School district · San Diego County

Fallbrook Union Elementary schools

Fallbrook Union Elementary runs schools through 8th grade. Its 7 public elementary schools run from the 57th to the 97th 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.

Elementary · 7 schools

from 57th to 97th · among 5,726 California elementary schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • San Onofre Elementary: 97th percentile, Strong
  • Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary: 91st percentile, Strong
  • La Paloma Elementary: 86th percentile, Strong
  • William H. Frazier Elementary: 69th percentile, Solid
  • Maie Ellis Elementary: 63rd percentile, Solid
  • Fallbrook STEM Academy: 62nd percentile, Solid
  • Live Oak Elementary: 57th percentile, Solid
0Needs Support
0Developing
4Solid
3Strong

Middle · 3 schools

from 66th to 89th · among 2,529 California middle schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary: 89th percentile, Strong
  • San Onofre Elementary: 83rd percentile, Strong
  • James E. Potter Intermediate: 66th percentile, Solid
0Needs Support
0Developing
1Solid
2Strong

One dot per school. Each stage is placed only among California schools at its own level. 2 of the 8 ranked schools teach two levels, so they appear in more than one picture.

  • 8 ranked schools
  • 1 school not ranked statewide

Schools around the Fallbrook Union Elementary district

9 listed public schools with mapped locations.

Open full map →

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Percentile among California schools at the same level

  • Strong75th+
  • Solid50–74th
  • Developing25–49th
  • Needs Supportbelow 25th
  • Not scored

The school lists on this page are also available without the map.

Elementary schools

Which elementary schools in the Fallbrook Union Elementary district score highest?

San Onofre Elementary is highest, at the 97th percentile.

That’s higher than 97 in 100 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in the Fallbrook Union Elementary district

Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level. What patterns mean

Show the other 4 elementary schools
Context

The average elementary school in the Fallbrook Union Elementary district had 13 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 the Fallbrook Union Elementary district score highest?

Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary is highest, at the 89th percentile.

That’s higher than 89 in 100 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in the Fallbrook Union Elementary district

Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level.

Context

The average middle school in the Fallbrook Union Elementary district had 15 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 in 100.

1 middle school not ranked statewide
  • Santa Margarita AcademyCommunity day school: students are placed here by probation, district or voluntary referral, including after an expulsion, so we don’t rank it

The district

Where does Fallbrook Union Elementary’s money go, and what does it plan?

The Fallbrook Union Elementary district spent $21,160 per student in the 2024–25 school year.

That’s close to the typical California district, which spent $20,491. About 66 cents of every Fallbrook Union Elementary 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

  • Instruction66%
  • Instruction support9%
  • Student services8%
  • Administration7%
  • Buildings & maintenance9%
  • Other1%

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

$31.0 million

planned in its 2026–27 plan for 16 funded actions in 4 goals. That’s 28% of its $111.7 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, 113 pages), as posted to the California School Dashboard.

Where the money goes

Three actions take 64% of the money. The plan itself puts 75% of it toward staff.

  • Expanded Learning Opportunities $10.2 million
  • Differentiated Literacy/Math Instruction and Targeted Intervention Support $4.8 million
  • Reduced Class Size $4.7 million
  • 13 other actions
Reading, math and catch-up help

2 of the plan’s 16 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 $4.8 million
  • Math $4.8 million
  • Catch-up help $4.8 million
  • English learners $0.8 million

An action naming two of these appears under both.

Largest of these

  • Differentiated Literacy/​Math Instruction and Targeted Intervention Support$4.8 million
  • Reclassification of EL Students$774,137
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 $16.2 million in extra services for English learners, low-income students and foster youth. For 2025–26, it planned $14.7 million and estimates it spent $15.4 million, $0.7 million (4%) more than planned (our arithmetic).

What changed

The total is $3.7 million (13%) higher than in the 2025–26 plan. The biggest change in dollars is Expanded Learning Opportunities, which went from $8.7 million to $10.2 million.

Largest increases

  • Expanded Learning Opportunities+⁠$1.5 million
  • Reduced Class Size+⁠$998,613
  • Professional Development+⁠$587,087
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
Measure2024–252025–26Change
Chronically absentCounted across all the district’s students, not averaged by schoolGoal 217 in 10015 in 1002 fewer in 100
Suspended at least onceGoal 21.2%1.7%up 0.5 pts

Goal 4 tracks named schools and Goals 1 and 3 track other measures, so they aren’t shown here.

