Summary:
The Plumas Unified school district serves a rural Northern California community with eight schools—four elementary and four high schools—educating about 1,700 students from kindergarten through 12th grade, though it ranks below the state average overall.
Among the elementary schools, Chester Elementary stands out as the highest-performing, showing strong improvement and the best math scores in the district, while C. Roy Carmichael Elementary is the largest. At the high school level, Chester Junior/Senior High has the district's highest graduation rate, and Portola Junior/Senior High operates with the lowest per-student spending. Beckwourth (Jim) High (Continuation) serves a distinct, at-risk student population with very high chronic absenteeism.
Key challenges for the district include math and science scores that trail state averages, with proficiency declining sharply in middle and high school grades, and a chronic absenteeism rate that exceeds the state average at nearly every school. While spending per student varies widely, it does not consistently predict better outcomes, and most schools have seen their statewide rankings decline in recent years.
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