Cupertino Union runs schools through 8th grade. Its 18 public elementary schools run from the 74th to the 99th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). High school is run by another district; confirm the school for your address with the district.
K5Elementary
68Middle
912High
Cupertino Union · grades K–8
Another district · grades 9–12
Elementary · 18 schools
from 74th to 99th · among 5,726 California elementary schools we score · spring 2026 tests
1
1
1
1
3
11
0Needs Support
0Developing
1Solid
17Strong
Middle · 6 schools
from 95th to 99th · among 2,529 California middle schools we score · spring 2026 tests
Sam H. Lawson Middle: 99th percentile, Strong
Joaquin Miller Middle: 98th percentile, Strong
John F. Kennedy Middle: 98th percentile, Strong
Warren E. Hyde Middle: 97th percentile, Strong
Christa McAuliffe: 96th percentile, Strong
Cupertino Middle: 95th percentile, Strong
0Needs Support
0Developing
0Solid
6Strong
← lower percentilehigher →
Each column counts the schools in one five-percentile step; the number above it is that count. One dot per school. Each stage is placed only among California schools at its own level. 1 of the 23 ranked schools teaches two levels, so it appears in more than one picture.
The average elementary school in Cupertino Union had 7 in 100 students chronically absent (missed 10% or more of school days) in 2025–26; the average California elementary school we score had 17 in 100. Both are averages of school rates, each school counted once.
Middle schools
Which middle schools in Cupertino Union score highest?
Sam H. Lawson Middle is highest, at the 99th percentile.
That’s higher than 99 in 100 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests).
Highest in Cupertino Union
Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level. What patterns mean
Sam H. Lawson MiddleCupertino · High ceiling · Broad base · Grade-to-grade gains
The average middle school in Cupertino Union had 5 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 in 100.
The district
Where does Cupertino Union’s money go, and what does it plan?
Cupertino Union spent $19,567 per student in the 2024–25 school year.
That’s close to the typical California district, which spent $20,491. About 65 cents of every Cupertino Union dollar went to classroom instruction.
Spending by function
Day-to-day spending per student in average daily attendance, from the district’s annual financial report (SACS) to the California Department of Education. District-wide: it includes central administration and costs never assigned to one campus.
Share by function, 2024–25
Instruction65%
Instruction support13%
Student services7%
Administration6%
Buildings & maintenance9%
Shares of the same spending total, by the report’s spending categories, rounded so they add up to 100. Names are simplified from the report’s own categories.
What the district plans
$18.2 million
planned in its 2026–27 plan for 31 funded actions in 3 goals. That’s 7% of its $261.7 million general fund budget. These are planned amounts; the district reports what it spent in a later plan.
The plan in short
Source: the district’s yearly spending plan (Local Control and Accountability Plan, or LCAP, 117 pages), as posted to the California School Dashboard.
Where the money goes
Three actions take 41% of the money. The plan itself puts 60% of it toward staff.
ELOP $4.3 million
Reading Intervention Teachers $1.8 million
Math Intervention Teachers $1.4 million
28 other actions
Reading, math and catch-up help
7 of the plan’s 31 funded actions name reading, math, catch-up help or English learners in their titles.
Actions whose titles name reading, math, catch-up help or English learners
Reading $2.6 million
Math $1.5 million
Catch-up help $4.1 million
English learners $0.5 million
An action naming two of these appears under both.
Largest of these
Reading Intervention Teachers$1.8 million
Math Intervention Teachers$1.4 million
Instructional Assistants (IAs) for Reading Intervention$749,048
For high-need students (English learners, low-income students and foster youth), what changed and what its goals measure
For high-need students
It plans $9.7 million in extra services for English learners, low-income students and foster youth. For 2025–26, it planned $9.5 million and estimates it spent $8.9 million, $0.6 million (6%) less than planned (our arithmetic).
$8.9 million spent (estimated)$9.5 million planned
Ask: Why did estimated spending on these services come in $0.6 million under the 2025–26 plan, and where does that money go in 2026–27?
