Westside Elementary

Westside Elementary is a primary school of intimate scale in Thermal, California, run under Coachella Valley Unified, teacheing 349 students in grades K through 6. Enrollment runs roughly 25% leaner than the state mean of about 465.

Coachella Valley Unified comprises 21 schools with combined enrollment of 15,817 students; Westside Elementary is among them.

Demographically, Westside Elementary logs that nearly all students (97%) are Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 51% Hispanic, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Hispanic than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Westside Elementary has 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 19.3:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 22.3:1, putting Westside Elementary tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 91% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Riverside County runs at roughly 74%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Westside Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 25.0%; this one delivers 27.5%.

In the area at large, Riverside County reports that median household earnings sit near $93,074, roughly 26% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 8%. Across Riverside County's 543 public schools (combined enrollment of about 424,872 students), Westside Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Coachella Valley High, around 1.7 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Westside Elementary. On composite proficiency, Westside Elementary comes 4th of 7 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 28.9%.

The campus sits in a countryside setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Westside Elementary has edged down 30%, going from 498 students in 2018 to 349 in 2025. Class-load math has narrowed: from 21.6:1 in 2018 to 19.3:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.