Riverdale Elementary

Riverdale Elementary is an average-sized elementary campus in Garden Grove, California, operated by Garden Grove Unified. The school caters to 501 students in grades K through 6.

Garden Grove Unified runs 64 schools in total, collectively educating 36,994 students. Riverdale Elementary is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, Riverdale Elementary lists that the largest single group is Hispanic, at 77% of enrollment; the rest consists of 16% Asian, 3% multiracial, 3% White. That is visibly more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 34%.

Looking at school resources, Riverdale Elementary logs 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 26.4:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 22.3:1 average. An estimated 84% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Orange County runs at roughly 55%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

With demographic context factored in, Riverdale Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 29.3%; this one delivers 40.2%.

Around the school, the surrounding county (Orange County) reports that the typical household earns roughly $116,289 per year, roughly 44% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Riverdale Elementary is one of 649 public schools in Orange County (combined enrollment of about 430,458 students).

The closest other public school is Samueli Academy, roughly 0.6 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Riverdale Elementary. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Riverdale Elementary ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 35.3%.

The school occupies a commuter-belt site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 18%: 608 students in 2018 compared to 501 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share decreased from 82% to 77%. The student-to-teacher ratio widened from 25.3:1 in 2018 to 26.4:1 today.

On the community side, the feed for Riverdale Elementary typically covers school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.