Thelma Bedell Elementary

Santa Paula is a small agricultural city nestled in the Santa Clara River Valley, surrounded by citrus groves and the foothills of the Los Padres National Forest — it has a tight-knit, working-class character that's a world away from the busier coastal communities nearby. Thelma Bedell Elementary serves a community where many families have deep roots in the area, and while test scores place it in the lower percentiles statewide, science is a relative bright spot worth noting. Families who value a smaller, community-embedded school environment and are willing to invest time in supplementing academics at home may find it a comfortable fit.