Is Thelma Bedell Elementary a good school?

Thelma Bedell Elementary ranks 4150 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

How many students attend Thelma Bedell Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 268 students attended Thelma Bedell Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Thelma Bedell Elementary?

Students at Thelma Bedell Elementary are 91% Hispanic, 6% White, 1% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Thelma Bedell Elementary attend?

Students who attend Thelma Bedell Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Isbell Middle High : Santa Paula High

Thelma Bedell Elementary

Summary:

Thelma Bedell Elementary is a public elementary school in Santa Paula, California, serving 268 students in grades K-6. The school is part of the Santa Paula Unified School District, which has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Thelma Bedell Elementary faces several key challenges. The school has seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism rates, rising from 7.1% in 2018-2019 to 34.5% in 2022-2023, which is notably higher than the district and state averages. Academically, the school consistently underperforms the district and state averages across various Smarter Balanced Assessments and CAST Science tests. For example, in 2023-2024, only 28.18% of students were proficient or better in ELA End of Course, compared to 33.89% for the district and 47.04% for the state. The school also struggles to support certain student subgroups, ranking in the bottom 25% of California elementary schools for male students, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities. Additionally, Thelma Bedell Elementary has a high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, reaching 64.55% in 2022-2023, significantly higher than the state average.

When comparing Thelma Bedell Elementary to other schools in the Santa Paula Unified District, it consistently underperforms. For example, Grace Thille Elementary and McKevett Elementary have significantly higher test scores and lower chronic absenteeism rates. However, Santa Clara Elementary, a small school outside the district, stands out with exceptional test scores, outperforming the state averages in both ELA and Math, suggesting that with the right resources and support, students in the Santa Paula area can achieve high academic outcomes.

Detail:

Public K-6

1305 Laurel Rd.
Santa Paula, CA 93060-0710

(805) 933-8951

District: Santa Paula Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
4150^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $12,446

Students who attend Thelma Bedell Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Isbell Middle
High:	Santa Paula High

Student/teacher ratio: 20.5

Number of students: 268

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

91.4%

White:

6.0%

Asian:

1.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 64.6%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Thelma Bedell Elementary ranks worse than 70.8% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 4^th among 6 ranked elementary schools in the Santa Paula Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 27.52. (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 (91.4%), White (6%), Asian (1.1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 64.6% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the lowest percentage in the Santa Paula Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Thelma Bedell Elementary is 20.5. 3 elementary schools in the Santa Paula Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Thelma Bedell Elementary employs 13 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Thelma Bedell Elementary is $12,446, which is the highest among 6 elementary schools in the Santa Paula Unified School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Thelma Bedell Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Thelma Bedell Elementary 4150^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Thelma Bedell Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Santa Paula Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Santa Paula Unified 1211^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Thelma Bedell Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Thelma Bedell Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2015	41.77	2919^th	5611	48.0%
2016	43.34	2882^nd	5614	48.7%
2017	58.01	2119^th	5692	62.8%
2018	50.90	2525^th	5662	55.4%
2019	46.84	2773^rd	5789	52.1%
2022	24.01	4449^th	5883	24.4%
2023	19.24	4941^st	5874	15.9%
2024	27.52	4150^th	5862	29.2%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Thelma Bedell Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	28.79	2697^th	3311	18.5%
2023	24.22	2936^th	3250	9.7%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Thelma Bedell Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	27.27	1783^rd	2420	26.3%
2024	18.69	2465^th	2634	6.4%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Thelma Bedell Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	68.36	1275^th	5084	74.9%
2019	49.86	2417^th	5173	53.3%
2022	18.94	4725^th	5264	10.2%
2023	19.77	4722^nd	5374	12.1%
2024	26.80	4244^th	5511	23.0%

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

Rank History for Female students at Thelma Bedell Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	51.93	2382^nd	5413	56.0%
2019	47.78	2618^th	5492	52.3%
2022	26.94	4024^th	5635	28.6%
2023	25.46	4186^th	5617	25.5%
2024	29.20	3856^th	5605	31.2%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Thelma Bedell Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	30.95	1451^st	2227	34.8%

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

Rank History for Male students at Thelma Bedell Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	47.94	2577^th	5431	52.6%
2019	45.25	2717^th	5510	50.7%
2022	21.74	4537^th	5663	19.9%
2023	15.66	5110^th	5650	9.6%
2024	26.74	4102^nd	5636	27.2%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Thelma Bedell Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	68.02	1232^nd	4830	74.5%
2019	54.76	1987^th	4963	60.0%
2022	30.43	3665^th	5084	27.9%
2023	24.53	4152^nd	5098	18.6%
2024	35.14	3342^nd	5102	34.5%

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 Thelma Bedell Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
2014	42	0	1	314	0	1	2	360
2015	30	2	2	305	0	1	2	342
2016	27	1	1	299	0	1	1	330
2017	32	1	1	320	0	0	0	354
2018	22	1	2	261	0	0	0	286
2019	19	1	0	248	0	0	0	268
2020	14	1	0	278	0	0	0	293
2021	16	0	1	263	0	0	0	280
2022	16	0	1	254	0	0	0	271
2023	16	1	3	245	1	0	2	268

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 Thelma Bedell Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2014	360	15.0	24.0	71.4
2015	342	16.0	21.3	78.1
2016	330	16.0	20.6	77.6
2017	354	17.0	20.8	78.5
2018	286	15.0	19.0	80.1
2019	268	14.0	19.1	76.5
2020	293	n/a	n/a	73.7
2021	280	15.0	18.6	70.4
2022	271	13.2	20.4	45.8
2023	268	13.0	20.5	64.6

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 Thelma Bedell Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2014	360	15.0	24.0	71.4
2015	342	16.0	21.3	78.1
2016	330	16.0	20.6	77.6
2017	354	17.0	20.8	78.5
2018	286	15.0	19.0	80.1
2019	268	14.0	19.1	76.5
2020	293	n/a	n/a	73.7
2021	280	15.0	18.6	70.4
2022	271	13.2	20.4	45.8
2023	268	13.0	20.5	64.6

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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