Is Grace Smith Elementary a good school?

Grace Smith Elementary ranks 2306 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Grace Smith Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 64 students attended Grace Smith Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Grace Smith Elementary?

Students at Grace Smith Elementary are 81% Hispanic, 16% White, 2% African American, 2% American Indian.

What schools do graduates of Grace Smith Elementary attend?

Students who attend Grace Smith Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Bill E. Young Junior Middle High : Calipatria High

Grace Smith Elementary

Summary:

Grace Smith Elementary is a public elementary school located in Niland, California, serving 75 students in grades K-4. The school is part of the Calipatria Unified School District, which is ranked 942 out of 1,568 districts in the state.

Grace Smith Elementary has shown mixed academic performance in recent years, with its statewide ranking ranging from 1,348 out of 1,417 schools in 2020-2021 to 2,306 out of 5,862 schools in 2023-2024. However, the school has performed well in serving its Hispanic and low socioeconomic status (SES) student populations, ranking in the top 25% of California elementary schools for these subgroups. Notably, the school's chronic absenteeism rate has increased significantly, from 8.6% in 2018-2019 to 47.1% in 2021-2022, which is higher than the rates at nearby J.W. Oakley Elementary and Fremont Primary schools.

Grace Smith Elementary has a very high percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch, ranging from 89.29% to 96% in recent years, which is significantly higher than the rates at nearby Myron D. Witter Elementary and other schools in the area. The school's student-teacher ratio is relatively low, ranging from 15 to 17 students per teacher, which is lower than the ratios at nearby schools. These factors suggest that the school and the broader Calipatria Unified School District face unique challenges and needs in supporting the high-poverty student population.

Detail:

Public K-4

9 East Fourth St.
Niland, CA 92257-1005

(760) 359-0636

District: Calipatria Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
2306^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $11,408

Students who attend Grace Smith Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Bill E. Young Junior Middle
High:	Calipatria High

Student/teacher ratio: 12.8

Number of students: 64

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

81.3%

White:

15.6%

African American:

1.6%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 96.9%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Grace Smith Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Grace Smith Elementary ranks better than 60.7% of elementary schools in California. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 54.64. (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 (81.3%), White (15.6%), American Indian (1.6%). (See more...)

Compare Details 96.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Grace Smith Elementary is 12.8. (See more...)

Compare Grace Smith Elementary employs 5 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Grace Smith Elementary is $11,408.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Grace Smith Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Grace Smith Elementary 2306^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Grace Smith Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Hispanic students:

Calipatria Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Calipatria Unified 942^nd of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Grace Smith Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Grace Smith Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	25.23	3546^th	4809	26.3%
2005	25.14	3618^th	4822	25.0%
2006	24.75	3670^th	4818	23.8%
2007	25.42	3902^nd	5113	23.7%
2008	27.73	3771^st	5113	26.2%
2009	36.15	3297^th	5193	36.5%
2010	31.31	3753^rd	5314	29.4%
2011	40.95	3174^th	5377	41.0%
2012	46.05	2874^th	5390	46.7%
2013	56.49	2320^th	5530	58.0%
2015	28.45	3832^nd	5611	31.7%
2016	41.51	2983^rd	5614	46.9%
2018	55.40	2267^th	5662	60.0%
2019	54.96	2319^th	5789	59.9%
2021	12.29	1348^th	1417	4.9%
2022	35.11	3453^rd	5883	41.3%
2023	31.04	3797^th	5874	35.4%
2024	54.64	2306^th	5862	60.7%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Grace Smith Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	67.84	1310^th	5084	74.2%
2019	80.64	684^th	5173	86.8%
2021	21.50	968^th	1110	12.8%
2022	43.34	2737^th	5264	48.0%
2024	68.56	1329^th	5511	75.9%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Grace Smith Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	71.28	1079^th	4830	77.7%
2019	50.10	2279^th	4963	54.1%
2024	68.16	1267^th	5102	75.2%

