School district · Santa Clara County

Sunnyvale schools

Sunnyvale runs schools through 8th grade. Its 8 public elementary schools run from the 40th 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.

Elementary · 8 schools

from 40th to 99th · among 5,726 California elementary schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • Cherry Chase Elementary: 99th percentile, Strong
  • Cumberland Elementary: 95th percentile, Strong
  • Fairwood Elementary: 84th percentile, Strong
  • Ellis Elementary: 73rd percentile, Solid
  • Bishop Elementary: 71st percentile, Solid
  • Lakewood Elementary: 58th percentile, Solid
  • San Miguel Elementary: 48th percentile, Developing
  • Vargas Elementary: 40th percentile, Developing
0Needs Support
2Developing
3Solid
3Strong

Middle · 2 schools

from 64th to 88th · among 2,529 California middle schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • Sunnyvale Middle: 88th percentile, Strong
  • Columbia Middle: 64th percentile, Solid
0Needs Support
0Developing
1Solid
1Strong

One dot per school. Each stage is placed only among California schools at its own level.

Schools around Sunnyvale

10 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 Sunnyvale score highest?

Cherry Chase Elementary is highest, at the 99th percentile.

That’s higher than 99 in 100 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in Sunnyvale

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

Show the other 5 elementary schools
Context

The average elementary school in Sunnyvale had 9 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 Sunnyvale score highest?

Sunnyvale Middle is highest, at the 88th percentile.

That’s higher than 88 in 100 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in Sunnyvale

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

The district

Where does Sunnyvale’s money go, and what does it plan?

Sunnyvale spent $27,179 per student in the 2024–25 school year.

The typical California district spent $20,491. About 64 cents of every Sunnyvale 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 support14%
  • Student services8%
  • Administration7%
  • Buildings & maintenance7%

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

$134.3 million

planned in its 2026–27 plan for 14 funded actions in 4 goals. That’s 85% of its $158.8 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, 166 pages), as posted to the California School Dashboard.

Where the money goes

Three actions take 85% of the money. The plan itself puts 94% of it toward staff.

  • Students Achieve Mastery Base Staffing $82.4 million
  • Inclusive and Nurturing Environments Base Staffing $25.3 million
  • Inclusive and Nurturing Environments Targeted Staffing $6.9 million
  • 11 other actions
Reading, math and catch-up help

No action title in this plan names reading, math, catch-up help or English learners.

For high-need students (English learners, low-income students and foster youth) and what its goals measure
For high-need students

It plans $11.7 million in extra services for English learners, low-income students and foster youth. For 2025–26, it planned $8.9 million and estimates it spent $9.1 million, $0.2 million (2%) more than planned (our arithmetic).

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
English, every tested grade: Proficient or Advanced in 2025–26, met or exceeded in 2024–25Goals 3 and 456%56%no change
Math, every tested grade: Proficient or Advanced in 2025–26, met or exceeded in 2024–25Goals 2 and 352%54%up 2 pts
Chronically absentCounted across all the district’s students, not averaged by schoolGoal 1 · Students Experience Inclusive and Nurturing Environments10 in 10010 in 100no change
Suspended at least onceGoal 1 · Students Experience Inclusive and Nurturing Environments2.1%1.7%down 0.4 pts

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
  • Students Achieve Mastery Base Staffing · $82,441,058
  • Inclusive and Nurturing Environments Base Staffing · $25,270,172
  • Inclusive and Nurturing Environments Targeted Staffing · $6,931,107
The full plan4 goals, 32 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 ($134.3 million).

Where does the money go?

67% to Goal 4, Students achieve mastery of core content areas. Each box is one action, sized by its planned dollars. Tap a box to open its goal.

