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John Kelley Elementary

Public Grades K-6

4682^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 20% of California elementary schools

Summary

John Kelley Elementary is a K-6 public school serving 505 students in Thermal, California, within the Coachella Valley Unified school district, an area where nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, the school faces significant challenges, with student test scores in English, math, and science well below state averages, placing it in the bottom 20% of California elementary schools. A major factor is chronic absenteeism, with about 39% of students missing too much school, which is the highest rate among most nearby schools like Peter Pendleton Elementary and Valle del Sol Elementary. Interestingly, the school has a real strength in its low student-teacher ratio of about 16-to-1, which is better than most peers, and it shows notable success in supporting its Special Education students, ranking in the top 30% of the state for that group.

The school's performance varies greatly; for example, female students perform significantly better than male students, and 5th graders do much better in English than 4th graders. While per-student spending has increased, academic results have not improved proportionally. However, the strong performance of the similarly-resourced Peter Pendleton Elementary nearby suggests improvement is possible, and John Kelley's effective programs for English Learners provide a solid foundation to build upon for broader academic growth.

505

Students ?

15.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$29,600

Per pupil spending ?

93.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

87-163 Center St.
Thermal, CA 92274-8753

(760) 399-5101

District: Coachella Valley Unified

Students who attend John Kelley Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Toro Canyon Middle
High:	Desert Mirage High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

97.4%

Two or more races:

1.2%

White:

1.0%

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Compare John Kelley Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 5th percentile in 2015 → 20th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 15 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (22% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (20th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (39% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school22%

District avg22%

California avg41%

4,682^nd of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 20%▲ up 15 pts since 2015

From bottom 5% (2015) to bottom 20% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

9^th of 14Elementary Schools in the Coachella Valley Unified

1305^th of 1,543Coachella Valley Unified among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	21.9	4682 of 5857	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.1	4768 of 5869	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.7	4884 of 5859	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.9	4659 of 5883	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	14.1	1314 of 1417	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	21.1	4700 of 5789	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.6	5038 of 5662	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	12.7	5312 of 5692	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	15.2	5027 of 5614	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	12.0	5352 of 5611	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	18.5	4839 of 5530	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	24.2	4369 of 5390	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	29.3	4042 of 5377	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	21.5	4497 of 5314	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	10.0	4997 of 5193	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	8.5	4984 of 5113	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	9.9	4924 of 5113	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	8.2	4699 of 4818	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	8.4	4723 of 4822	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	7.3	4764 of 4809	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	18.1	2441 of 2585	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	30.2	1428 of 2128	32.9%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	40.9	1759 of 3162	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.8	2255 of 3245	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	43.7	1556 of 3311	53.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	28.1	512 of 602	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	31.3	2392 of 3275	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	41.1	1703 of 3246	47.5%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	31.3	3743 of 5597	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	27.3	4038 of 5612	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.8	4062 of 5609	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.0	3926 of 5635	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	15.3	1172 of 1267	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	16.2	4929 of 5492	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.5	4743 of 5413	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	30.8	3704 of 5107	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.4	3712 of 5107	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.4	3993 of 5087	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	29.5	3749 of 5084	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.8	3708 of 4963	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.9	4187 of 4830	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	28.9	4066 of 5460	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.3	4278 of 5517	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.2	4290 of 5363	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	29.0	3919 of 5264	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.5	967 of 1110	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.5	3991 of 5173	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.9	4414 of 5084	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	14.4	5164 of 5628	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.4	5039 of 5643	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.7	5185 of 5638	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	18.3	4895 of 5663	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.0	1159 of 1272	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	27.5	3983 of 5510	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.3	4942 of 5431	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	61.4	756 of 2847	73.4%	★★★★☆
2024	45.1	1124 of 2635	57.3%	★★★☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Special Education (2025)73rd percentile+53 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)44th percentile+26 vs school

Female (2025)33rd percentile+13 vs school

Hispanic (2025)27th percentile+7 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)26th percentile+5 vs school

Male (2025)8th percentile-12 vs school

Disabled (2019)6th percentile-13 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy26%-23 vs state