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 Grace Smith Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	143	14	19	85	0	n/a	n/a	0	261
1989	140	7	23	84	1	n/a	n/a	0	255
1990	122	7	22	93	7	n/a	n/a	0	251
1991	119	6	29	93	0	n/a	n/a	0	247
1992	123	8	29	108	0	n/a	n/a	0	268
1993	133	10	26	115	2	n/a	n/a	0	286
1994	130	16	53	93	3	n/a	n/a	0	295
1995	112	12	12	145	4	n/a	n/a	0	285
1996	112	12	12	145	4	n/a	n/a	0	285
1997	98	12	17	125	0	n/a	n/a	0	252
1998	101	17	11	128	1	n/a	n/a	0	258
1999	98	23	7	152	3	n/a	n/a	0	283
2000	87	11	4	135	1	n/a	n/a	0	238
2001	65	11	5	154	0	n/a	n/a	0	235
2002	76	24	9	157	0	n/a	n/a	0	266
2003	76	24	9	157	0	n/a	n/a	0	266
2004	75	15	9	172	0	n/a	n/a	0	271
2005	79	13	10	148	0	n/a	n/a	0	250
2006	74	16	5	128	0	n/a	n/a	0	223
2007	57	9	2	110	0	n/a	n/a	2	180
2008	45	1	n/a	71	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	117
2009	36	5	2	71	0	0	3	0	117
2010	34	2	0	76	0	0	2	0	114
2011	37	7	1	71	0	0	2	0	118
2012	26	3	1	67	0	0	0	0	97
2013	15	2	4	69	0	0	2	0	92
2014	18	2	2	69	0	0	2	0	93
2015	11	2	2	68	0	0	6	0	89
2016	14	0	1	69	0	0	3	0	87
2017	11	2	1	54	0	0	3	0	71
2018	10	5	0	59	0	0	3	0	77
2019	11	5	1	51	0	0	2	0	70
2020	10	5	1	65	0	0	1	0	82
2021	12	5	0	67	0	0	1	0	85
2022	14	6	0	62	1	0	1	0	84
2023	11	6	0	56	1	0	1	0	75
2024	10	1	0	52	1	0	0	0	64

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 Grace Smith Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	261	9.0	29.0	n/a
1989	255	10.0	25.5	n/a
1990	251	10.0	25.1	n/a
1991	247	10.0	24.7	n/a
1992	268	10.2	26.2	90.7
1993	286	12.0	23.8	88.8
1994	295	12.0	24.6	87.5
1995	285	13.0	21.9	87.7
1996	285	13.0	21.9	87.7
1997	252	11.0	22.9	89.7
1998	258	11.0	23.5	90.7
1999	283	12.0	23.6	89
2000	238	14.0	17.0	89.5
2001	235	12.0	19.6	85.5
2002	266	11.0	24.2	98.9
2003	266	11.0	24.2	98.9
2004	271	13.0	20.8	98.9
2005	250	13.0	19.2	98.8
2006	223	13.0	17.2	93.3
2007	180	11.0	16.4	97.8
2008	117	8.0	14.6	97.4
2009	117	7.0	14.6	97.4
2010	114	7.0	16.2	96.5
2011	118	n/a	n/a	95.8
2012	97	5.0	19.4	96.9
2013	92	5.0	18.4	96.7
2014	93	5.0	18.6	87.1
2015	89	5.0	17.8	93.3
2016	87	5.0	17.4	93.1
2017	71	5.0	14.2	91.5
2018	77	5.0	15.4	92.2
2019	70	5.0	14.0	91.4
2020	82	n/a	n/a	91.5
2021	85	5.0	17.0	95.3
2022	84	5.0	16.8	89.3
2023	75	5.0	15.0	96
2024	64	5.0	12.8	96.9

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 Grace Smith Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	261	9.0	29.0	n/a
1989	255	10.0	25.5	n/a
1990	251	10.0	25.1	n/a
1991	247	10.0	24.7	n/a
1992	268	10.2	26.2	90.7
1993	286	12.0	23.8	88.8
1994	295	12.0	24.6	87.5
1995	285	13.0	21.9	87.7
1996	285	13.0	21.9	87.7
1997	252	11.0	22.9	89.7
1998	258	11.0	23.5	90.7
1999	283	12.0	23.6	89
2000	238	14.0	17.0	89.5
2001	235	12.0	19.6	85.5
2002	266	11.0	24.2	98.9
2003	266	11.0	24.2	98.9
2004	271	13.0	20.8	98.9
2005	250	13.0	19.2	98.8
2006	223	13.0	17.2	93.3
2007	180	11.0	16.4	97.8
2008	117	8.0	14.6	97.4
2009	117	7.0	14.6	97.4
2010	114	7.0	16.2	96.5
2011	118	n/a	n/a	95.8
2012	97	5.0	19.4	96.9
2013	92	5.0	18.4	96.7
2014	93	5.0	18.6	87.1
2015	89	5.0	17.8	93.3
2016	87	5.0	17.4	93.1
2017	71	5.0	14.2	91.5
2018	77	5.0	15.4	92.2
2019	70	5.0	14.0	91.4
2020	82	n/a	n/a	91.5
2021	85	5.0	17.0	95.3
2022	84	5.0	16.8	89.3
2023	75	5.0	15.0	96
2024	64	5.0	12.8	96.9

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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