Los Nietos runs schools through 8th grade. Its 3 public elementary schools run from the 32nd to the 50th 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
Los Nietos · grades K–8
Another district · grades 9–12
Elementary · 3 schools
from 32nd to 50th · among 5,726 California elementary schools we score · spring 2026 tests
Ada S. Nelson Elementary: 50th percentile, Solid
Rancho Santa Gertrudes Elementary: 48th percentile, Developing
Aeolian Elementary: 32nd percentile, Developing
0Needs Support
2Developing
1Solid
0Strong
Middle · 1 school
at 62nd · among 2,529 California middle schools we score · spring 2026 tests
Los Nietos Middle: 62nd percentile, Solid
0Needs Support
0Developing
1Solid
0Strong
← lower percentilehigher →
One dot per school. Each stage is placed only among California schools at its own level.
The average elementary school in Los Nietos had 15 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
Where does the middle school we score in Los Nietos stand?
Los Nietos Middle is at the 62nd percentile.
That’s higher than 62 in 100 of the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests). It’s the only public middle school we score in Los Nietos.
Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level.
Where does Los Nietos’s money go, and what does it plan?
Los Nietos spent $25,021 per student in the 2024–25 school year.
The typical California district spent $20,491. About 64 cents of every Los Nietos 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
Instruction64%
Instruction support10%
Student services7%
Administration10%
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
$20.7 million
planned in its 2026–27 plan for 15 funded actions in 3 goals. That’s 70% of its $29.7 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, 111 pages), as posted to the California School Dashboard.
Where the money goes
Three actions take 65% of the money. The plan itself puts 88% of it toward staff.
Ensure High Quality Staffing $7.5 million
Additional Instructional Support through Assistants $3.5 million
Ensuring District-Wide Safety $2.5 million
12 other actions
Reading, math and catch-up help
3 of the plan’s 15 funded actions name reading, math, catch-up help or English learners in their titles.
Actions whose titles name catch-up help or English learners
Catch-up help $1.9 million
English learners $0.3 million
Largest of these
Build MTSS$1.3 million
Strengthen Targeted Academic and Social-Emotional Interventions$557,208
English Learners Support$330,000
What changed and what its goals measure
What changed
The total is $439,000 (2%) higher than in the 2025–26 plan. The biggest change in dollars is Additional Instructional Support through Assistants, which went from $3.3 million to $3.5 million.
Largest increases
Additional Instructional Support through Assistants+$202,500
Ensuring District-Wide Safety+$100,000
Build MTSS+$67,500
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 2 · Academic Excellence and Meaningful Learning Opportunities
50%
45%
down 5 pts
Math, every tested grade: Proficient or Advanced in 2025–26, met or exceeded in 2024–25Goal 2 · Academic Excellence and Meaningful Learning Opportunities
36%
37%
up 1 pt
Chronically absentCounted across all the district’s students, not averaged by schoolGoal 1 · Student Safety and Wellness
15 in 100
15 in 100
no change
Suspended at least onceGoal 1 · Student Safety and Wellness
1.1%
2.6%
up 1.5 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
Ensure High Quality Staffing · $7,471,000
Additional Instructional Support through Assistants · $3,542,500
Ensuring District-Wide Safety · $2,520,000
The full plan3 goals, 45 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 ($20.7 million).
Where does the money go?
77% to Goal 2, Academic Excellence and Meaningful Learning Opportunities. 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 1Student Safety and Wellness$4.6 million22% of action budgets
“Provide all students the tools, resources, and support they need to manage mental health challenges and be safe physically and emotionally” p. 25 ↗
5 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $4.5 million (+$100,000)
Largest funded actions
Ensuring District-Wide Safety$2.5 millionaction 1.2 · p. 74 ↗
High Quality Staffing to Implement and Support Student Safety and Wellness$0.8 millionaction 1.1 · p. 74 ↗
Create Healthy and Responsive School Cultures$0.7 millionaction 1.5 · p. 74 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $240,000 is state funding counted toward those services
Improve Attendance, Decrease Student Suspensions, and Proactively Address Student Challenges$0.4 millionaction 1.4 · p. 74 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $290,000 is state funding counted toward those services
Improve and Increase Communication District-Wide$0.2 millionaction 1.3 · p. 74 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $100,000 is state funding counted toward those services
Changes from last year’s plan, same title
Ensuring District-Wide Safety+$0.1 million$2.4 million → $2.5 million · p. 74 ↗
Every other line in this goal, against last year’s plan
High Quality Staffing to Implement and Support Student Safety and Wellness · $760,000 → $760,000 · p. 74 ↗unchanged
Create Healthy and Responsive School Cultures · $695,000 → $695,000 · p. 74 ↗unchanged
Improve Attendance, Decrease Student Suspensions, and Proactively Address Student Challenges · $440,000 → $440,000 · p. 74 ↗unchanged
Improve and Increase Communication District-Wide · $150,000 → $150,000 · p. 74 ↗unchanged
How the plan measures it · 16 measures
None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 25 ↗.
