Is Poplar Elementary a good school?

Poplar Elementary ranks 3633 rd of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Poplar Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 495 students attended Poplar Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Poplar Elementary?

Students at Poplar Elementary are 94% Hispanic, 2% White, 2% African American.

What schools do graduates of Poplar Elementary attend?

Students who attend Poplar Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Sequoia Middle High : Henry J. Kaiser High

Poplar Elementary

Summary:

Poplar Elementary is a public elementary school in Fontana, California, serving 518 students in grades K-6. It is part of the Fontana Unified School District, which is ranked 1103 out of 1568 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Poplar Elementary faces several challenges, including a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, from 10.4% in 2018-2019 to 36.6% in 2022-2023, which is notably higher than nearby schools. The school's test scores are generally lower than the district and state averages, with proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics at 37.11% and 27.73%, respectively, compared to the district's 37.35% and 22.66%, and the state's 47.04% and 35.54%. While Hispanic students and English Language Learners perform relatively better, the school's performance for Special Education students is particularly low, ranking in the bottom 15% of the state.

Poplar Elementary's performance is generally lower than the nearby Oleander Elementary, Citrus Elementary, and Beech Avenue Elementary, which tend to have higher test scores, lower chronic absenteeism rates, and better overall rankings. The school's high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, as indicated by the free/reduced lunch rates ranging from 84.57% to 85.52%, may be a contributing factor to its lower academic performance, highlighting the importance of addressing the unique needs and challenges faced by students from disadvantaged communities.

Detail:

Public K-6

9937 Poplar Ave.
Fontana, CA 92335-0004

(909) 357-5720

District: Fontana Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
3633^rd of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Students who attend Poplar Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Sequoia Middle
High:	Henry J. Kaiser High

Student/teacher ratio: 19.3

Number of students: 495

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

93.7%

White:

2.4%

African American:

2.2%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 89.5%

See top rated California elementary schools

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Poplar Elementary ranks worse than 62% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 11^th among 30 ranked elementary schools in the Fontana Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 33.54. (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 (93.7%), White (2.4%), African American (2.2%). (See more...)

Compare Details 89.5% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Poplar Elementary is 19.3, which is the 11^th best among 30 elementary schools in the Fontana Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Poplar Elementary employs 25.5 full-time teachers.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Poplar Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Poplar Elementary 3633^rd of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Poplar 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:

Fontana Unified:

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

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Rank History for Poplar Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Poplar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	24.27	3610^th	4809	24.9%
2005	19.52	4002^nd	4822	17.0%
2006	29.09	3373^rd	4818	30.0%
2007	19.96	4299^th	5113	15.9%
2008	19.53	4375^th	5113	14.4%
2009	20.05	4422^nd	5193	14.8%
2010	22.91	4388^th	5314	17.4%
2011	25.54	4294^th	5377	20.1%
2012	24.59	4339^th	5390	19.5%
2013	37.43	3498^th	5530	36.7%
2015	26.42	3987^th	5611	28.9%
2016	31.52	3642^nd	5614	35.1%
2017	34.33	3494^th	5692	38.6%
2018	28.45	3950^th	5662	30.2%
2019	32.01	3774^th	5789	34.8%
2022	26.53	4197^th	5883	28.7%
2023	26.05	4271^st	5874	27.3%
2024	33.54	3633^rd	5862	38.0%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Poplar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	37.49	1909^th	3246	41.2%
2019	45.71	1465^th	3275	55.3%
2022	38.22	1938^th	3311	41.5%
2023	50.47	1180^th	3250	63.7%
2024	37.22	2019^th	3160	36.1%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Poplar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	16.59	2371^st	2420	2.0%
2024	22.43	2271^st	2634	13.8%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Poplar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	40.08	3009^th	5084	40.8%
2019	44.31	2799^th	5173	45.9%
2022	37.46	3221^st	5264	38.8%
2023	32.17	3719^th	5374	30.8%
2024	37.91	3293^rd	5511	40.2%

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

Rank History for Female students at Poplar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	30.53	3721^st	5413	31.3%
2019	39.13	3163^rd	5492	42.4%
2022	28.86	3845^th	5635	31.8%
2023	22.76	4452^nd	5617	20.7%
2024	34.49	3449^th	5605	38.5%

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

Rank History for Male students at Poplar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	26.86	3953^rd	5431	27.2%
2019	25.49	4144^th	5510	24.8%
2022	25.20	4219^th	5663	25.5%
2023	31.07	3679^th	5650	34.9%
2024	32.62	3596^th	5636	36.2%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Poplar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	40.08	2860^th	4830	40.8%
2019	46.82	2500^th	4963	49.6%
2022	37.64	3085^th	5084	39.3%
2023	35.60	3270^th	5098	35.9%
2024	45.84	2553^rd	5102	50.0%

