Original Research by School Decision on Ballington Acad for the Arts and Scis - San Bernardino Dist
Ballington Academy for the Arts and Sciences operates as a small elementary district serving kindergarten through fifth grade in San Bernardino. The enrollment is modest, with roughly balanced cohorts across its six grade levels. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial Black population as well, and very few white or Asian students. The school does not report free-or-reduced-price lunch rates or special population counts, so a parent cannot see from this data alone what portion of families are economically disadvantaged or how many students are English learners or receive special education services. Those are questions worth asking the school directly.
Academically, state testing data was not available for this entity, so the profile cannot show how students performed on California's assessments. This gap reflects the nature of the school: elementary grades are not tested at every level under the state system, and assessments may not be publicly reported at the district level for a small elementary-only operator. However, publicly reported sources indicate that proficiency rates in math and reading at this school have fallen below statewide levels. Against that backdrop, the school's recent instructional moves take on weight. The academy has adopted AVID Elementary, a study-skills and college-readiness program, and has expanded daily instruction in music, visual arts, science, and technology. The pedagogical anchor is project-based STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) paired with Common Core-aligned instruction and Next Generation Science Standards. These are deliberate attempts to strengthen academics and build habits of mind alongside creative learning.
Chronic absenteeism at the school runs higher than the median among San Bernardino County's districts, a figure that may reflect transportation challenges, economic pressures, or other barriers to consistent attendance. Per-pupil spending falls in the middle-to-upper range for the county, so resources are present, though how they translate to classroom effect depends on execution.
The school positions itself for elementary learners and families drawn to arts integration and hands-on pedagogy. It is small enough that a child will know teachers and peers across grade levels, and large enough to have grade-level peers. The arts and STEAM framing is explicit and daily, not a once-a-week elective, which matters for families who value that exposure. At the same time, given the proficiency headwinds the school has faced and the focus on college-readiness starting in elementary, parents may want to ask directly how the new supports are translating to student gains, what the school's data use looks like, and what happens for students who need more intensive intervention. The school's recent pivot toward stronger academics, while promising, is recent; tracking results and talking with the school about progress will help families understand whether this is a place where their child will close gaps or continue to lag.
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