Goal 2Academic Excellence and Meaningful Learning Opportunities$15.9 million77% of action budgets
“Ensure all students have opportunities to achieve a high level of academic success and have meaningful opportunities to engage in enrichment programs” p. 40 ↗
7 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $15.6 million (+$311,000)
Largest funded actions
Ensure High Quality Staffing$7.5 millionaction 2.1 · p. 74 ↗
Additional Instructional Support through Assistants$3.5 millionaction 2.6 · p. 74 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
Provide Enrichment Opportunities$2.5 millionaction 2.4 · p. 74 ↗
Build MTSS$1.3 millionaction 2.2 · p. 74 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $717,500 is state funding counted toward those services
Strengthen Targeted Academic and Social-Emotional Interventions$0.6 millionaction 2.7 · p. 74 ↗
2 more funded actions in this goal
English Learners Support · action 2.3 · p. 74 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $165,000 is state funding counted toward those services$0.3 million
Professional Development · action 2.5 · p. 74 ↗$0.2 million
Changes from last year’s plan, same title
Additional Instructional Support through Assistants+$0.2 million$3.3 million → $3.5 million · p. 74 ↗
Build MTSS+$0.1 million$1.3 million → $1.3 million · p. 74 ↗
English Learners Support+$40,000$290,000 → $330,000 · p. 74 ↗
Every other line in this goal, against last year’s plan
Ensure High Quality Staffing · $7.5 million → $7.5 million · p. 74 ↗+$1,000
Provide Enrichment Opportunities · $2.5 million → $2.5 million · p. 74 ↗unchanged
Strengthen Targeted Academic and Social-Emotional Interventions · $557,208 → $557,208 · p. 74 ↗unchanged
Professional Development · $195,000 → $195,000 · p. 74 ↗unchanged
How the plan measures it · 23 measures
None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 40 ↗.
Goal 3Engage educational partners to improve and enhance student success throughout our school community: Increase…$188,0001% of action budgets
“Engage educational partners to improve and enhance student success throughout our school community: Increase engagement of educational partners (staff, families, and community) to make informed, evidence-based decisions for student outcomes, thereby promoting inclusivity, transparency, and accountability within our school community” p. 60 ↗
Wrap-Around Services$150,000action 3.3 · p. 75 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $90,000 is state funding counted toward those services
Collaborative Decision-Making for Parents, Community, and Staff$20,000action 3.1 · p. 74 ↗
Strengthen and Increase Community Partnerships$18,000action 3.2 · p. 75 ↗
Changes from last year’s plan, same title
Wrap-Around Services+$25,000$125,000 → $150,000 · p. 75 ↗
Strengthen and Increase Community Partnerships+$3,000$15,000 → $18,000 · p. 75 ↗
Every other line in this goal, against last year’s plan
Collaborative Decision-Making for Parents, Community, and Staff · $20,000 → $20,000 · p. 74 ↗unchanged
How the plan measures it · 6 measures
None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 60 ↗.
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, 1,210 students
1Hispanic or Latino94%
2Black or African American1%
3White1%
4Asian1%
5Filipino<1%
6Two or more races<1%
7American Indian or Alaska Native<1%
8Pacific Islander<1%
9Not 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
88%
Across California, 63% of students qualify.
2024–25 · 1,059 of 1,210 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?
Los Nietos 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 (90 of 194 students). California: 47%. It counts students moving up the test’s levels, so a student can count here before becoming fluent.
Elementary: Ada S. Nelson Elementary, 50th percentile (Solid). Middle: Los Nietos Middle, 62nd percentile (Solid). 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 Los Nietos 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 Los Nietos good?
Los Nietos’s 3 public elementary schools run from the 32nd to the 50th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 1 Solid and 2 Developing. Los Nietos has one public middle school we score, Los Nietos Middle, at the 62nd percentile among the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 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 Los Nietos compare with California?
The average elementary school in Los Nietos had 15 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. These are averages of school rates: each school counts once, whatever its size.
How much does Los Nietos spend per student?
Los Nietos spent $25,021 per student in the 2024–25 school year. The typical California district spent $20,491. About 64 cents of every Los Nietos 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 Los Nietos’s 2026–27 spending plan?
The district’s 2026–27 spending plan puts $20.7 million into 15 funded actions in 3 goals, 70% of its $29.7 million general fund budget. Its largest goal holds $15.9 million, 77% 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 Los Nietos, 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.