Santa Rita Elementary

As an average-sized elementary campus in Salinas, California, Santa Rita Elementary hosts 545 students from grades K through 5, run under Santa Rita Union Elementary.

Across the 6 schools in Santa Rita Union Elementary (3,088 students total), Santa Rita Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Santa Rita Elementary logs that 99% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. The wider county runs roughly 62% Hispanic, putting the school's mix considerably more Hispanic than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, The school employs 24 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 22.7:1. The state averages about 22.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 97% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Monterey County (around 76%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

With demographic context factored in, Santa Rita Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 21.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 11.2%.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Monterey County indicate median household income runs about $97,230, roughly 28% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Monterey County runs 153 public schools (combined enrollment of about 73,845 students), of which Santa Rita Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is Gavilan View Middle, roughly 0.6 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Santa Rita Elementary ranks 9th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 24.9%.

Santa Rita Elementary operates from an inner-city location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 17%: 660 students in 2018 compared to 545 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 26.4:1 in 2018 to 22.7:1 today.

Inside the community feed, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.