What changed
The total is $1.3 million (8%) higher than in the 2025–26 plan. The biggest change in dollars is Leadership Support for Principals and Professional Development for Teachers, which went from $2.1 million to $1.2 million.
Largest cuts
Leadership Support for Principals and Professional Development for Teachers−$819,189
Instructional Coaching for Teachers−$554,888
EL Resources for Sites 2 or more Levels Below District on the CA Dashboard−$247,090
Largest increases
ELOP+$509,451
Support Homeless (Low Income) and Foster Youth+$491,890
School Library Books+$379,363
New in the 2026–27 plan
Behavior Support Team (General Education)$347,938
SST Meetings & Tier 1/Tier 2 Site Teams$79,300
Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Training$75,629
What its goals measure
Read these state results for the district’s own schools as context for the goals they measure; results alone can’t show what the plan caused.
What its goals measure: state results, 2024–25 and 2025–26
Measure
2024–25
2025–26
Change
English, every tested grade: Proficient or Advanced in 2025–26, met or exceeded in 2024–25Goal 1 · Future-Ready, Deeper Learning
83%
80%
down 3 pts
Math, every tested grade: Proficient or Advanced in 2025–26, met or exceeded in 2024–25Goal 1 · Future-Ready, Deeper Learning
84%
84%
no change
Chronically absentCounted across all the district’s students, not averaged by schoolGoal 2 · Whole Child
6 in 100
6 in 100
no change
Suspended at least onceGoal 2 · Whole Child
0.7%
1.1%
up 0.4 pts
Goal 3 isn’t shown because it tracks other measures.
Figures from CDE’s state test, chronic absence and suspension files. Test figures cover every grade the district tests (California tests grades 3–8 and 11), so they differ from a profile’s rated grades. We combined the district’s schools ourselves, weighted by students and leaving out charter schools. Chronically absent means a student missed 10% or more of school days.
The plan’s own titles and amounts
ELOP · $4,303,610
Reading Intervention Teachers · $1,826,363
Math Intervention Teachers · $1,430,748
The full plan3 goals, 39 measures and where the money goes
We calculate each action’s share of the plan by dividing its planned amount by the total of the plan’s funded actions ($18.2 million).
Where does the money go?
50% to Goal 1, Future-Ready, Deeper Learning. Each box is one action, sized by its planned dollars and coloured by its change since last year’s plan. Tap a box to open its goal.
not compared: unconfirmed, or repeated across goals
Every goal, in the plan’s order
Goal 1Future-Ready, Deeper Learning$9.1 million50% of action budgets
“Support Each Child in Demonstrating the Skills and Characteristics described in our CUSD Portrait of a Learner (POL), including foundational academic content skills as well as our POL Competencies: Inclusive Collaborator; Global Contributor; Effective Communicator; Critical Thinker; Resilient Learner; Inspired Creator” p. 18 ↗
15 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $9.9 million (−$775,260)
Largest funded actions
Reading Intervention Teachers$1.8 millionaction 1.1 · p. 73 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $1.6 million is state funding counted toward those services
Math Intervention Teachers$1.4 millionaction 1.2 · p. 73 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $1.2 million is state funding counted toward those services
Leadership Support for Principals and Professional Development for Teachers$1.2 millionaction 1.4 · p. 73 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
Technology Devices$0.8 millionaction 1.15 · p. 74 ↗
Instructional Assistants (IAs) for Reading Intervention$0.7 millionaction 1.8 · p. 74 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
10 more funded actions in this goal
Instructional Coaching for Teachers · action 1.5 · p. 74 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.6 million
School Library Books · action 1.16 · p. 74 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $46,000 is state funding counted toward those services$0.6 million
Digital Tools to Support Personalized Learning · action 1.17 · p. 74 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.5 million
iReady/NWEA Diagnostic and Personalized Learning Pathway · action 1.6 · p. 74 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $80,000 is state funding counted toward those services$0.4 million
