Summary:
Blythe, California, is served by five public schools within the Palo Verde Unified district, educating about 2,600 students from kindergarten through 12th grade in a high-need community where the district ranks in the bottom 5% statewide.
Among these schools, Palo Verde High stands out as the district's strongest performer, with a graduation rate above state averages and the highest statewide ranking, while the three elementary schools—Felix J. Appleby, Ruth Brown, and Margaret White—all face significant academic challenges, consistently ranking in the bottom 7% of California schools. Margaret White Elementary shows relative strengths with the lowest chronic absenteeism and highest science scores among the elementary schools.
The district faces systemic academic gaps, with test scores in English and math far below state averages, and a severe mathematics crisis where proficiency drops sharply in upper grades. Twin Palms Continuation high school serves a struggling population with extremely high absenteeism and the lowest outcomes, despite receiving the highest per-student funding. Overall, while Palo Verde High succeeds in keeping students on track to graduate, all schools in Blythe are working to improve foundational academic achievement.
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