San Joaquin Elementary

San Joaquin Elementary, a close-knit elementary-level community in Laguna Hills, California, overseen by Saddleback Valley Unified, instructs 221 students, covering grades K through 6. Compared to the state average of about 465 students per school, that is 52% smaller than typical.

Within Saddleback Valley Unified, which oversees 33 schools and 22,646 students, San Joaquin Elementary is one campus in the system.

Demographically, San Joaquin Elementary logs that the largest single group is Hispanic, at 69% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school logs 14% White, 10% Asian, 6% multiracial. That is considerably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 34%.

On the income-and-resources front, The school currently runs with 12 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 18.7:1. The state averages around 22.3:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. About 79% of enrolled students meet the income threshold 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 somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, San Joaquin Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 32.3%, the actual is 44.6%, a residual of +12.3 points.

In the area at large, Orange County reports that the typical household earns roughly $116,289 per year, about 44% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Across Orange County's 649 public schools (combined enrollment of about 430,458 students), San Joaquin Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Excel Academy Charter, around 2.1 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 5 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), San Joaquin Elementary ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 52.1%.

The school occupies a suburban site.

Looking at the recent track record. San Joaquin Elementary's enrollment has edged down 36% since 2018, when it stood at 344 (now 221). White enrollment moved from 23% to 14% across the same window. Class-load math has pulled in: from 28.7:1 in 2018 to 18.7:1 in 2025.

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