Is Las Palmitas Elementary a good school?

Las Palmitas Elementary ranks in the bottom 7.8% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Las Palmitas Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 582 students attended Las Palmitas Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Las Palmitas Elementary?

Students at Las Palmitas Elementary are 97% Hispanic, 2% American Indian.

What schools do graduates of Las Palmitas Elementary attend?

Students who attend Las Palmitas Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Toro Canyon Middle High : Desert Mirage High

Las Palmitas Elementary

Summary:

Las Palmitas Elementary is a public elementary school in Thermal, CA that serves 575 students in grades KG-6 as part of the Coachella Valley Unified School District. However, the school faces significant challenges, with high chronic absenteeism rates, consistently low academic performance, and struggles with the achievement of key student subgroups.

Las Palmitas Elementary has seen a dramatic increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 9.8% in 2017-2018 to 43.5% in 2022-2023, far exceeding the district and state averages. Academically, the school consistently performs below the district and state in Smarter Balanced Assessments for English Language Arts and Mathematics, with only 20.05% of students proficient or better in ELA End of Course, compared to 27.88% for the district and 47.04% for the state. The school also struggles with the performance of Hispanic students, English Language Learners, Special Education students, and Low Socioeconomic Status students, ranking in the bottom quartile for these subgroups.

When compared to nearby schools, such as Coral Mountain Academy, which is only 7.51 miles away, Las Palmitas Elementary is clearly underperforming across nearly all academic metrics. The school's statewide ranking has also declined over time, dropping from 4965 out of 5662 California elementary schools in 2017-2018 to 5402 out of 5862 in 2023-2024, suggesting that the challenges facing the school are not improving.

Detail:

Public K-6

86150 Avenue 66
Thermal, CA 92274

(760) 397-2200

District: Coachella Valley Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
5402^nd of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $13,581

Students who attend Las Palmitas Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Toro Canyon Middle
High:	Desert Mirage High

Student/teacher ratio: 21.3

Number of students: 582

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

97.4%

American Indian:

1.5%

Two or more races:

0.5%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 96.2%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Las Palmitas Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Las Palmitas Elementary ranks worse than 92.2% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 11^th among 14 ranked elementary schools in the Coachella Valley Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 13.76. (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 (97.4%), American Indian (1.5%), two or more races (0.5%). (See more...)

Compare Details 96.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Las Palmitas Elementary is 21.3. 10 elementary schools in the Coachella Valley Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Las Palmitas Elementary employs 27.2 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Las Palmitas Elementary is $13,581, which is the 6^th highest among 14 elementary schools in the Coachella Valley Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Las Palmitas Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Las Palmitas Elementary 5402^nd of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Las Palmitas Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Coachella Valley Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Coachella Valley Unified 1332^nd of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Las Palmitas Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Las Palmitas Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	6.12	4786^th	4809	0.5%
2005	5.30	4794^th	4822	0.6%
2006	6.04	4770^th	4818	1.0%
2007	6.09	5069^th	5113	0.9%
2008	5.10	5084^th	5113	0.6%
2009	12.80	4860^th	5193	6.4%
2010	13.44	4985^th	5314	6.2%
2011	12.31	5109^th	5377	5.0%
2012	8.32	5256^th	5390	2.5%
2013	7.36	5394^th	5530	2.5%
2015	11.70	5368^th	5611	4.3%
2016	12.89	5227^th	5614	6.9%
2017	13.27	5248^th	5692	7.8%
2018	16.49	4965^th	5662	12.3%
2019	10.26	5547^th	5789	4.2%
2021	12.48	1345^th	1417	5.1%
2022	12.33	5578^th	5883	5.2%
2023	10.58	5678^th	5874	3.3%
2024	13.76	5402^nd	5862	7.8%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Las Palmitas Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	30.24	2381^st	3246	26.6%
2019	27.24	2694^th	3275	17.7%
2021	25.79	558^th	602	7.3%
2022	41.81	1693^rd	3311	48.9%
2023	21.95	3047^th	3250	6.2%
2024	34.32	2227^th	3160	29.5%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Las Palmitas Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	21.46	2128^th	2420	12.1%
2024	22.07	2288^th	2634	13.1%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Las Palmitas Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	21.45	4369^th	5084	14.1%
2019	12.63	4965^th	5173	4.0%
2021	17.55	1028^th	1110	7.4%
2022	15.60	4934^th	5264	6.3%
2023	12.67	5179^th	5374	3.6%
2024	18.28	4919^th	5511	10.7%

