The facilities at Ernie Pyle Elementary School include 17 regular education classrooms, two special education classrooms, a multipurpose room that also serves as the school cafeteria, a parent volunteer room, a library, a primary computer lab, an upper grade computer lab, a dedicated science room and a resource room.

Ernie Pyle serves 558 students. The attendance rate at the school was 96.29 percent during the prior school year. Student enrollment includes a variety of ethnic backgrounds: Asian 4 percent, Pacific Islander 2 percent, Filipino 4 percent, Hispanic 66 percent, African-American 16 percent, Caucasian 5 percent and multiple 3 percent.

Students at Ernie Pyle are held accountable to clear and high expectations. Teachers use a variety of instructional strategies to ensure that all students access the core curriculum, and the instructional program is designed so that all students are fully engaged and supported to take ownership of their learning. A variety of intervention and enrichment programs are available to help students achieve and thrive academically Students in grades 5 and 6 participate in chorus or band and are taught by a certificated music teacher Students are given opportunities beyond the classroom setting to experience challenging and diverse learning experiences. These opportunities include library monitors, cafeteria workers and student council participation. Assemblies, student of the month, perfect attendance, and “Proud Panthers” are used to positively reinforce student attendance, academic achievement and behavior. An after school program called APPLE offers support with homework and enrichment activities for students in 1st through 6th grades every day until 6:00 p.m. Our goal is to provide a quality education so our students become life long learners and successful in their future years.

Other personnel serving the school include a psychologist, two health assistants, a guidance intern, a speech and language pathologist, secretarial staff, and a full time community resource liaison. We have an open door policy that encourages parent involvement to help support our instruction. All staff meets the credential requirements of the State of California. Sixty five percent of the certificated staff have advanced degrees and all teachers have pursued course work beyond their bachelor’s degree.

Staff development activities are essential for maintaining a quality education program for students. Both the site administrator and the district office personnel provide on-going, job-embedded staff development activities for teachers and classified staff. The teachers also provide staff development to their colleagues after attending staff developments put on by the district. The focus for all staff development is on strategies that help support academic achievement of all students.

We believe that all students can learn and we continually strive to meet the learning needs of all students. All stakeholders of the Ernie Pyle learning community hold themselves to a “Standard of Excellence; Nothing Less.”