Vista Grande Elementary

Vista Grande Elementary, a low-enrollment primary school in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, operated by Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified, educates 355 students, covering grades K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 465 students per school, that is 24% leaner than typical.

Across the 17 schools in Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified (10,131 students total), Vista Grande Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Vista Grande Elementary logs that Asian students make up the majority at 55%. Other groups include 19% White, 13% multiracial, 12% Hispanic. That is visibly more Asian than the county at large, where the share is closer to 15%.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Vista Grande Elementary has 16 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 22.1:1. That tracks the state average closely. About 11% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is below Los Angeles County's rate of about 70%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Vista Grande Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 73.0%, the actual is 81.0%, a residual of +8.1 points.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Los Angeles County) logs that median household earnings sit near $90,112, about 36% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Los Angeles County runs 2244 public schools (combined enrollment of about 1,265,907 students), of which Vista Grande Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Palos Verdes Intermediate, around 0.7 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Vista Grande Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Vista Grande Elementary at 3rd of 9; the average score across the group is 78.7%.

Geographically, the school is in a bedroom-community area.

Looking at the recent track record. Vista Grande Elementary's enrollment has shrank 21% since 2018, when it stood at 451 (now 355). Over the same period, the White share ticked down from 32% to 19%. Class-load math has tightened: from 26.5:1 in 2018 to 22.1:1 in 2025.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.