EL Resources for Sites 2 or more Levels Below District on the CA Dashboard · action 1.9 · p. 74 ↗$0.3 million
Future-Ready Learning Networks · action 1.10 · p. 74 ↗$0.3 million
English Learner Support · action 1.3 · p. 73 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.2 million
AI Tools · action 1.14 · p. 74 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.1 million
GoalBook for Special Education · action 1.13 · p. 74 ↗$0.1 million
Updated Textbooks: Mathematics · action 1.11 · p. 74 ↗under $0.1 million
Changes from last year’s plan, same title
Leadership Support for Principals and Professional Development for Teachers−$0.8 million$2.1 million → $1.2 million · p. 73 ↗
Instructional Coaching for Teachers−$0.6 million$1.2 million → $0.6 million · p. 74 ↗
School Library Books+$379,363$187,000 → $566,363 · p. 74 ↗
Every other line in this goal, against last year’s plan
Reading Intervention Teachers · $1.8 million → $1.8 million · p. 73 ↗+$47,470
Math Intervention Teachers · $1.5 million → $1.4 million · p. 73 ↗−$0.1 million
Technology Devices · $800,000 → $800,000 · p. 74 ↗unchanged
Instructional Assistants (IAs) for Reading Intervention · $683,224 → $749,048 · p. 74 ↗+$65,824
Digital Tools to Support Personalized Learning · $412,000 → $519,048 · p. 74 ↗+$107,048
iReady/NWEA Diagnostic and Personalized Learning Pathway · $361,794 → $411,036 · p. 74 ↗+$49,242
EL Resources for Sites 2 or more Levels Below District on the CA Dashboard · $541,952 → $294,862 · p. 74 ↗−$247,090
GoalBook for Special Education · $56,000 → $55,156 · p. 74 ↗−$844
Updated Textbooks: Mathematics · $29,000 · p. 74 ↗new or renamed
A reworded title counts as new.
How the plan measures it · 19 measures
None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 18 ↗.
Goal 2Whole Child$8.8 million48% of action budgets
“Help students thrive socially, emotionally and behaviorally by fostering engaging, positive, safe learning environments where everyone belongs” p. 34 ↗
12 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $6.9 million (+$1.9 million)
Elementary Music and Middle School Arts Electives$1.3 millionaction 2.6 · p. 75 ↗
Counseling/Mental Health$1.3 millionaction 2.2 · p. 75 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
Support Homeless (Low Income) and Foster Youth$0.5 millionaction 2.3 · p. 75 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
PBIS$0.4 millionaction 2.4 · p. 75 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
7 more funded actions in this goal
Behavior Support Team (General Education) · action 2.13 · p. 76 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.3 million
Nursing Support · action 2.5 · p. 75 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $56,478 is state funding counted toward those services$0.3 million
Student Success Liaisons · action 2.1 · p. 75 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.2 million
After School Sports (Middle School) · action 2.11 · p. 76 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.2 million
SST Meetings & Tier 1/Tier 2 Site Teams · action 2.8 · p. 75 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.1 million
Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Training · action 2.12 · p. 76 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.1 million
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) TK-5 and 6-8; CHKS survey tools to measure needs and progress · action 2.9 · p. 75 ↗under $0.1 million
Changes from last year’s plan, same title
ELOP+$0.5 million$3.8 million → $4.3 million · p. 75 ↗
Support Homeless (Low Income) and Foster Youth+$491,890$2,000 → $493,890 · p. 75 ↗
Counseling/Mental Health+$0.2 million$1.0 million → $1.3 million · p. 75 ↗
Every other line in this goal, against last year’s plan
Elementary Music and Middle School Arts Electives · $1.1 million → $1.3 million · p. 75 ↗+$0.2 million
After School Sports (Middle School) · $106,184 → $172,306 · p. 76 ↗+$66,122
SST Meetings & Tier 1/Tier 2 Site Teams · $79,300 · p. 75 ↗new or renamed
Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Training · $75,629 · p. 76 ↗new or renamed
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) TK-5 and 6-8; CHKS survey tools to measure needs and progress · $3,500 → $3,500 · p. 75 ↗unchanged
A reworded title counts as new.
