Rising Sun

Rising Sun, a rural-scale 9-12 campus in Vernalis, California, run under Patterson Joint Unified, instructs 20 students, covering grade 12. Compared to the state average of about 838 students per school, that is 98% smaller than typical.

Within Patterson Joint Unified, which oversees 11 schools and 6,064 students, Rising Sun is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Rising Sun logs that 75% of the student body identifies as Hispanic. The remainder consists of 10% White, 10% Asian, 5% Black. The wider county runs roughly 50% Hispanic, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Hispanic than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, Rising Sun reports 1 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 20.0:1. The state averages around 18.2:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 95% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Stanislaus County (around 71%), the school's rate is somewhat above typical.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Stanislaus County shows the typical household earns roughly $81,468 per year, 20% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Rising Sun is one of 190 public schools in Stanislaus County (combined enrollment of about 106,477 students).

Delta Charter is the nearest neighboring public school, about 4.4 miles from this campus. 7 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

The school occupies a low-density site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Rising Sun has contracted 13%, going from 23 students in 2018 to 20 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment rose from 61% to 75% over that span. Class-load math has fell: from 23.0:1 in 2018 to 20.0:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.