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

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Enrollment information for Poplar Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	350	15	15	283	0	n/a	n/a	0	663
1989	288	13	15	355	0	n/a	n/a	0	671
1990	285	12	21	378	0	n/a	n/a	0	696
1991	245	11	27	393	1	n/a	n/a	0	677
1992	210	23	22	445	3	n/a	n/a	0	703
1993	171	32	10	439	1	n/a	n/a	0	653
1994	149	29	13	434	2	n/a	n/a	0	627
1995	129	33	6	539	1	n/a	n/a	0	708
1996	129	33	6	539	1	n/a	n/a	0	708
1997	111	31	6	582	1	n/a	n/a	0	731
1998	102	33	12	599	0	n/a	n/a	0	746
1999	87	45	14	680	2	n/a	n/a	0	828
2000	62	20	15	661	2	n/a	n/a	0	760
2001	59	18	14	687	1	n/a	n/a	0	779
2002	63	17	14	716	5	n/a	n/a	0	815
2003	63	17	14	716	5	n/a	n/a	0	815
2004	54	23	12	721	8	n/a	n/a	3	821
2005	51	21	13	709	8	n/a	n/a	3	805
2006	48	21	8	672	5	n/a	n/a	6	760
2007	33	23	10	664	7	n/a	n/a	1	738
2008	22	27	10	638	6	n/a	n/a	0	703
2009	28	23	8	719	3	2	3	0	786
2010	32	23	6	702	2	3	0	0	768
2011	30	14	8	703	1	4	0	0	760
2012	26	11	8	670	0	6	3	0	724
2013	28	8	9	648	0	2	3	0	698
2014	31	11	6	650	1	1	3	0	703
2015	32	7	5	670	0	2	4	0	720
2016	19	5	2	647	0	3	3	0	679
2017	15	6	2	611	1	1	6	0	642
2018	10	5	3	589	0	1	5	0	613
2019	7	3	4	591	0	0	4	0	609
2020	11	2	7	534	0	0	4	0	558
2021	9	2	6	519	0	0	2	0	538
2022	7	2	6	503	0	2	1	0	521
2023	10	5	4	498	0	1	0	0	518
2024	12	11	4	464	0	4	0	0	495

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 Poplar Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	663	25.0	26.5	n/a
1989	671	27.0	24.8	n/a
1990	696	28.0	24.8	n/a
1991	677	28.0	24.1	n/a
1992	703	28.5	24.6	53.9
1993	653	21.1	30.9	66.5
1994	627	22.0	28.5	69.9
1995	708	27.0	26.2	59.7
1996	708	27.0	26.2	59.7
1997	731	29.1	25.1	79.2
1998	746	36.0	20.7	81.2
1999	828	37.0	22.4	73.2
2000	760	37.0	20.5	81.7
2001	779	39.0	20.0	89.5
2002	815	38.0	21.4	83.3
2003	815	38.0	21.4	83.3
2004	821	37.5	21.9	85.2
2005	805	40.5	19.9	87.7
2006	760	36.0	21.1	91.6
2007	738	37.0	19.9	93.1
2008	703	37.5	18.7	80.2
2009	786	37.0	18.1	86
2010	768	32.0	24.0	87
2011	760	n/a	n/a	88.6
2012	724	27.5	26.3	n/a
2013	698	26.6	26.1	99.6
2014	703	27.0	26.0	87.9
2015	720	27.0	26.6	89.9
2016	679	28.0	24.2	89.1
2017	642	26.8	23.9	83.6
2018	613	26.8	22.8	85.6
2019	609	26.8	22.6	91.3
2020	558	n/a	n/a	96.6
2021	538	27.7	19.4	84.6
2022	521	26.9	19.3	84.8
2023	518	25.5	20.2	85.5
2024	495	25.5	19.3	89.5

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 Poplar Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	663	25.0	26.5	n/a
1989	671	27.0	24.8	n/a
1990	696	28.0	24.8	n/a
1991	677	28.0	24.1	n/a
1992	703	28.5	24.6	53.9
1993	653	21.1	30.9	66.5
1994	627	22.0	28.5	69.9
1995	708	27.0	26.2	59.7
1996	708	27.0	26.2	59.7
1997	731	29.1	25.1	79.2
1998	746	36.0	20.7	81.2
1999	828	37.0	22.4	73.2
2000	760	37.0	20.5	81.7
2001	779	39.0	20.0	89.5
2002	815	38.0	21.4	83.3
2003	815	38.0	21.4	83.3
2004	821	37.5	21.9	85.2
2005	805	40.5	19.9	87.7
2006	760	36.0	21.1	91.6
2007	738	37.0	19.9	93.1
2008	703	37.5	18.7	80.2
2009	786	37.0	18.1	86
2010	768	32.0	24.0	87
2011	760	n/a	n/a	88.6
2012	724	27.5	26.3	n/a
2013	698	26.6	26.1	99.6
2014	703	27.0	26.0	87.9
2015	720	27.0	26.6	89.9
2016	679	28.0	24.2	89.1
2017	642	26.8	23.9	83.6
2018	613	26.8	22.8	85.6
2019	609	26.8	22.6	91.3
2020	558	n/a	n/a	96.6
2021	538	27.7	19.4	84.6
2022	521	26.9	19.3	84.8
2023	518	25.5	20.2	85.5
2024	495	25.5	19.3	89.5

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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