Is Thomas Olaeta Elementary a good school?

Thomas Olaeta Elementary ranks 1867 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Thomas Olaeta Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 387 students attended Thomas Olaeta Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Thomas Olaeta Elementary?

Students at Thomas Olaeta Elementary are 74% Hispanic, 16% White, 5% Asian, 3% Two or more races, 2% African American, 1% American Indian.

What schools do graduates of Thomas Olaeta Elementary attend?

Students who attend Thomas Olaeta Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Mitchell Intermediate High : Buhach Colony High

Thomas Olaeta Elementary

Summary:

Thomas Olaeta Elementary is a public elementary school in Atwater, California, serving 564 students in grades K-6 and part of the Atwater Elementary School District. This school consistently outperforms the district and state averages in academic assessments, particularly in 3rd grade Mathematics. Thomas Olaeta's Hispanic and low-socioeconomic status (SES) students also perform well compared to their peers statewide, though the school's performance for disabled students is relatively weaker.

One area of concern for Thomas Olaeta is its high chronic absenteeism rate, which has increased significantly in recent years, reaching 27.6% in the 2021-2022 school year. This is higher than the state and district averages, and may be an important issue for the school to address. Compared to other nearby elementary schools, Thomas Olaeta generally outperforms its peers in the Atwater district, but Peggy Heller Elementary, a K-8 school, has stronger academic performance in some areas.

Thomas Olaeta serves a population with a relatively low socioeconomic status, with 69-74% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. This may contribute to the school's challenges, such as the high chronic absenteeism rate. However, the school's student-teacher ratio is within the typical range for elementary schools and does not appear to be a significant factor in its performance. Overall, Thomas Olaeta Elementary is a strong-performing school within its district, with notable strengths and areas for improvement to support the success of all its students.

Detail:

Public K-6

2266 High St.
Atwater, CA 95301-2831

(209) 357-6148

District: Atwater Elementary

SchoolDigger Rank:
1867^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $3,930

Students who attend Thomas Olaeta Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Mitchell Intermediate
High:	Buhach Colony High

Student/teacher ratio: 24.1

Number of students: 387

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

73.6%

White:

16.0%

Asian:

4.7%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 78%

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Compare Thomas Olaeta Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Thomas Olaeta Elementary ranks better than 68.2% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks first among 7 ranked elementary schools in the Atwater Elementary School District! (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 64.12. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (73.6%), White (16%), Asian (4.7%). (See more...)

Compare Details 78% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Thomas Olaeta Elementary is 24.1. 4 elementary schools in the Atwater Elementary School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Thomas Olaeta Elementary employs 16 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Thomas Olaeta Elementary is $3,930. 3 elementary schools in the Atwater Elementary School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Thomas Olaeta Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Thomas Olaeta Elementary 1867^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Thomas Olaeta Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Atwater Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Atwater Elementary 737^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Thomas Olaeta Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Thomas Olaeta Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	37.70	2769^th	4809	42.4%
2005	43.30	2522^nd	4822	47.7%
2006	41.29	2648^th	4818	45.0%
2007	51.67	2221^st	5113	56.6%
2008	39.46	2971^st	5113	41.9%
2009	29.00	3784^th	5193	27.1%
2010	50.26	2556^th	5314	51.9%
2011	62.83	1858^th	5377	65.4%
2012	67.60	1648^th	5390	69.4%
2013	70.98	1526^th	5530	72.4%
2015	68.20	1569^th	5611	72.0%
2016	64.45	1790^th	5614	68.1%
2017	53.34	2366^th	5692	58.4%
2018	55.21	2276^th	5662	59.8%
2019	53.68	2394^th	5789	58.6%
2022	48.75	2594^th	5883	55.9%
2023	50.41	2513^th	5874	57.2%
2024	64.12	1867^th	5862	68.2%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Thomas Olaeta Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	54.98	980^th	3250	69.8%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Thomas Olaeta Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	38.29	1276^th	2420	47.3%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Thomas Olaeta Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	60.19	1735^th	5084	65.9%
2019	57.36	1933^rd	5173	62.6%
2022	55.28	1959^th	5264	62.8%
2023	57.83	1891^st	5374	64.8%
2024	71.43	1195^th	5511	78.3%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Thomas Olaeta Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	61.19	1916^th	5413	64.6%
2019	52.81	2341^st	5492	57.4%
2022	44.67	2722^nd	5635	51.7%
2023	45.34	2679^th	5617	52.3%
2024	58.45	2016^th	5605	64.0%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Thomas Olaeta Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	58.45	613^th	2128	71.2%
2019	65.50	592^nd	2585	77.1%
2022	21.73	1932^nd	2227	13.2%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Thomas Olaeta Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	48.89	2513^th	5431	53.7%
2019	53.12	2312^th	5510	58.0%
2022	52.55	2312^th	5663	59.2%
2023	54.91	2182^nd	5650	61.4%
2024	67.19	1649^th	5636	70.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Thomas Olaeta Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	62.43	1513^th	4830	68.7%
2019	66.74	1306^th	4963	73.7%
2022	59.44	1664^th	5084	67.3%
2023	55.38	1919^th	5098	62.4%
2024	73.54	1014^th	5102	80.1%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Thomas Olaeta Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	44.05	1686^th	2737	38.4%
2019	34.64	2021^st	2834	28.7%
2022	45.65	1586^th	2726	41.8%
2023	50.22	1424^th	2662	46.5%
2024	53.28	1321^st	2647	50.1%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Thomas Olaeta Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
1988	282	46	31	70	0	n/a	n/a	429
1989	290	29	49	61	1	n/a	n/a	430
1990	245	35	42	74	0	n/a	n/a	396
1991	284	35	42	95	0	n/a	n/a	456
1992	274	33	35	96	0	n/a	n/a	438
1993	263	43	38	84	2	n/a	n/a	430
1994	231	34	37	96	1	n/a	n/a	399
1995	200	22	42	138	0	n/a	n/a	402
1996	200	22	42	138	0	n/a	n/a	402
1997	214	19	32	126	0	n/a	n/a	391
1998	215	21	32	153	1	n/a	n/a	422
1999	185	22	26	162	0	n/a	n/a	395
2000	179	15	31	178	1	n/a	n/a	404
2001	169	20	28	184	0	n/a	n/a	401
2002	173	28	36	221	0	n/a	n/a	458
2003	173	28	36	221	0	n/a	n/a	458
2004	150	34	55	200	0	n/a	n/a	439
2005	148	38	46	234	2	n/a	n/a	468
2006	151	50	54	215	0	n/a	n/a	470
2007	164	27	51	246	1	n/a	n/a	489
2008	117	18	66	267	4	n/a	n/a	472
2009	118	28	56	270	2	2	7	483
2010	119	22	59	254	2	3	10	469
2011	124	23	47	281	3	6	6	490
2012	129	25	50	284	2	7	6	503
2013	141	23	48	295	2	8	8	525
2014	139	16	44	314	4	8	8	533
2015	142	12	36	332	5	7	11	545
2016	149	12	31	335	4	5	12	548
2017	155	11	35	386	4	2	7	600
2018	155	12	39	394	8	2	7	617
2019	137	11	34	397	9	1	12	601
2020	138	13	38	368	4	1	14	576
2021	110	13	33	363	3	0	14	536
2022	97	14	27	361	5	0	15	519
2023	99	16	35	398	4	0	12	564
2024	62	7	18	285	4	0	11	387

