Is Palmetto Elementary a good school?

Palmetto Elementary ranks in the bottom 22.0% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Palmetto Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 602 students attended Palmetto Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Palmetto Elementary?

Students at Palmetto Elementary are 91% Hispanic, 5% White, 3% African American.

What schools do graduates of Palmetto Elementary attend?

Students who attend Palmetto Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Harry S. Truman Middle High : Jurupa Hills High

Palmetto Elementary

Summary:

Palmetto Elementary is a public elementary school in Fontana, California, serving 602 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the Fontana Unified School District, which has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Palmetto Elementary faces significant challenges, including a sharp increase in chronic absenteeism, from 6.6% in 2017-2018 to 33.6% in 2022-2023, which is notably higher than the district and state averages. The school also consistently underperforms the Fontana Unified School District and the state of California on standardized tests, with only 28.52% of Palmetto students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy in 2023-2024, compared to 37.35% for the district and 47.04% for the state. Additionally, Palmetto Elementary has a very high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 81.55% to 92.23% over the past few years, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population.

When compared to nearby schools within the Fontana Unified School District, Palmetto Elementary consistently performs worse on academic measures. For example, Dolores Huerta International Academy, less than a mile away, outperforms Palmetto Elementary by a significant margin in both English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency. Palmetto's performance is particularly concerning for certain student subgroups, such as Hispanic students and English Language Learners, who rank in the bottom quarter of California elementary schools, and special education students, who rank in the bottom 10%.

Detail:

Public K-5

9325 Palmetto Ave.
Fontana, CA 92335-5904

(909) 357-5710

District: Fontana Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
4572^nd of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Students who attend Palmetto Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Harry S. Truman Middle
High:	Jurupa Hills High

Student/teacher ratio: 20.7

Number of students: 602

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

90.7%

White:

4.7%

African American:

2.8%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 87.9%

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Compare Palmetto Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Palmetto Elementary ranks worse than 78% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 21^st among 30 ranked elementary schools in the Fontana Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 23.02. (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 (90.7%), White (4.7%), African American (2.8%). (See more...)

Compare Details 87.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Palmetto Elementary is 20.7. 21 elementary schools in the Fontana Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Palmetto Elementary employs 29 full-time teachers.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Palmetto Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Palmetto Elementary 4572^nd of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Palmetto 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:

Fontana Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Fontana Unified 1103^rd of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Palmetto Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Palmetto Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	24.97	3571^st	4809	25.7%
2005	21.02	3900^th	4822	19.1%
2006	20.31	3981^st	4818	17.4%
2007	21.21	4199^th	5113	17.9%
2008	18.41	4441^st	5113	13.1%
2009	24.39	4110^th	5193	20.9%
2010	35.80	3447^th	5314	35.1%
2011	36.99	3464^th	5377	35.6%
2012	22.13	4506^th	5390	16.4%
2013	25.01	4396^th	5530	20.5%
2015	26.21	4011^th	5611	28.5%
2016	25.15	4163^rd	5614	25.8%
2017	27.68	4030^th	5692	29.2%
2018	26.78	4101^st	5662	27.6%
2019	28.37	4068^th	5789	29.7%
2022	20.00	4856^th	5883	17.5%
2023	19.18	4943^rd	5874	15.8%
2024	23.02	4572^nd	5862	22.0%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Palmetto Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	38.09	1868^th	3246	42.5%
2019	38.52	1878^th	3275	42.7%
2022	27.17	2804^th	3311	15.3%
2023	34.41	2212^th	3250	31.9%
2024	45.50	1444^th	3160	54.3%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Palmetto Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	17.92	2273^rd	2420	6.1%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Palmetto Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	38.91	3102^nd	5084	39.0%
2019	43.41	2870^th	5173	44.5%
2022	26.26	4140^th	5264	21.4%
2023	25.97	4237^th	5374	21.2%
2024	29.42	4001^st	5511	27.4%

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

Rank History for Female students at Palmetto Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	27.40	3966^th	5413	26.7%
2019	31.43	3717^th	5492	32.3%
2022	22.17	4494^th	5635	20.2%
2023	21.06	4605^th	5617	18.0%
2024	21.15	4587^th	5605	18.2%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Palmetto Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	23.82	1780^th	2128	16.4%
2019	26.75	1969^th	2585	23.8%

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

Rank History for Male students at Palmetto Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	27.72	3882^nd	5431	28.5%
2019	25.89	4106^th	5510	25.5%
2022	18.71	4846^th	5663	14.4%
2023	18.67	4857^th	5650	14.0%
2024	26.17	4155^th	5636	26.3%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Palmetto Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	35.95	3149^th	4830	34.8%
2019	38.96	3032^nd	4963	38.9%
2022	27.30	3927^th	5084	22.8%
2023	26.81	3971^st	5098	22.1%
2024	32.71	3520^th	5102	31.0%

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

Rank History for White students at Palmetto Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	30.94	2121^st	2834	25.2%

