Sylvan Elementary

Sylvan Elementary is a close-knit primary school in Modesto, California, part of Sylvan Union Elementary. The school instructs 326 students in grades K through 5. That puts it 30% smaller than the typical public school in California, which averages around 465 students.

Across the 13 schools in Sylvan Union Elementary (7,974 students total), Sylvan Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, Sylvan Elementary lists that 54% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Beyond that, the school lists 21% White, 11% Asian, 10% multiracial, 5% Black. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

On the resource side, On paper, Sylvan Elementary has 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 18.1:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 22.3:1 average. About 80% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is above Stanislaus County's rate of about 71%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Sylvan Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 31.6%; this one delivers 17.7%.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (Stanislaus County) records that median household earnings sit near $81,468, roughly 20% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 11%. Across Stanislaus County's 190 public schools (combined enrollment of about 106,477 students), Sylvan Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Somerset Middle, around 0.3 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Sylvan Elementary comes 7th of 8 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 33.3%.

The school occupies a metropolitan site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 5%: 344 students in 2018 compared to 326 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share ticked down from 33% to 21%. Class-load math has pulled in: from 24.6:1 in 2018 to 18.1:1 in 2025.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.