William Penn Elementary

William Penn Elementary operates as a close-knit elementary campus in Bakersfield, California, overseen by Bakersfield City. Current enrollment sits at 235 students spanning grades K through 5. By comparison, California's public schools average about 465 students each, so William Penn Elementary sits 49% smaller than that benchmark.

Bakersfield City runs 44 schools in total, collectively educating 28,365 students. William Penn Elementary is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, William Penn Elementary reports that 77% of the student body identifies as Hispanic. The remainder reads as 12% Black, 10% White. By comparison, Kern County as a whole is about 57% Hispanic, so the school skews noticeably more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school employs 14 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 16.8:1. The state averages around 22.3:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 92% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Kern County (around 76%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, William Penn Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 24.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 20.6%.

Around the school, Kern County reports that median household earnings sit near $70,210, roughly 19% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 15% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Kern County runs 279 public schools (combined enrollment of about 197,431 students), of which William Penn Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Bakersfield High, around 0.4 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts William Penn Elementary at 4th of 4; the average score across the group is 28.5%.

Geographically, the school is in a metropolitan area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 20%: 294 students in 2018 compared to 235 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 6% to 12% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 22.6:1 in 2018 to 16.8:1 today.

On allk12, members of the William Penn Elementary community share and discuss open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.