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 Palmetto Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	631	39	11	183	2	n/a	n/a	0	866
1989	645	30	10	248	1	n/a	n/a	0	934
1990	596	31	10	277	3	n/a	n/a	0	917
1991	565	37	9	348	5	n/a	n/a	0	964
1992	552	45	11	381	3	n/a	n/a	0	992
1993	464	41	14	328	5	n/a	n/a	0	852
1994	426	50	9	348	3	n/a	n/a	0	836
1995	401	85	10	424	5	n/a	n/a	0	925
1996	401	85	10	424	5	n/a	n/a	0	925
1997	379	80	14	488	7	n/a	n/a	0	968
1998	329	75	15	527	4	n/a	n/a	0	950
1999	324	73	16	574	3	n/a	n/a	0	990
2000	313	56	11	626	3	n/a	n/a	0	1009
2001	266	53	12	706	3	n/a	n/a	0	1040
2002	212	50	12	762	7	n/a	n/a	0	1043
2003	212	50	12	762	7	n/a	n/a	0	1043
2004	162	44	13	840	10	n/a	n/a	9	1078
2005	137	46	19	868	7	n/a	n/a	9	1086
2006	104	56	18	869	5	n/a	n/a	14	1066
2007	87	39	21	842	6	n/a	n/a	4	999
2008	77	32	16	822	3	n/a	n/a	0	950
2009	70	21	15	804	4	0	2	0	916
2010	59	23	12	793	0	2	0	0	889
2011	57	28	10	808	1	4	1	0	909
2012	60	27	8	804	1	1	3	0	904
2013	53	28	6	843	1	1	3	0	935
2014	50	28	5	881	1	1	8	0	974
2015	44	26	3	878	1	1	7	0	960
2016	49	26	6	827	2	1	7	0	918
2017	53	22	4	767	3	1	5	0	855
2018	53	13	2	733	4	1	6	0	812
2019	42	7	3	682	3	1	3	0	741
2020	40	15	5	679	2	1	3	0	745
2021	27	9	8	620	1	1	3	0	669
2022	30	14	6	549	1	1	6	0	607
2023	28	17	5	546	1	1	4	0	602

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 Palmetto Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	866	31.0	27.9	n/a
1989	934	34.0	27.4	n/a
1990	917	37.0	24.7	n/a
1991	964	36.0	26.7	n/a
1992	992	36.6	27.1	38.3
1993	852	29.0	29.4	44
1994	836	30.0	27.9	57.1
1995	925	35.0	26.4	38.8
1996	925	35.0	26.4	38.8
1997	968	39.3	24.6	68.4
1998	950	44.8	21.2	61.9
1999	990	43.0	23.0	66.4
2000	1009	48.0	21.0	64.4
2001	1040	50.0	20.8	73.5
2002	1043	47.0	22.2	76.2
2003	1043	47.0	22.2	76.2
2004	1078	47.0	22.9	76.5
2005	1086	49.0	22.2	82.8
2006	1066	45.0	23.7	85.6
2007	999	46.0	21.7	83.9
2008	950	50.0	19.0	82.1
2009	916	44.0	19.1	93.1
2010	889	37.0	24.0	85
2011	909	n/a	n/a	88.3
2012	904	31.5	28.6	n/a
2013	935	32.8	28.4	99.7
2014	974	33.0	29.5	86.3
2015	960	34.0	28.2	82.5
2016	918	33.0	27.8	85.2
2017	855	33.6	25.4	86.8
2018	812	31.7	25.5	88.8
2019	741	30.7	24.0	87
2020	745	n/a	n/a	96.4
2021	669	33.8	19.7	92.2
2022	607	30.6	19.8	81.5
2023	602	29.0	20.7	87.9

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 Palmetto Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	866	31.0	27.9	n/a
1989	934	34.0	27.4	n/a
1990	917	37.0	24.7	n/a
1991	964	36.0	26.7	n/a
1992	992	36.6	27.1	38.3
1993	852	29.0	29.4	44
1994	836	30.0	27.9	57.1
1995	925	35.0	26.4	38.8
1996	925	35.0	26.4	38.8
1997	968	39.3	24.6	68.4
1998	950	44.8	21.2	61.9
1999	990	43.0	23.0	66.4
2000	1009	48.0	21.0	64.4
2001	1040	50.0	20.8	73.5
2002	1043	47.0	22.2	76.2
2003	1043	47.0	22.2	76.2
2004	1078	47.0	22.9	76.5
2005	1086	49.0	22.2	82.8
2006	1066	45.0	23.7	85.6
2007	999	46.0	21.7	83.9
2008	950	50.0	19.0	82.1
2009	916	44.0	19.1	93.1
2010	889	37.0	24.0	85
2011	909	n/a	n/a	88.3
2012	904	31.5	28.6	n/a
2013	935	32.8	28.4	99.7
2014	974	33.0	29.5	86.3
2015	960	34.0	28.2	82.5
2016	918	33.0	27.8	85.2
2017	855	33.6	25.4	86.8
2018	812	31.7	25.5	88.8
2019	741	30.7	24.0	87
2020	745	n/a	n/a	96.4
2021	669	33.8	19.7	92.2
2022	607	30.6	19.8	81.5
2023	602	29.0	20.7	87.9

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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