G1
G2
G4

Every goal, in the plan’s order

Goal 1Students Experience Inclusive and Nurturing Environments$37.0 million28% of action budgets

4 funded actions · p. 22 ↗

Largest funded actions

  1. Inclusive and Nurturing Environments Base Staffing$25.3 millionaction 1.1 · p. 127 ↗
  2. Inclusive and Nurturing Environments Targeted Staffing$6.9 millionaction 1.2 · p. 127 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $2.9 million is state funding counted toward those services
  3. Inclusive and Nurturing Environments Targeted Resources & Services$2.6 millionaction 1.4 · p. 127 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
  4. Inclusive and Nurturing Environments Base Resources & Services$2.2 millionaction 1.3 · p. 127 ↗

How the plan measures it · 10 measures

None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 22 ↗.

Goal 2Students receive equitable opportunities for growth$7.5 million6% of action budgets

4 funded actions · p. 50 ↗

Largest funded actions

  1. Equitable Opportunities Base Staff$4.4 millionaction 2.1 · p. 127 ↗
  2. Equitable Opportunities Targeted Staff$2.8 millionaction 2.2 · p. 127 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $2.2 million is state funding counted toward those services
  3. Equitable Opportunities Base Resources & Services$0.2 millionaction 2.3 · p. 127 ↗
  4. Equitable Opportunities Targeted Resources & Services$0.1 millionaction 2.4 · p. 127 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services

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. 50 ↗.

Goal 3Students demonstrate responsibility for learning$30,000under 1% of action budgets

2 funded actions · p. 74 ↗

Largest funded actions

  1. Students responsibility for learning Targeted Resources & Services$20,000action 3.4 · p. 128 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
  2. Students responsibility for learning Targeted Staffing$10,000action 3.2 · p. 127 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services

How the plan measures it · 5 measures

None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 74 ↗.

Goal 4Students achieve mastery of core content areas$89.8 million67% of action budgets

4 funded actions · p. 87 ↗

Largest funded actions

  1. Students Achieve Mastery Base Staffing$82.4 millionaction 4.1 · p. 128 ↗
  2. Students Achieve Mastery Targeted Staffing$4.3 millionaction 4.2 · p. 128 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $3.3 million is state funding counted toward those services
  3. Students Achieve Mastery Base Resources & Services$2.4 millionaction 4.3 · p. 128 ↗
  4. Students Achieve Mastery Targeted Resources & Services$0.6 millionaction 4.4 · p. 128 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services

How the plan measures it · 11 measures

None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 87 ↗.

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, 5,764 students
1. Hispanic or Latino: 41%2. Asian: 26%3. White: 18%4. Two or more races: 8%5. Filipino: 4%6. Black or African American: 1%7. American Indian or Alaska Native: <1%8. Pacific Islander: <1%Student mix2024–25
  1. Hispanic or Latino41%
  2. Asian26%
  3. White18%
  4. Two or more races8%
  5. Filipino4%
  6. Black or African American1%
  7. American Indian or Alaska Native<1%
  8. Pacific Islander<1%
  9. Not reported0%
Shares use the district's own October enrollment counts from the CDE, including its charter schools.

Free or reduced-price meals

23%

Across California, 63% of students qualify.

2024–25 · 1,339 of 5,753 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?

Sunnyvale 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, 51% of the district’s English learners moved up at least one level on the state’s English test (ELPAC), or stayed at the top (608 of 1,188 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 Sunnyvale rank highest?

Elementary: Cherry Chase Elementary, 99th percentile (Strong). Middle: Sunnyvale Middle, 88th 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 Sunnyvale 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 Sunnyvale good?

Sunnyvale’s 8 public elementary schools run from the 40th to the 99th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 3 Strong, 3 Solid and 2 Developing. Sunnyvale’s 2 public middle schools run from the 64th to the 88th percentile among the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 1 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 Sunnyvale compare with California?

The average elementary school in Sunnyvale had 9 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 Sunnyvale spend per student?

Sunnyvale spent $27,179 per student in the 2024–25 school year. The typical California district spent $20,491. About 64 cents of every Sunnyvale 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 Sunnyvale’s 2026–27 spending plan?

The district’s 2026–27 spending plan puts $134.3 million into 14 funded actions in 4 goals, 85% of its $158.8 million general fund budget. Its largest goal holds $89.8 million, 67% 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 Sunnyvale, 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.