School district · Contra Costa County

Walnut Creek Elementary schools

Walnut Creek Elementary runs schools through 8th grade. Its 6 public elementary schools run from the 80th to the 96th 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 · 6 schools

from 80th to 96th · among 5,726 California elementary schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • Tice Creek: 96th percentile, Strong
  • Buena Vista Elementary: 92nd percentile, Strong
  • Parkmead Elementary: 89th percentile, Strong
  • Indian Valley Elementary: 82nd percentile, Strong
  • Walnut Heights Elementary: 81st percentile, Strong
  • Murwood Elementary: 80th percentile, Strong
0Needs Support
0Developing
0Solid
6Strong

Middle · 2 schools

from 91st to 97th · among 2,529 California middle schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • Tice Creek: 97th percentile, Strong
  • Walnut Creek Intermediate: 91st percentile, Strong
0Needs Support
0Developing
0Solid
2Strong

One dot per school. Each stage is placed only among California schools at its own level. 1 of the 7 ranked schools teaches two levels, so it appears in more than one picture.

  • 7 ranked schools

Schools around the Walnut Creek Elementary district

7 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 Walnut Creek Elementary district score highest?

Tice Creek is highest, at the 96th percentile.

That’s higher than 96 in 100 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in the Walnut Creek Elementary district

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

Show the other 3 elementary schools
Context

The average elementary school in the Walnut Creek Elementary district had 8 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 Walnut Creek Elementary district score highest?

Tice Creek is highest, at the 97th percentile.

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

Highest in the Walnut Creek Elementary district

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

The district

Where does Walnut Creek Elementary’s money go, and what does it plan?

The Walnut Creek Elementary district spent $15,656 per student in the 2024–25 school year.

The typical California district spent $20,491. About 64 cents of every Walnut Creek 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

  • Instruction64%
  • Instruction support13%
  • Student services9%
  • Administration6%
  • Buildings & maintenance8%

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

$2.0 million

planned in its 2026–27 plan for 8 funded actions in 3 goals. That’s 3% of its $58.8 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, 76 pages), as posted to the California School Dashboard.

Where the money goes

Three actions take 77% of the money. The plan itself puts 97% of it toward staff.

  • Instructional Coaching $539,995
  • English Learner and Long Term English Learner Support $499,926
  • Wellness Coordinator & Wellness Paraprofessionals $485,954
  • 5 other actions
Reading, math and catch-up help

1 of the plan’s 8 funded actions names reading, math, catch-up help or English learners in its title.

Actions whose titles name English learners
  • English learners $499,926

Largest of these

  • English Learner and Long Term English Learner Support$499,926
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 $1.9 million in extra services for English learners, low-income students and foster youth. For 2025–26, it planned $1.9 million and estimates it spent $1.9 million, within 1% of the plan.

What changed

The total is $14,543 (1%) higher than in the 2025–26 plan. The biggest change in dollars is Multitiered System of Support, which went from $231,223 to $405,092.

Largest cuts

  • Wellness Coordinator & Wellness Paraprofessionals−⁠$109,510
  • Professional Learning−⁠$46,500
  • English Learner and Long Term English Learner Support−⁠$11,922

Largest increases

  • Multitiered System of Support+⁠$173,869
  • Instructional Coaching+⁠$5,106
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 2024–25Goal 1 · Academic Excellence & Global Competencies71%73%up 2 pts
Math, every tested grade: Proficient or Advanced in 2025–26, met or exceeded in 2024–25Goal 1 · Academic Excellence & Global Competencies69%71%up 2 pts
Chronically absentCounted across all the district’s students, not averaged by schoolGoal 2 · Emotional Wellness & Equity and Belonging10 in 1009 in 1001 fewer in 100
Suspended at least onceGoal 2 · Emotional Wellness & Equity and Belonging1.1%2.1%up 1.0 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
  • Instructional Coaching · $539,995
  • English Learner and Long Term English Learner Support · $499,926
  • Wellness Coordinator & Wellness Paraprofessionals · $485,954
The full plan3 goals, 20 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 ($2.0 million).

Where does the money go?

73% to Goal 1, Academic Excellence & Global Competencies. 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.

