William R. Buckley Elementary

Set in Porterville, California, William R. Buckley Elementary is a mid-tier elementary-level community, one of the schools within Burton Elementary. It enrolls 499 students across grades K through 6.

William R. Buckley Elementary is one of 7 schools operated by Burton Elementary, a district that caters to 4,805 students overall.

Demographically, William R. Buckley Elementary lists that 68% of the student body identifies as Hispanic. Beyond that, the school logs 14% White, 10% Asian, 4% multiracial. That composition is broadly in line with Tulare County as a whole.

On the resource side, The school lists 20 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 24.9:1. The state averages around 22.3:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Roughly 83% of students at William R. Buckley Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, William R. Buckley Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 29.8%; this one delivers 32.1%.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Tulare County indicate median household income runs about $71,300, roughly 17% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 15% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Tulare County's 196 public schools (combined enrollment of about 101,494 students), William R. Buckley Elementary is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Burton Middle, roughly 0.1 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), William R. Buckley Elementary ranks 5th on composite proficiency, beneath the local average of 34.0%.

The school occupies a bedroom-community site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 13%: 571 students in 2018 compared to 499 in 2025. The White share of enrollment shrank from 23% to 14% over that span. Class-load math has rose: from 23.8:1 in 2018 to 24.9:1 in 2025.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.