Union Hill Elementary

Located at 11638 Colfax Hwy., in Grass Valley, California, Union Hill Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school that hosts 542 students (grades K through 6), run under Union Hill Elementary.

Union Hill Elementary comprises 2 schools with combined enrollment of 688 students; Union Hill Elementary is among them.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Union Hill Elementary reports that the largest single group is White, at 79% of enrollment; the rest is composed of 11% multiracial, 9% Hispanic.

On the resource side, On paper, Union Hill Elementary has 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 20.2:1. The state averages around 22.3:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 46% of students at Union Hill Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Union Hill Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 52.2% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 42.5%.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Nevada County) shows that median household earnings sit near $89,882, 42% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Nevada County runs 46 public schools (combined enrollment of about 13,561 students), of which Union Hill Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is Union Hill Middle, roughly 0.0 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Union Hill Elementary. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Union Hill Elementary ranks 5th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 45.0%.

The campus sits in a small-town setting. As a public charter, Union Hill Elementary runs on public funding but with greater curricular and operational autonomy than a typical district school.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Union Hill Elementary has decreased 7%, going from 582 students in 2018 to 542 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 22.9:1 in 2018 to 20.2:1 today.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.