 | 415 | 19 | 21.8:1 | 31% (130) |
| 2015-16 | 432 | 20 | 21.6:1 | 25% (109) |
| 2010-11 | 435 | N/A | N/A | 31% (133) |
| 2000-01 | 372 | 19 | 19.6:1 | 15% (57) |
| 1990-91 | 392 | 17 | 23.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ponderosa Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 13% (415 to 359); teachers down 16% (19 to 16).
About Ponderosa Elementary
Ponderosa Elementary is a small elementary school found in South San Francisco, California. It serves 359 students in kindergarten through 5. For comparison, elementary schools in California average about 465 students.
In South San Francisco Unified, 15 schools enroll a combined 7,644 students.
At Ponderosa Elementary, the largest share of students is Hispanic, at 47%. Next come 28% Asian, 14% White, and 10% multiracial. The county population is about 25% Hispanic. Ponderosa Elementary's diversity index is 67%, against a US figure of 70%.
The school's student-to-teacher ratio is about 22.4:1, with 16 full-time-equivalent teachers. That matches the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California fairly closely. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 35% of enrollment. That tracks the 34% average for public schools in San Mateo County.
The allk12 Grade for Ponderosa Elementary is B-. Compared with California public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 46% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Ponderosa Elementary would score about 58.8%. It scores 51.2%, 7.6 points below that figure.
Recent Census Bureau figures for San Mateo County show that the median household income is $158,855, 54% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 4% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Ponderosa Elementary is one of 176 public schools in the county.
The nearest public school is Baden High (Continuation), at about 0.3 miles. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. The nearest schools with test data average 41.0%, lower than Ponderosa Elementary's 51.2%.
The federal government classifies Ponderosa Elementary's location as Suburb: Large.
Over 4 years, Ponderosa Elementary's enrollment dropped 6%, to 359. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 20.1:1 to 22.4:1.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss school safety, transportation, and start times at Ponderosa Elementary. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
San Mateo County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
742,340
Census ACS
Median income
$158,855
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
54%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
176
82,403 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in South San Francisco Unified
- South San Francisco HighHigh · 1,239 students
- El Camino HighHigh · 1,053 students
- Alta Loma MiddleMiddle · 652 students
- Buri Buri ElementaryElementary · 584 students
- Parkway Heights MiddleMiddle · 573 students
- Monte Verde ElementaryElementary · 517 students
Other schools in South San Francisco
- South San Francisco HighHigh · 1,239 students
- El Camino HighHigh · 1,053 students
- Alta Loma MiddleMiddle · 652 students
- Buri Buri ElementaryElementary · 584 students
- Parkway Heights MiddleMiddle · 573 students
- Westborough MiddleMiddle · 498 students
Other Ponderosa Elementary schools
11 other US public schools in 8 states are named Ponderosa Elementary. Ponderosa Elementary is the 9th largest of the 12.
- Ponderosa ElementaryAnaheim, CA · 785 students
- Ponderosa ElementarySunnyvale, CA · 524 students
- Ponderosa Elementary SchoolHOUSTON, TX · 740 students
- Ponderosa Elementary SchoolAURORA, CO · 634 students
- PONDEROSA ELEMENTARY SCHOOLPOST FALLS, ID · 466 students
Nearby schools
- Baden High (Continuation)0.3 mi · 130
- South San Francisco High0.4 mi · 1,239
- Los Cerritos Elementary0.5 mi · 304
- Buri Buri Elementary1.0 mi · 584
- Parkway Heights Middle1.2 mi · 573
- Monte Verde Elementary1.2 mi · 517
Frequently asked questions
About Ponderosa ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Ponderosa Elementary?
Ponderosa Elementary enrolls approximately 359 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Ponderosa Elementary serve?
Ponderosa Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Ponderosa Elementary?
Approximately 22.4:1 students per teacher at Ponderosa Elementary.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Ponderosa Elementary?
At Ponderosa Elementary, the student body is approximately 14% White, 47% Hispanic, 0% Black, 28% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is Ponderosa Elementary public or private?
Ponderosa Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by South San Francisco Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.