Located in this district, CA. Serving grades KG through 08.
Plaza Elementary is a small rural K-8 district in Glenn County, California, serving about a hundred and ninety students across nine grades. The district comprises a single school located in Orland and Hamilton City.
The academic picture shows strength in the elementary grades and material weakness at the middle school level. In third and fourth grade, students reach proficiency in math at rates well above what the state typically sees. Fourth-grade English language arts proficiency is also solid. By fifth grade, however, math proficiency drops sharply, then recovers somewhat in seventh before declining again in eighth. English language arts follows a similar pattern: grades three and four show reasonable performance, fifth grade holds steady, sixth grade proficiency falls significantly, then seventh and eighth grades rebound to around seventy percent. Science proficiency at fifth and eighth grades sits in the middle range. Across all tested subjects and grades, the district's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among Glenn County's districts, a meaningful distinction for a rural area.
The drop-off in middle grades math and language arts warrants attention. A parent considering the district may want to ask the school directly about what happens pedagogically in grade five and six, whether staffing or curriculum changes are involved, and what interventions exist for students who fall below proficiency in those years. The data shows the problem is real, but does not explain its cause or the school's response.
The student body is about forty percent Hispanic and fifty-five percent white, with small numbers of students from other backgrounds. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data was not available, so the economic composition of the enrollment is unclear from the data provided.
Chronic absenteeism in the district is very low, notably better than the county median, suggesting either strong family engagement or effective attendance systems or both. Per-pupil spending sits at the lower end for the county, a characteristic of rural districts where fixed costs are spread across smaller enrollments.
A major recent development is the completion of a significant facilities project. The district finished construction of a new gymnasium and added modular classroom buildings, with ceremonies held in September. For a single-school district of this size, this represents a durable upgrade to physical plant, expanding athletic and instructional space the school previously lacked. The project took place over roughly eighteen months and cost in the ballpark of several million dollars.
Housing values in the communities served by the district are moderate, and the mortgage-to-income ratio suggests homes are reasonably affordable relative to national benchmarks. The area is rural and serves families who live in or near Orland and Hamilton City.
Percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards, by grade.
| ZIP | City | Value | YoY | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95963 | Orland | $395K | +3.5% | 96.9% |
| 95951 | Hamilton City | $302K | +1.0% | 3.1% |
Officially reported figures, 2024-25.