Potter Valley Elementary

Set in Potter Valley, California, Potter Valley Elementary is a rural-scale elementary school, overseen by Potter Valley Community Unified. It educates 143 students across grades K through 6. That puts it 69% leaner than the typical public school in California, which averages around 465 students.

Potter Valley Community Unified comprises 4 schools with combined enrollment of 262 students; Potter Valley Elementary is among them.

Demographically, Potter Valley Elementary shows that 58% of the student body identifies as White. Other groups include 29% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, 6% Native American.

Looking at school resources, Potter Valley Elementary records 9 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 16.8:1. The state averages around 22.3:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 66% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is noticeably below Mendocino County's rate of about 75%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Potter Valley Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 40.3%, the actual is 34.4%, a residual of -5.9 points.

Zooming out to the county, Mendocino County reports that the typical household earns roughly $68,092 per year, 25% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Mendocino County runs 66 public schools (combined enrollment of about 12,738 students), of which Potter Valley Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is Potter Valley Junior High, roughly 0.0 miles away. Within five miles, there are 3 other public schools. Among the 5 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Potter Valley Elementary ranks 1st on composite proficiency, above the local average of 23.1%.

The school occupies a rural site.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Potter Valley Elementary has edged down 11%, going from 160 students in 2018 to 143 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share contracted from 38% to 29%. Class-load math has fell: from 20.0:1 in 2018 to 16.8:1 in 2025.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.