Is Sequoia Elementary a good school?

Sequoia Elementary ranks 4066 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Sequoia Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 588 students attended Sequoia Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Sequoia Elementary?

Students at Sequoia Elementary are 88% Hispanic, 8% White, 3% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Sequoia Elementary attend?

Students who attend Sequoia Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Richland Junior High High : Shafter High

Sequoia Elementary

Summary:

Sequoia Elementary is a public elementary school located in Shafter, California, serving grades K-6 with a total enrollment of 585 students. The school is part of the Richland Union Elementary District, which is ranked 1257 out of 1568 districts in California and has a 1-star rating out of 5 from SchoolDigger.

Sequoia Elementary faces significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates that have risen from 10.8% in 2017-2018 to 35.0% in 2022-2023, well above the district and state averages. Academically, the school's performance on Smarter Balanced Assessments is consistently below the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2023-2024, only 31.27% of Sequoia Elementary students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 29.13% for the district and 47.04% for the state. The school's student subgroups, such as Hispanic students and English Language Learners, also perform significantly below their peers at the state level.

Sequoia Elementary's academic performance is generally lower than nearby schools within the same district, such as Golden Oak Elementary, as well as schools in the neighboring Wasco Union Elementary and Rio Bravo-Greeley Union Elementary districts. The school's high percentage of students from low-income families, as indicated by the 86.5% free and reduced lunch rate in 2022-2023, may be a contributing factor to the lower academic performance, highlighting the need for targeted interventions and support for this population.

Detail:

Public K-6

500 East Fresno Ave.
Shafter, CA 93263-9404

(661) 746-8740

District: Richland Union Elementary

SchoolDigger Rank:
4066^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $6,410

Students who attend Sequoia Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Richland Junior High
High:	Shafter High

Student/teacher ratio: 18.0

Number of students: 588

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

88.1%

White:

8.3%

Asian:

3.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 87.4%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Sequoia Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Sequoia Elementary ranks worse than 69.4% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 2^nd among 3 ranked elementary schools in the Richland Union Elementary School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 28.46. (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 Sequoia Elementary has the smallest elementary school student body size in the Richland Union Elementary School District. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (88.1%), White (8.3%), Asian (3.1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 87.4% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Sequoia Elementary is 18. 1 elementary schools in the Richland Union Elementary School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Sequoia Elementary employs 32.6 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Sequoia Elementary is $6,410, which is the highest among 3 elementary schools in the Richland Union Elementary School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Sequoia Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Sequoia Elementary 4066^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Sequoia Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Richland Union Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Richland Union Elementary 1257^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Sequoia Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Sequoia Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2007	20.59	4247^th	5113	16.9%
2008	16.62	4558^th	5113	10.9%
2009	19.43	4469^th	5193	13.9%
2010	24.68	4245^th	5314	20.1%
2011	16.24	4892^nd	5377	9.0%
2012	19.12	4705^th	5390	12.7%
2013	19.67	4762^nd	5530	13.9%
2015	16.02	4986^th	5611	11.1%
2016	22.52	4384^th	5614	21.9%
2017	30.06	3824^th	5692	32.8%
2018	27.19	4059^th	5662	28.3%
2019	29.74	3956^th	5789	31.7%
2021	20.92	1136^th	1417	19.8%
2022	20.74	4776^th	5883	18.8%
2023	25.53	4308^th	5874	26.7%
2024	28.46	4066^th	5862	30.6%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Sequoia Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	36.59	1970^th	3246	39.3%
2019	57.72	902^nd	3275	72.5%
2021	24.87	564^th	602	6.3%
2022	30.28	2581^st	3311	22.0%
2023	24.59	2899^th	3250	10.8%
2024	25.06	2837^th	3160	10.2%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Sequoia Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	30.61	3722^nd	5084	26.8%
2019	34.19	3560^th	5173	31.2%
2021	31.10	798^th	1110	28.1%
2022	26.70	4110^th	5264	21.9%
2023	30.72	3842^nd	5374	28.5%
2024	35.79	3467^th	5511	37.1%