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 1Academic Excellence & Global Competencies$1.4 million73% of action budgets

“These actions will ensure that all students have access to a high-quality educational experience eliminating barriers and decreasing the opportunity gaps between student groups as seen in local and state English Language Arts and Mathematics assessment results. This goal aligns with WCSD's Strategic Plan focus areas of Academic Excellence & Global Competencies and Equity & Belonging” p. 10 ↗

3 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $1.3 million (+⁠$167,053)

Largest funded actions

  1. Instructional Coaching$539,995action 1.1 · p. 40 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
  2. English Learner and Long Term English Learner Support$499,926action 1.3 · p. 40 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $387,830 is state funding counted toward those services
  3. Multitiered System of Support$405,092action 1.2 · p. 40 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services

Changes from last year’s plan, same title

  1. Multitiered System of Support+⁠$173,869$231,223 → $405,092 · p. 40 ↗
  2. English Learner and Long Term English Learner Support−⁠$11,922$511,848 → $499,926 · p. 40 ↗
  3. Instructional Coaching+⁠$5,106$534,889 → $539,995 · p. 40 ↗

How the plan measures it · 12 measures · 2 quoted

  • CAASPP Science (CAST) Percent of students standard met or exceeded a) p. 13 ↗
    Baseline
    2022-23 51.01% meeting or exceeding standards for science
    Target for year 3
    2025-26 70% meeting or exceeding standards for science
  • All Grades/Courses taught by fully credentialed teachers as reported out on Dashboard Local Indicators. a) p. 13 ↗
    Baseline
    2022-23 89.2% Dataquest for 2021-22
    Target for year 3
    2025-26 90% Dataquest

10 more measures in the plan’s table.

Goal 2Emotional Wellness & Equity and Belonging$505,45425% of action budgets

“All student groups will demonstrate an improvement in attendance rates, school connectedness and belonging” p. 20 ↗

3 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $661,464 (−⁠$156,010)

Largest funded actions

  1. Wellness Coordinator & Wellness Paraprofessionals$485,954action 2.3 · p. 40 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
  2. Equity/​Restorative Practice Liaisons$13,500action 2.2 · p. 40 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
  3. Professional Learning$6,000action 2.1 · p. 40 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services

Changes from last year’s plan, same title

  1. Wellness Coordinator & Wellness Paraprofessionals−⁠$109,510$595,464 → $485,954 · p. 40 ↗
  2. Professional Learning−⁠$46,500$52,500 → $6,000 · p. 40 ↗

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

  • Equity/​Restorative Practice Liaisons · $13,500 → $13,500 · p. 40 ↗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. 20 ↗.

Goal 3Family & Community Connection$34,5002% of action budgets

“increase transparent communication that elevates student voices and engages family and community partners” p. 27 ↗

2 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $31,000 (+⁠$3,500)

Largest funded actions

  1. Communication$25,000action 3.2 · p. 40 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
  2. Community Input$9,500action 3.1 · p. 40 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services

Changes from last year’s plan, same title

  1. Communication+⁠$3,000$22,000 → $25,000 · p. 40 ↗
  2. Community Input+⁠$500$9,000 → $9,500 · p. 40 ↗

How the plan measures it · 2 measures

None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 27 ↗.

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, 3,603 students
1. White: 47%2. Hispanic or Latino: 17%3. Asian: 16%4. Two or more races: 12%5. Not reported: 4%6. Black or African American: 2%7. Filipino: 2%8. Pacific Islander: <1%9. American Indian or Alaska Native: <1%Student mix2024–25
  1. White47%
  2. Hispanic or Latino17%
  3. Asian16%
  4. Two or more races12%
  5. Not reported4%
  6. Black or African American2%
  7. Filipino2%
  8. Pacific Islander<1%
  9. American Indian or Alaska Native<1%
Shares use the district's own October enrollment counts from the CDE, including its charter schools.

Free or reduced-price meals

17%

Across California, 63% of students qualify.

2024–25 · 595 of 3,597 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?

The state is giving Walnut Creek Elementary extra help in 2026, the second year after it qualified on the 2025 Dashboard.

How English learners moved up on the state’s English test

From spring 2025 to spring 2026, 59% of the district’s English learners moved up at least one level on the state’s English test (ELPAC), or stayed at the top (190 of 321 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 (5)

Districts nearby

Common questions

Which public schools in the Walnut Creek Elementary district rank highest?

Elementary: Tice Creek, 96th percentile (Strong). Middle: Tice Creek, 97th 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 Walnut Creek 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 Walnut Creek Elementary district good?

Walnut Creek Elementary’s 6 public elementary schools run from the 80th to the 96th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 6 Strong. Walnut Creek Elementary’s 2 public middle schools run from the 91st to the 97th percentile among the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 2 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 the Walnut Creek Elementary district compare with California?

The average elementary school in the Walnut Creek Elementary district had 8 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 the Walnut Creek Elementary district spend per student?

The Walnut Creek Elementary district spent $15,656 per student in the 2024–25 school year. The typical California district spent $20,491. About 64 cents of every Walnut Creek 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 Walnut Creek Elementary district’s 2026–27 spending plan?

The district’s 2026–27 spending plan puts $2.0 million into 8 funded actions in 3 goals, 3% of its $58.8 million general fund budget. Its largest goal holds $1.4 million, 73% 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 Walnut Creek 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.

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