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
  • Expanded Learning Opportunities · $10,228,217
  • Differentiated Literacy/​Math Instruction and Targeted Intervention Support · $4,818,334
  • Reduced Class Size · $4,734,217
The full plan4 goals, 22 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 ($31.0 million).

Where does the money go?

86% to Goal 1. 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.

G1
G2

Change since the 2025–26 plan, same title

  • fell 25% or more
  • fell 10–25%
  • fell 2–10%
  • within 2%
  • grew 2–10%
  • grew 10–25%
  • grew 25% or more
  • new or renamed title
  • not compared: unconfirmed, or repeated across goals

Every goal, in the plan’s order

Goal 1Implement relevant, coherent and rigorous standards-based instructional programs to improve student learning…$26.6 million86% of action budgets

“Implement relevant, coherent and rigorous standards-based instructional programs to improve student learning and increase student achievement” p. 15 ↗

9 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $22.9 million (+⁠$3.7 million)

Largest funded actions

  1. Expanded Learning Opportunities$10.2 millionaction 1.7 · p. 75 ↗
  2. Differentiated Literacy/​Math Instruction and Targeted Intervention Support$4.8 millionaction 1.4 · p. 75 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $4.2 million is state funding counted toward those services
  3. Reduced Class Size$4.7 millionaction 1.8 · p. 75 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
  4. Access to a Broad Course of Study$3.1 millionaction 1.6 · p. 75 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $2.7 million is state funding counted toward those services
  5. Professional Development$1.1 millionaction 1.3 · p. 75 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $664,335 is state funding counted toward those services

4 more funded actions in this goal

  • Access to Technology/​Digital Citizenship · action 1.5 · p. 75 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.8 million
  • High-quality instructional materials · action 1.2 · p. 75 ↗$0.8 million
  • Reclassification of EL Students · action 1.9 · p. 75 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $387,760 is state funding counted toward those services$0.8 million
  • Fully credentialed and appropriately assigned teachers · action 1.1 · p. 75 ↗$0.1 million

Changes from last year’s plan, same title

  1. Expanded Learning Opportunities+⁠$1.5 million$8.7 million → $10.2 million · p. 75 ↗
  2. Reduced Class Size+⁠$1.0 million$3.7 million → $4.7 million · p. 75 ↗
  3. Professional Development+⁠$0.6 million$0.5 million → $1.1 million · p. 75 ↗

Every other line in this goal, against last year’s plan

  • Differentiated Literacy/​Math Instruction and Targeted Intervention Support · $4.5 million → $4.8 million · p. 75 ↗+⁠$0.3 million
  • Access to a Broad Course of Study · $3.1 million → $3.1 million · p. 75 ↗+⁠$0.1 million
  • Access to Technology/​Digital Citizenship · $848,027 → $821,311 · p. 75 ↗−⁠$26,716
  • High-quality instructional materials · $714,305 → $788,907 · p. 75 ↗+⁠$74,602
  • Reclassification of EL Students · $635,958 → $774,137 · p. 75 ↗+⁠$138,179
  • Fully credentialed and appropriately assigned teachers · $139,538 → $149,624 · p. 75 ↗+⁠$10,086

How the plan measures it · 7 measures

None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 15 ↗.

Goal 2Ensure and nurture a safe climate that promotes the social, emotional, and physical well-being of students…$4.2 million13% of action budgets

“Ensure and nurture a safe climate that promotes the social, emotional, and physical well-being of students, their families, and staff” p. 35 ↗

4 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $4.1 million (+⁠$27,538)

Largest funded actions

  1. Behavior and Social Development Support$1.8 millionaction 2.4 · p. 76 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $1.3 million is state funding counted toward those services
  2. Reduce Suspension Rates & Maintain 0% Expulsion Rate$1.5 millionaction 2.2 · p. 76 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $1.2 million is state funding counted toward those services
  3. School Facilities$0.9 millionaction 2.1 · p. 75 ↗
  4. Leadership Programunder $0.1 millionaction 2.5 · p. 76 ↗

Changes from last year’s plan, same title

  1. Behavior and Social Development Support−⁠$0.1 million$1.9 million → $1.8 million · p. 76 ↗
  2. School Facilities+⁠$56,170$815,413 → $871,583 · p. 75 ↗
  3. Reduce Suspension Rates & Maintain 0% Expulsion Rate+⁠$33,496$1.4 million → $1.5 million · p. 76 ↗

Every other line in this goal, against last year’s plan

  • Leadership Program · $40,381 → $45,572 · p. 76 ↗+⁠$5,191

How the plan measures it · 8 measures

None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 35 ↗.

