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Public school district · California

Atwater Elementary.Many schools. Many different stories.

Compare elementary, middle, and high schools across Atwater Elementary—and look beyond a single district average.

Thomas Olaeta ElementaryJuniper ElementaryMitchell ElementaryElmer Wood ElementaryAileen Colburn ElementaryBellevue ElementaryShaffer ElementaryPeggy Heller ElementaryAtwater ElementaryN ↑
8 schools mapped · Location contextOpen map →
Census district boundary
Elementary schools at a glance
Elementary8 schools
avg 31.9/1004 Solid, 2 Developing, +2 more

Elementary schools are scored on their own scale — never ranked against other levels.

The elementary years

30 points separate Thomas Olaeta Elementary (47) from Peggy Heller Elementary (17) — at this level, which school matters more than which district.

0100
Strong Solid Developing Needs Support district avg state avg

30 points separate the strongest and weakest of these 8 elementary schools — the average hides more than it tells.

The strength

Students are showing up: chronic absenteeism runs 9.5% against a state average of 17.9%.

The catch

2 of 8 elementary schools sit in the Needs Support band — which campus you're zoned for carries real weight here.

72nd percentile · SolidScope Score 47/100
Juniper Elementary
Culture First
55th percentile · SolidScope Score 38/100
Mitchell Elementary
Culture First
53rd percentile · SolidScope Score 37/100

All 8 elementary schools, ranked, in the appendix →

What it means for your family

If you're choosing a neighborhood

The 30-point spread means the district average is nearly meaningless for an address decision — the zoned elementary school is the whole decision. The strongest attendance-zone candidate is Thomas Olaeta Elementary at 47/100 — confirm the exact boundary with the district before the house.

If you already live here

No charters or magnets among the ranked schools here, so the main lever is an intra-district transfer — California districts run them on their own windows and criteria. If your zoned school sits low in the appendix below, ask the district office for this year's dates.

If your kid is enrolled now

A band is a position, not a prophecy — 1 campus here ranks as On the Rise, its returning cohorts gaining more than most schools statewide. Ask your school two questions: what happens for a kid who arrives behind, and what the classroom looks like for one who arrives ahead.

The strongest-scoring campus:

Thomas Olaeta Elementary 72nd percentile · SolidScope Score 47/100

The top scorer district-wide — confirm enrollment zones with the district, and visit before you decide.

What this page can't see: whether a campus feels safe and glad at 8 a.m. If a path above looks workable, the next step is a visit.

Atwater Elementary has 8 public schools in this SchoolScope results directory. Compare schools by their primary reporting level below.

2024–25 CAASPP reporting · SchoolScope analysis. Directory coverage, not a complete inventory of every campus. Each school appears at its primary reporting level; K–8 and K–12 campuses can serve additional grades. Sources and methodology →

One district, three stages

The average changes with the journey.

Elementary schools

Explore elementary →
Lower reported resultsHigher reported results

8 comparable schools · average 31.9/100 · range 16.7–47.1

Explore Atwater Elementary by place.

Districts nearby

DistrictAverage scoreRanked schoolsTop schoolDistance
Atwater Elementarythis district31.9 / 1008Thomas Olaeta Elementary—
Winton37.4 / 1004Frank Sparkes Elementary2.3 mi
Merced Union High47.1 / 1007El Capitan High3.6 mi
Merced City Elementary26.5 / 10013Allan Peterson Elementary7.1 mi
Livingston Union27.4 / 1004Campus Park Elementary7.4 mi

Averages blend every school level in a district and carry no score band. Compare a level at a time in the spreads above, then open the schools. Distances run between school-location centers.

Cities served

City pages include schools from other districts too. Check the district named on each school profile.

Patterns across the district

What kinds of schools are here?

Patterns worth exploring.

Choose a pattern to find matching schools in the lists below. Open a profile to see the underlying measures and questions to ask on a visit.

How patterns are defined →

Archetypes describe reported patterns, not school quality or fit. Available measures differ by school level.

Schools in Atwater Elementary

Browse by level, then compare the evidence behind each profile.

