Gravenstein Union Elementary, CA

Original Research by School Decision on Gravenstein Union Elementary

Gravenstein Union Elementary serves kindergarten through eighth grade across a small district in western Sonoma County, drawing students from roughly two zip codes that straddle Santa Rosa and Sebastopol. The district operates four schools: Gravenstein Elementary, Hillcrest Middle, Gravenstein Community Day, and Gravenstein First, plus a TK-8 magnet program called ENRICH! at the elementary school that extends the day with art, science, music, drama, STEM, and maker lab instruction. More than half of the district's students come from beyond its original boundaries through inter-district choice and the magnet offering, meaning families can apply in from surrounding areas.

Academically, the district's performance is uneven by grade and subject. In English language arts across grades three through eight, proficiency rates center around typical range, with a notable strength in sixth grade where achievement rises. Math shows more variation: third and fourth graders perform comparably to ELA students, but proficiency drops notably in fifth grade and again in seventh grade before recovering in eighth. Science proficiency in the tested grades (five and eight) sits below the midpoint on both instances. When averaged across all tested subjects and grades, the district's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among Sonoma County's districts, a meaningful distinction driven largely by solid performance in the elementary years and in ELA by the upper middle grades. A parent may want to look further with the schools into the dip in math achievement around fifth and seventh grade to understand whether that reflects curriculum sequencing, the student cohorts themselves, or instructional shifts.

The enrollment is small for a district, with about eight hundred students distributed fairly evenly across grades, though seventh and eighth grades carry slightly larger cohorts. The student body is majority white, with substantial Hispanic representation, a smaller Asian population, and smaller counts of multiracial, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Black, and Native American students. Free-and-reduced-price lunch data was not available in the district's reporting, so a parent seeking to understand economic need in the community would need to ask the district directly.

Housing in the district's service area is expensive. Median home values are in the high range for California, anchored by the Sebastopol zip code; monthly rents are also substantially elevated. These figures suggest the district serves families with moderate to high incomes or those carrying mortgages from an earlier market, and the housing market has dipped slightly year over year. At current mortgage rates, monthly payments on a median home exceed rent substantially, and housing costs consume a significant share of median household income.

A significant governance development is underway. A feasibility study completed in December 2024 examined consolidating Gravenstein with Twin Hills, Sebastopol, and Harmony elementary districts plus the West Sonoma County Union High School District into a single West County Unified School District centered on Sebastopol. Proponents stated no school closures were planned and that all current schools would remain open, but the proposal still requires committee approval and a voter measure. For families considering the area, this means the district's governance and program structure could shift over the coming years depending on how voters and the community respond.

Chronic absenteeism in the district sits above the median for Sonoma County districts, a soft spot worth understanding. Per-pupil spending falls in the middle range for the county, slightly on the lower side, which may reflect the small district's limited economy of scale.

Gravenstein's draw appears to rest on the magnet model and inter-district choice, particularly for families seeking enrichment-heavy instruction and willing to apply outside their home district. The solid overall proficiency ranking masks real variation by grade and subject, and the pending unification proposal adds an element of uncertainty about the district's future shape. For a family in or considering the area, the combination of expensive housing, the distinctive enrichment pathway, and the intact but performance-varied academics calls for a direct conversation with the schools about fit and the district's trajectory during unification discussions.

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District Context

Officially reported figures, 2024-25.

Enrollment

810

Grades

KG–08

Schools

Student body

Hispanic 23%

Black 0%

White 59%

Asian 4%

Two+ 12%

Am. Indian / AK Native 0%

Hawaiian / Pac. Isl. 0%

By economic status

Percent proficient by grade, as reported

Economically disadvantaged

Not disadvantaged

ELA

Gr ALL

56%

—

Gr 3

50%

69%

Gr 4

40%

75%

Gr 5

57%

72%

Gr 6

74%

84%

Gr 7

48%

77%

Gr 8

58%

78%

Math

Gr ALL

51%

—

Gr 3

45%

79%

Gr 4

52%

75%

Gr 5

48%

60%

Gr 6

68%

69%

Gr 7

38%

61%

Gr 8

52%

68%

Science

Gr 5

33%

60%

Gr 8

50%

54%

Gr HS

42%

—

Schools in this District

4 schools are officially reported under this district.

Gravenstein Elementary

Hillcrest Middle

Gravenstein Community Day

Gravenstein First

Academic Performance

Percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards, by grade.

Mathematics

6 grades reported

71%

Grade 3

68%

Grade 4

57%

Grade 5

69%

Grade 6

53%

Grade 7

64%

Grade 8

English Language Arts

6 grades reported

64%

Grade 3

65%

Grade 4

68%

Grade 5

80%

Grade 6

68%

Grade 7

73%

Grade 8

Science

2 grades reported

53%

Grade 5

53%

Grade 8

Social Studies

1 grade reported

80%

Grade 8

Housing & Real Estate

Data as of April 2026 | District-weighted from constituent ZIP codes

Home Values

Typical home value$1.09M

Year-over-year change-1.4%

Range across 2 ZIP codes$635K to $1.1M

vs. state typical1.41x

vs. national typical2.97x

Home value trend (12 months)

ZIP code home values (2 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Value	YoY	Weight
95472	Sebastopol	$1.1M	-1.4%	98.3%
95407	Santa Rosa	$635K	-2.1%	1.8%

Rental Market

Typical monthly rent$2,789/mo

Year-over-year change+3.9%

Range across 2 ZIP codes$2,540 to $2,793/mo

Rent trend (12 months)

ZIP code rents (2 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Rent/mo	YoY	Weight
95472	Sebastopol	$2,793	+3.9%	98.3%
95407	Santa Rosa	$2,540	+2.9%	1.8%

Affordability

Est. monthly mortgage (20% down at 6.48%)$5,520/mo

Home price / national median income13.1x

Annual rent / national median income40.0%

Est. mortgage exceeds rent by$2,731/mo

Comparison

State typical home value$776,233 (-1.1% YoY)

National typical home value$368,198 (+0.6% YoY)

State ZHVI trend (12 months)

National ZHVI trend (12 months)

Economic Context

30-year fixed mortgage rate6.48%

National unemployment rate4.3%

National median household income$83,730

CPI: Rent of shelter (index)447.05

30-year fixed mortgage rate (12 months)

National unemployment rate (12 months)

National median household income (12 months)

CPI: Rent of shelter (index) (12 months)

Sources: Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index (Zillow Group), Realtor.com via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED)

Data Currently Unavailable

Civil Rights Data (CRDC)

This profile is derived exclusively from publicly available federal and state datasets. It may not reflect the most current information available. We encourage parents and families to supplement this data with information published directly on the school’s website, which may include more recent figures, additional programs, or updated enrollment data.