How the plan measures it · 13 measures · 2 quoted
After School Sports Percentage of Middle School Students Participatingp. 38 ↗
Baseline
2023-2024 42%
Target for year 3
2026-2027 45% Mid-year
Middle School Dropout Rate: Number of Students Who Drop Out of Schoolp. 39 ↗
Baseline
2023-2024 0
Target for year 3
2026-2027 0
11 more measures in the plan’s table.
Goal 3Community Engagement$353,3232% of action budgets
“Actively engage parents and community members in supporting the implementation of the CUSD Strategic Plan, including the Portrait of a Learner” p. 47 ↗
All amounts are planned. We read them from the PDF and added up each goal’s actions ourselves. Page links open the plan at that page.
Who goes to the district’s schools
Who attends
Student mix
2024–25 · October enrollment count, 13,533 students
1Asian69%
2White12%
3Hispanic or Latino7%
4Not reported5%
5Two or more races5%
6Filipino1%
7Black or African American<1%
8American Indian or Alaska Native<1%
9Pacific Islander<1%
Shares use the district's own October enrollment counts from the CDE, including its charter schools.
Free or reduced-price meals
19%
Across California, 63% of students qualify.
2024–25 · 2,503 of 13,526 students qualify, summed from the CDE’s meal counts for every school it lists under the district, charters included. It comes from a different CDE file than the student mix, so the two totals differ.
The district’s state records
Is the state giving the district extra help?
Cupertino Union isn’t getting extra state help in 2026, only the standard support every district gets.
How English learners moved up on the state’s English test
From spring 2025 to spring 2026, 61% of the district’s English learners moved up at least one level on the state’s English test (ELPAC), or stayed at the top (999 of 1,640 students). California: 47%. It counts students moving up the test’s levels, so a student can count here before becoming fluent.
2 schools getting state support, 2025–26
Chester W. Nimitz Elementary (Targeted support) · L. P. Collins Elementary (Targeted support)
This list covers the district’s own schools; each charter school’s page shows its record. Federal designation under the Every Student Succeeds Act, 2025–26.
Does living in the Cupertino Union district decide which school my child attends?
Not by itself. Attendance boundaries, programs, transfers and space all matter. Confirm the school for your address, grade and program with the district.
More questions (5)
Are the public schools in Cupertino Union good?
Cupertino Union’s 18 public elementary schools run from the 74th to the 99th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 17 Strong and 1 Solid. Cupertino Union’s 6 public middle schools run from the 95th to the 99th percentile among the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 6 Strong. A percentile compares a school with California public schools at the same level that we score. How we score schools.
How does chronic absence in Cupertino Union compare with California?
The average elementary school in Cupertino Union had 7 in 100 students chronically absent (missed 10% or more of school days) in 2025–26; the average California elementary school we score had 17 in 100. Both are averages of school rates, each school counted once. The average middle school in Cupertino Union had 5 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 in 100. These are averages of school rates: each school counts once, whatever its size.
How much does Cupertino Union spend per student?
Cupertino Union spent $19,567 per student in the 2024–25 school year. That’s close to the typical California district, which spent $20,491. About 65 cents of every Cupertino Union dollar went to classroom instruction. Day-to-day spending per student in average daily attendance, from its annual financial report to the California Department of Education. The district’s spending, by function.
What is in Cupertino Union’s 2026–27 spending plan?
The district’s 2026–27 spending plan puts $18.2 million into 31 funded actions in 3 goals, 7% of its $261.7 million general fund budget. Its largest goal holds $9.1 million, 50% of the action budgets. The 2026–27 plan, goal by goal.
Where do these results come from?
California’s state tests (CAASPP) from spring 2026 and chronic-absence rates for 2025–26, published by the California Department of Education. Percentiles, bands and Scope Scores are SchoolScope’s calculations. How we score schools.
Sources and methodology
This page lists the public schools governed and funded by Cupertino Union, with the district’s spending and state accountability records.
Data source: California Department of Education · CAASPP 2025–26
Percentiles, bands and Scope Scores are SchoolScope’s own calculations from these state files.