Original Research by School Decision on Grand Terrace High Sch at the Ray Abril Jr. Edal Complex
Grand Terrace High School sits on Main Street in the city's southwest, within Colton Joint Unified School District, and serves a mid-sized cohort of high school students across grades nine through twelve. The school sits near the northern boundary of the Gateway at Grand Terrace, a major mixed-use development project that will bring residential and commercial growth to the area over the coming years.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic, reflecting the city's demographic makeup, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Enrollment is relatively balanced across the four grade levels, making this a school of typical size for a comprehensive high school in an Inland Empire suburb.
Academic performance presents a mixed picture. In English language arts, students are reaching proficiency at a moderate rate, though the reading suggests room for improvement. Mathematics proficiency is notably low, with fewer than one in five students meeting standards. Science proficiency sits between these two, also below half. These results reflect challenges that many schools in the region face, and a parent may want to discuss directly with the school what academic supports and intervention programs are in place, particularly in mathematics. The data covers only the most recent year, so whether these represent a trend or a snapshot is unclear from the available information.
The school is part of Colton Joint Unified, which in November 2024 gained voter approval for a school facilities bond, the district's first major bond authorization in many years. This investment addresses aging facilities across the district's neighborhood schools, many built several decades ago, and will fund repairs, modernization, and classroom construction. For families, this represents both a property-tax commitment and a long-term commitment to facility improvements.
Grand Terrace itself is a small, car-oriented residential and industrial city on the I-10 corridor between Riverside and San Bernardino, anchored by the Barton Road commercial strip where locals run daily errands. The city is in a growth phase, with the Gateway project and other development activity reshaping the southwest corridor where the high school sits. Housing values are moderate relative to the broader county market, though they have declined slightly in recent months. Rents have similarly softened. Employment is concentrated in health care, manufacturing, and retail, with significant warehouse and logistics activity characteristic of the Inland Empire.
Data on the school's graduation rate, chronic absenteeism, four-year cohort outcomes, course offerings, and staffing were not available in the records reviewed. Without these measures, a full picture of student pathways, completion rates, and the breadth of academic and career programs offered remains incomplete. A conversation with the school or district about college and career pathways, dual enrollment, and career-technical offerings would round out what a prospective family should know.
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