Map ↗

Elementary schools in Atwater Elementary · 8 schools

CompareSchoolExceededScore
Thomas Olaeta Elementary
Atwater Elementary On the Rise
23.7%72nd percentile · SolidScope Score 47/100
Juniper Elementary
Atwater Elementary Culture First
18.6%55th percentile · SolidScope Score 38/100
Mitchell Elementary
Atwater Elementary Culture First
15.3%53rd percentile · SolidScope Score 37/100
Elmer Wood Elementary
Atwater Elementary Culture First
18.5%50th percentile · SolidScope Score 36/100
Aileen Colburn Elementary
Atwater Elementary Building Momentum
14.0%36th percentile · DevelopingScope Score 31/100
Bellevue Elementary
Atwater Elementary Culture First
15.2%31st percentile · DevelopingScope Score 29/100
Compare selected schools

Select two to four schools at the same level. Rankings and score bands compare each school with its own enrollment group.

District finance · FY 2024–25

Where the district's dollars go.

Atwater Elementary spent $20,375 per student in FY 2024–25 — close to the median California district ($20,491). About 65 cents of every dollar goes to classroom instruction.

Current expense per student

Current expense of education per unit of average daily attendance, from the district's annual SACS filing to the California Department of Education. District-wide: it includes central administration and costs never assigned to one campus. Spending is context, not a measure of school quality.

Share by function

  • Instruction65%
  • Instruction support10%
  • Student services9%
  • Administration5%
  • Buildings & maintenance9%
  • Other1%

Shares of the same current-expense total, by SACS function. Names are simplified from the filing's own categories.

The system behind the schools

The people behind the classrooms — district-grain context that never enters a school's score.

People
Teacher salary range$61,122–$136,158
Teaching staff263 · FTE
District enrollment4,815 · students
Who attends
Hispanic 78.7% · White 10.4% · Black 5.3% · Asian 2.9% · Other 2.7%
Free/reduced lunch81% · economic need indicator

CDE Form J-90 salary schedule 2024–25 · CDE enrollment (district averages)

See how the school years fit together.

Explore the next stage, then verify the schools available for your address.

These are browsing links, not a feeder path. Assignments vary by residence, program, permits, and available space.

Looking beyond Atwater Elementary?

Explore public, private, and early-learning options.

Know what you’re comparing.

Data source: California Department of Education · CAASPP 2024-25 · Methodology

Scores are SchoolScope's analysis of public data, not official CDE ratings. They represent one way of interpreting test results and should not be the sole basis for school decisions.

Source: CDE CAASPP 2025 · 8 schoolsMethodology · Download this data (CSV)

Free to download, CC BY 4.0 with attribution.

Frequently asked questions

How many schools are listed in Atwater Elementary?
This SchoolScope directory lists 8 public schools in Atwater Elementary with 2024–25 reporting records. This is directory coverage, not a complete campus inventory. Each school appears under its primary reporting level; a K–8 or K–12 campus may serve additional grades.
Which schools have the highest scores in Atwater Elementary?
Among comprehensive public schools listed here, the highest Scope Score at each primary reporting level is: Elementary: Thomas Olaeta Elementary (47/100). These are separate level rankings, not a single cross-level league table. A score does not establish fit or enrollment eligibility. See the methodology.
Can I compare elementary, middle, and high schools directly?
Compare schools at the same level and within the same enrollment group. Scope Score formulas and available measures differ by level. The plots show comprehensive public schools separately for each level; individual profiles explain their comparison group.
Does living in Atwater Elementary guarantee a particular school?
A district outline does not establish assignment to an individual school. Attendance boundaries, programs, permits, and available space can affect enrollment. Confirm the requirements directly with the district.
What does a SchoolScope pattern mean?
Archetypes summarize patterns in publicly reported academic and school-climate measures. They describe reported results, not a school’s quality or a child’s fit. Open the school profile for reporting years, missing measures, and questions to ask. Read how the patterns are defined.
Where do these results come from?
The underlying public data comes from the California Department of Education, including CAASPP reporting for 2024–25. Scope Scores and archetypes are SchoolScope calculations, not official CDE ratings. View CDE data and SchoolScope’s methodology and limitations.