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Thomas Olaeta Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	429	17.0	25.2	n/a
1989	430	17.0	25.2	n/a
1990	396	16.5	24.0	n/a
1991	456	18.1	25.1	n/a
1992	438	18.4	23.8	27.9
1993	430	17.2	25.0	48.8
1994	399	16.2	24.6	50.4
1995	402	16.1	25.0	63.9
1996	402	16.1	25.0	63.9
1997	391	18.5	21.1	63.4
1998	422	20.5	20.6	69.9
1999	395	20.5	19.3	73.2
2000	404	20.5	19.7	67.6
2001	401	20.4	19.7	62.8
2002	458	24.0	19.1	65.9
2003	458	24.0	19.1	65.9
2004	439	22.5	19.5	66.7
2005	468	23.5	19.9	66.7
2006	470	24.5	19.2	66.4
2007	489	25.0	19.6	64
2008	472	26.8	17.6	63.3
2009	483	22.0	20.1	69.6
2010	469	19.0	24.6	71.6
2011	490	n/a	n/a	75.9
2012	503	19.5	25.7	n/a
2013	525	19.5	26.9	77.5
2014	533	20.0	26.6	72.8
2015	545	20.0	27.2	77.2
2016	548	21.0	26.0	75.7
2017	600	19.0	31.5	71
2018	617	24.0	25.7	72.3
2019	601	23.5	25.5	65.7
2020	576	n/a	n/a	67
2021	536	24.0	22.3	69.2
2022	519	24.7	21.0	72.4
2023	564	24.2	23.3	73.6
2024	387	16.0	24.1	78

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Thomas Olaeta Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	429	17.0	25.2	n/a
1989	430	17.0	25.2	n/a
1990	396	16.5	24.0	n/a
1991	456	18.1	25.1	n/a
1992	438	18.4	23.8	27.9
1993	430	17.2	25.0	48.8
1994	399	16.2	24.6	50.4
1995	402	16.1	25.0	63.9
1996	402	16.1	25.0	63.9
1997	391	18.5	21.1	63.4
1998	422	20.5	20.6	69.9
1999	395	20.5	19.3	73.2
2000	404	20.5	19.7	67.6
2001	401	20.4	19.7	62.8
2002	458	24.0	19.1	65.9
2003	458	24.0	19.1	65.9
2004	439	22.5	19.5	66.7
2005	468	23.5	19.9	66.7
2006	470	24.5	19.2	66.4
2007	489	25.0	19.6	64
2008	472	26.8	17.6	63.3
2009	483	22.0	20.1	69.6
2010	469	19.0	24.6	71.6
2011	490	n/a	n/a	75.9
2012	503	19.5	25.7	n/a
2013	525	19.5	26.9	77.5
2014	533	20.0	26.6	72.8
2015	545	20.0	27.2	77.2
2016	548	21.0	26.0	75.7
2017	600	19.0	31.5	71
2018	617	24.0	25.7	72.3
2019	601	23.5	25.5	65.7
2020	576	n/a	n/a	67
2021	536	24.0	22.3	69.2
2022	519	24.7	21.0	72.4
2023	564	24.2	23.3	73.6
2024	387	16.0	24.1	78

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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