South Bay Elementary

South Bay Elementary is a tiny middle school in Eureka, California, one of the schools within South Bay Union Elementary. The school teaches 141 students in grades 4 through 6. That puts it 79% leaner than the typical public school in California, which averages around 659 students.

South Bay Union Elementary comprises 3 schools with combined enrollment of 374 students; South Bay Elementary is among them.

On the student-mix side, South Bay Elementary reports that the largest single group is White at 46%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 29% Hispanic, 16% multiracial, 4% Native American, 3% Black. That is noticeably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 72%.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 6 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 23.5:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 20.7:1, putting South Bay Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. Around 84% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is above Humboldt County's rate of about 60%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, South Bay Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 29.2%, the actual is 24.9%, a residual of -4.3 points.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Humboldt County put median household earnings sit near $61,160, about 33% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. In all, Humboldt County runs 92 public schools (combined enrollment of about 17,319 students), of which South Bay Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is South Bay Charter, roughly 0.0 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, South Bay Elementary comes 3rd of 5 in the immediate cluster, behind the nearby-schools average of 27.7%.

The campus sits in a town-based setting.

Five-year trend. South Bay Elementary's enrollment has fell 16% since 2018, when it stood at 168 (now 141). The White share of enrollment contracted from 51% to 46% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio grew from 19.5:1 in 2018 to 23.5:1 today.

On the community side, members of the South Bay Elementary community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.