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

Rank History for Female students at Sequoia Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	35.03	3407^th	5413	37.1%
2019	38.30	3209^th	5492	41.6%
2021	24.61	941^st	1267	25.7%
2022	22.79	4432^nd	5635	21.3%
2023	27.05	4054^th	5617	27.8%
2024	31.91	3644^th	5605	35.0%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Sequoia Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	28.00	1534^th	2128	27.9%
2019	19.28	2383^rd	2585	7.8%
2021	24.74	225^th	293	23.2%

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

Rank History for Male students at Sequoia Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	20.98	4477^th	5431	17.6%
2019	23.37	4347^th	5510	21.1%
2021	18.95	1061^st	1272	16.6%
2022	20.57	4654^th	5663	17.8%
2023	24.90	4268^th	5650	24.5%
2024	24.93	4266^th	5636	24.3%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Sequoia Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	37.99	2998^th	4830	37.9%
2019	44.56	2646^th	4963	46.7%
2022	29.15	3771^st	5084	25.8%
2023	34.52	3352^nd	5098	34.2%
2024	39.96	2961^st	5102	42.0%

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

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)

100%

Reviews:
No reviews have been submitted!

Enrollment information for Sequoia Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
2006	82	0	12	489	0	n/a	n/a	9	592
2007	88	0	9	443	1	n/a	n/a	11	552
2008	76	6	9	547	1	n/a	n/a	0	639
2009	74	6	21	557	1	0	19	0	678
2010	88	2	22	603	1	0	9	0	725
2011	87	9	13	733	2	0	2	0	846
2012	95	4	26	647	2	0	4	0	778
2013	83	5	27	663	1	0	0	0	779
2014	84	2	26	693	0	0	0	0	805
2015	83	3	19	719	0	0	0	0	824
2016	85	2	15	736	0	0	1	0	839
2017	85	3	21	728	0	0	0	0	837
2018	65	2	23	657	0	0	0	0	747
2019	58	2	24	565	1	0	0	0	650
2020	59	2	23	541	1	0	0	0	626
2021	72	1	19	502	1	0	1	0	596
2022	65	2	19	516	1	0	0	0	603
2023	59	2	14	509	1	0	0	0	585
2024	49	1	18	518	2	0	0	0	588

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 Sequoia Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2006	592	31.0	19.1	55.1
2007	552	31.9	17.3	75.8
2008	639	36.4	17.6	71.4
2009	678	33.5	18.3	76.3
2010	725	31.4	23.0	74.6
2011	846	n/a	n/a	71.7
2012	778	32.8	23.6	n/a
2013	779	29.8	26.0	76
2014	805	33.3	24.1	84.5
2015	824	34.0	24.2	78.9
2016	839	34.0	24.6	83
2017	837	38.5	21.7	83
2018	747	38.0	19.6	88.2
2019	650	37.5	17.3	78.2
2020	626	n/a	n/a	84.8
2021	596	31.0	19.2	77
2022	603	30.0	20.0	79.6
2023	585	32.5	17.9	86.5
2024	588	32.6	18.0	87.4

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 Sequoia Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2006	592	31.0	19.1	55.1
2007	552	31.9	17.3	75.8
2008	639	36.4	17.6	71.4
2009	678	33.5	18.3	76.3
2010	725	31.4	23.0	74.6
2011	846	n/a	n/a	71.7
2012	778	32.8	23.6	n/a
2013	779	29.8	26.0	76
2014	805	33.3	24.1	84.5
2015	824	34.0	24.2	78.9
2016	839	34.0	24.6	83
2017	837	38.5	21.7	83
2018	747	38.0	19.6	88.2
2019	650	37.5	17.3	78.2
2020	626	n/a	n/a	84.8
2021	596	31.0	19.2	77
2022	603	30.0	20.0	79.6
2023	585	32.5	17.9	86.5
2024	588	32.6	18.0	87.4

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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