Goal 3Enhance strong family and community relationships that promote engagement, collaboration and authentic…$241,0901% of action budgets

“Enhance strong family and community relationships that promote engagement, collaboration and authentic partnerships to increase student outcomes” p. 45 ↗

2 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $232,001 (+⁠$9,089)

Largest funded actions

  1. Parent/​Family Community Communication$233,254action 3.2 · p. 76 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
  2. Parent-Family Engagement & Leadership$7,836action 3.1 · p. 76 ↗

Changes from last year’s plan, same title

  1. Parent/​Family Community Communication+⁠$9,896$223,358 → $233,254 · p. 76 ↗
  2. Parent-Family Engagement & Leadership−⁠$807$8,643 → $7,836 · p. 76 ↗

How the plan measures it · 4 measures

None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 45 ↗.

Goal 4 · Equity Multiplier Focus GoalImplement a highly specialized program that offers targeted interventions to improve pupil engagement and…$51,697under 1% of action budgets

“Implement a highly specialized program that offers targeted interventions to improve pupil engagement and academic achievement at Santa Margarita Academy to reduce the risk of dropouts. Each year students at Santa Margarita Academy will demonstrate scale score growth on district local reading and math assessments as measured upon entrance and exit from the program. This goal may be discontinued, if Santa Margarita Academy does not requalify for the Equity Multiplier in the 26-27 school year” p. 55 ↗

1 funded action · reworded since the 2025–26 plan

Largest funded actions

  1. Specialized Instruction$51,697action 4.1 · p. 76 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services

Changes from last year’s plan, same title

  1. Specialized Instruction+⁠$1,162$50,535 → $51,697 · p. 76 ↗

How the plan measures it · 3 measures · 1 quoted

  • Daily Attendance p. 55 ↗
    Baseline
    91.54%
    Target for year 3
    96% or higher

2 more measures in the plan’s table.

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, 5,042 students
1. Hispanic or Latino: 65%2. White: 25%3. Two or more races: 5%4. Black or African American: 2%5. Filipino: <1%6. Asian: <1%7. Pacific Islander: <1%8. American Indian or Alaska Native: <1%9. Not reported: <1%Student mix2024–25
  1. Hispanic or Latino65%
  2. White25%
  3. Two or more races5%
  4. Black or African American2%
  5. Filipino<1%
  6. Asian<1%
  7. Pacific Islander<1%
  8. American Indian or Alaska Native<1%
  9. Not reported<1%
Shares use the district's own October enrollment counts from the CDE, including its charter schools. Rounded labels may not total 100%; segments use the original shares.

Free or reduced-price meals

74%

Across California, 63% of students qualify.

2024–25 · 3,721 of 5,042 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?

Fallbrook Union Elementary 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, 46% of the district’s English learners moved up at least one level on the state’s English test (ELPAC), or stayed at the top (388 of 835 students). California: 47%. It counts students moving up the test’s levels, so a student can count here before becoming fluent.

Sources: District help (CDE) ↗ · English learner progress (CDE) ↗. State results from the 2026 California School Dashboard.

Which places nearby can you look at next?

Cities in the district

More places (4)

Districts nearby

Common questions

Which public schools in the Fallbrook Union Elementary district rank highest?

Elementary: San Onofre Elementary, 97th percentile (Strong). Middle: Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary, 89th percentile (Strong). Each percentile is among the California schools at the same level we score. A rank doesn’t decide fit or whether a child can enroll.

Does living in the Fallbrook Union Elementary 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 the Fallbrook Union Elementary district good?

Fallbrook Union Elementary’s 7 public elementary schools run from the 57th to the 97th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 3 Strong and 4 Solid. Fallbrook Union Elementary’s 3 public middle schools run from the 66th to the 89th percentile among the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 2 Strong and 1 Solid. 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 the Fallbrook Union Elementary district compare with California?

The average elementary school in the Fallbrook Union Elementary district had 13 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 the Fallbrook Union Elementary district had 15 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 the Fallbrook Union Elementary district spend per student?

The Fallbrook Union Elementary district spent $21,160 per student in the 2024–25 school year. That’s close to the typical California district, which spent $20,491. About 66 cents of every Fallbrook Union Elementary 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 the Fallbrook Union Elementary district’s 2026–27 spending plan?

The district’s 2026–27 spending plan puts $31.0 million into 16 funded actions in 4 goals, 28% of its $111.7 million general fund budget. Its largest goal holds $26.6 million, 86% 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 the Fallbrook Union Elementary district, 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.

View CDE data ↗ (opens in a new tab)How Scope Scores work →

Download these schools (CSV)Free to use under CC BY 4.0 with attribution.