Mathematics21%-17 vs state

Science15%-17 vs state

★

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Schools Near John Kelley Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
John Kelley Elementary	Public	K-6	87-163 Center St.	Thermal	92274	Riverside County	Coachella Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 399-5101	505	32	15.7	93.3%	5 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	492 (97.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.2%)	21.9	4682^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	20.1%		21.1	4768^th of 5869 public elementary schools	18.8%	86	15.4		15.4	14.9	10.7	42.2	30.4			25.6	14.9	7.3	26.2	32.1			20.6	96.8		96.8	$29,600	$1,396	$28,204
Valle del Sol Elementary	Public	K-6	51-433 Education Way	Coachella	92236	Riverside County	Coachella Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 398-1025	649	32	20.2	90.8%	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	641 (98.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.6%)	35.9	3509^th of 5857 public elementary schools	40.1%		38.4	3274^th of 5869 public elementary schools	44.2%	235	22.4		22.4	38.1	37.7	44.2	39.6			39.8	37.1	29.4	30.2	22.1			29.9	98.3			$29,390	$1,355	$28,035
Valley View Elementary	Public	K-6	85-270 Valley Rd.	Coachella	92236	Riverside County	Coachella Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 398-4651	603	25	23.9	94.2%	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	599 (99.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28.5	4094^th of 5857 public elementary schools	30.1%		25	4369^th of 5869 public elementary schools	25.6%	275	11.7		11.7	28.2	39.2	37.9	33.7			34.8	32.1	39.2	18.3	23.6			27.5				$30,427	$1,418	$29,009
Palm View Elementary	Public	K-6	1390 Seventh St.	Coachella	92236	Riverside County	Coachella Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 398-2861	561	26	21.3	94.8%	7 (1.2%)	4 (0.7%)	547 (97.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	25	4391^st of 5857 public elementary schools	25.0%		23.9	4478^th of 5869 public elementary schools	23.7%	87	9.1		9.1	22.7	24.0	15.2	40.9			25.4	42.7	28.6	11.6	31.9			29.6				$30,550	$1,402	$29,148
Peter Pendleton Elementary	Public	K-6	84-750 Calle Rojo	Coachella	92236	Riverside County	Coachella Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 398-0178	499	21	23.5	96.2%	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	491 (98.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.0%)	64.3	1873^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	68.0%		48.8	2629^th of 5869 public elementary schools	55.2%	756	30.5		30.5	52.9	40.5	57.6	51.4			50.0	62.3	40.0	55.2	58.1			53.4				$31,575	$1,529	$30,046
Coral Mountain Academy	Public	K-6	51-375 Van Buren St.	Coachella	92236	Riverside County	Coachella Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 398-3525	815	34	23.8	83.3%	14 (1.7%)	1 (0.1%)	795 (97.5%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	32.9	3732^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	36.3%		30.6	3887^th of 5869 public elementary schools	33.8%	155	13.6		13.6	26.2	32.1	38.2	44.8			35.8	33.6	33.9	26.0	32.6			31.5	97.2		97.2	$30,243	$1,212	$29,031
Cesar Chavez Elementary	Public	K-6	49-601 Avenida de Oro	Coachella	92236	Riverside County	Coachella Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 398-2004	622	29	21.3	91.5%	5 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	613 (98.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	19.9	4833^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	17.5%		19.7	4892^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	16.6%	59	9.8		9.8	19.8	17.7	29.3	42.7			27.4	31.1	14.6	15.9	20.8			20.6				$30,568	$1,321	$29,247
Imagine Schools Riverside County	Public, Charter	K-8	50-930 Calhoun St.	Coachella	92236	Riverside County	Imagine Schools Riverside County District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 391-9200	1,454	63	23.0	72.8%	31 (2.1%)	20 (1.4%)	1,382 (95.0%)	5 (0.3%)	4 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (0.8%)	26.1	4304^th of 5857 public elementary schools	26.5%		20	4869^th of 5869 public elementary schools	17.0%	565	21.5	26.7	23.1	31.1	33.9	34.9	31.2	45.1	54.7	35.9	34.2	31.6	12.8	15.6	22.0	18.7	23.4	97.8			$20,206	$1,283	$18,923
Las Palmitas Elementary	Public	K-6	86150 Avenue 66	Thermal	92274	Riverside County	Coachella Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 397-2200	570	23	24.7	96.5%	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	557 (97.7%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.7%)	14.7	5298^th of 5857 public elementary schools	9.5%		13.8	5409^th of 5869 public elementary schools	7.8%	111	7.5		7.5	13.8	21.4	21.3	38.9			24.1	13.3	11.0	10.6	21.1			14.0				$30,955	$1,373	$29,582
Westside Elementary	Public	K-6	82-225 Airport Blvd.	Thermal	92274	Riverside County	Coachella Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 399-5171	349	18	19.2	91.4%	5 (1.4%)	1 (0.3%)	340 (97.4%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	28.4	4104^th of 5857 public elementary schools	29.9%		28.7	4049^th of 5869 public elementary schools	31.0%	55	0.0		0.0	20.9	28.3	6.1	54.7			28.3	41.9	23.9	8.2	41.5			28.8	96.5	96.5		$32,100	$1,327	$30,773

Frequently Asked Questions about John Kelley Elementary

How many students attend John Kelley Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 505 students attended John Kelley Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of John Kelley Elementary?

Students at John Kelley Elementary are 97% Hispanic, 1% Two or more races.

What district is John Kelley Elementary in?

Coachella Valley Unified

What schools do graduates of John Kelley Elementary attend?

Students who attend John Kelley Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Toro Canyon Middle
High : Desert Mirage High

Is John Kelley Elementary a good school?

John Kelley Elementary ranks in the bottom 20.1% of California elementary schools.

Rate John Kelley Elementary!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.