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

Rank History for Migrant students at Las Palmitas Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	27.87	51^st	68	25.0%

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

Rank History for Female students at Las Palmitas Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	18.12	4690^th	5413	13.4%
2019	11.35	5236^th	5492	4.7%
2021	12.34	1218^th	1267	3.9%
2022	10.88	5489^th	5635	2.6%
2023	8.99	5538^th	5617	1.4%
2024	12.58	5312^th	5605	5.2%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Las Palmitas Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	27.88	1539^th	2128	27.7%
2019	21.01	2292^nd	2585	11.3%

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

Rank History for Male students at Las Palmitas Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	15.94	4896^th	5431	9.9%
2019	10.91	5314^th	5510	3.6%
2021	14.69	1167^th	1272	8.3%
2022	15.66	5153^rd	5663	9.0%
2023	13.75	5257^th	5650	7.0%
2024	16.26	5050^th	5636	10.4%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Las Palmitas Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	22.91	4052^nd	4830	16.1%
2019	14.39	4690^th	4963	5.5%
2022	16.71	4715^th	5084	7.3%
2023	12.99	4908^th	5098	3.7%
2024	18.34	4562^nd	5102	10.6%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic 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 Las Palmitas Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
2004	8	1	2	658	2	n/a	n/a	5	676
2005	3	1	1	696	5	n/a	n/a	6	712
2006	3	1	1	759	12	n/a	n/a	8	784
2007	3	0	0	815	10	n/a	n/a	6	834
2008	7	n/a	1	776	13	n/a	n/a	0	797
2009	5	1	3	758	15	0	5	0	787
2010	5	1	3	628	13	0	1	0	651
2011	17	1	4	651	7	0	0	0	680
2012	20	1	2	688	12	0	0	0	723
2013	16	1	2	652	13	0	2	0	686
2014	6	1	1	661	26	0	6	0	701
2015	6	1	1	648	21	0	4	0	681
2016	4	2	0	643	27	0	3	0	679
2017	3	3	0	648	22	0	2	0	678
2018	4	1	0	590	21	0	1	0	617
2019	7	0	0	570	21	0	5	0	603
2020	4	0	0	587	17	0	2	0	610
2021	3	0	0	553	14	0	2	0	572
2022	1	0	0	552	13	0	2	0	568
2023	1	0	0	561	10	0	2	1	575
2024	1	0	0	567	9	0	3	2	582

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 Las Palmitas Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2004	676	32.0	21.1	89.7
2005	712	34.0	20.9	85.3
2006	784	38.0	20.6	92.9
2007	834	39.0	21.4	99.5
2008	797	46.0	17.3	98.5
2009	787	42.0	17.9	98.3
2010	651	37.0	17.5	99.5
2011	680	n/a	n/a	99
2012	723	29.1	24.8	92.7
2013	686	28.0	24.5	n/a
2014	701	27.0	25.9	85
2015	681	29.0	23.4	96.5
2016	679	29.0	23.4	96.3
2017	678	29.0	23.3	97.5
2018	617	26.6	23.1	91.7
2019	603	26.5	22.7	96.7
2020	610	n/a	n/a	93.8
2021	572	26.0	22.0	97.2
2022	568	24.5	23.1	94.2
2023	575	26.0	22.1	96.9
2024	582	27.2	21.3	96.2

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 Las Palmitas Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2004	676	32.0	21.1	89.7
2005	712	34.0	20.9	85.3
2006	784	38.0	20.6	92.9
2007	834	39.0	21.4	99.5
2008	797	46.0	17.3	98.5
2009	787	42.0	17.9	98.3
2010	651	37.0	17.5	99.5
2011	680	n/a	n/a	99
2012	723	29.1	24.8	92.7
2013	686	28.0	24.5	n/a
2014	701	27.0	25.9	85
2015	681	29.0	23.4	96.5
2016	679	29.0	23.4	96.3
2017	678	29.0	23.3	97.5
2018	617	26.6	23.1	91.7
2019	603	26.5	22.7	96.7
2020	610	n/a	n/a	93.8
2021	572	26.0	22.0	97.2
2022	568	24.5	23.1	94.2
2023	575	26.0	22.1	96.9
2024	582	27.2	21.3	96.2

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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