Valley Los Banos Community

Valley Los Banos Community is a minimally staffed 9-12 campus in Los Banos, California, run under Merced County Office of Education. The school teaches 160 students in grades 6 through 12. That puts it 81% leaner than the typical public school in California, which averages around 838 students.

Within Merced County Office of Education, which oversees 8 schools and 1,894 students, Valley Los Banos Community is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, Valley Los Banos Community lists that the student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic (91%). Beyond that, the school reports 6% White. The wider county runs roughly 63% Hispanic, putting the school's mix visibly more Hispanic than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Valley Los Banos Community records 11 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.6:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 18.2:1 average. Roughly 88% of students at Valley Los Banos Community qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

In the broader community, Merced County reports that median household income runs about $65,510, about 15% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 16%. In all, Merced County runs 117 public schools (combined enrollment of about 59,456 students), of which Valley Los Banos Community is one.

Nearest neighbor: Henry Miller Elementary, around 0.6 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

The school occupies a small-town site.

Five-year trend. Valley Los Banos Community's enrollment has increased 58% since 2018, when it stood at 101 (now 160). Hispanic enrollment moved from 86% to 91% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 20.1:1 in 2018 to 14.6:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Valley Los Banos Community typically covers sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.