La Paloma Academy (lakeside), Tucson AZ

Original Research by School Decision on La Paloma Academy (lakeside)

La Paloma Academy (Lakeside) is a K-8 charter school in the eastern part of Tucson, open to families across the city. It operates as a regular charter school, part of the Arizona Community Development Corporation network, and serves a large student body for its grade band. Because it stops at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with substantial shares of White students and Black students, along with smaller groups of Asian, multiracial, and Native American students. Data on free or reduced-price meal eligibility, special education identification, and English learner status were not available, so a parent interested in those support structures would want to ask the school directly about how it serves students with disabilities and English learners.

State testing for the latest school year shows math and reading proficiency rates that trend lower than those seen across many schools in Pima County. In math, proficiency was measured at the elementary level but was suppressed for seventh and eighth grades, likely due to small group sizes; the figures that were reported fell below the midpoint of county districts. Reading proficiency was similarly modest across grades, with some variation—fourth and seventh grades performed somewhat better than the other elementary and middle grades. Science proficiency was also low in both tested grades. The school’s overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint among districts countywide. A family looking for strong academic performance on standardized tests may find these results a reason to explore further.

The school’s locale is Tucson, a large desert city with a broad geographic spread, a major university, military bases, and a mix of historic downtown and sprawling suburban development. The city is car-dependent outside of the downtown core and university area, which are connected by a streetcar. Housing in the ZIP code covering the school is notably below the state median, and rent is also lower than the state average, reflecting the relative affordability of the area compared with metro Phoenix. The district, Arizona Community Development Corporation, turned up no recent changes that would affect a family’s decision—no curriculum shifts, referendums, or new programs were identified.

Overall, La Paloma Academy (Lakeside) offers a charter alternative in a mid-sized Tucson neighborhood setting. Its academic results are below average for the county, and the absence of data on key student supports means a parent should investigate those areas to see if they match their child’s needs. The school’s size and grade span make it a full K-8 option for families who prefer a single campus through middle school.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 33% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 431%

School 31% · District 23% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 26% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 623%

School 23% · District 17% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 322%

School 22% · District 24% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 31% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 20% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 624%

School 24% · District 18% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 738%

School 38% · District 23% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 20% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Science

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 22% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 819%

School 19% · District 14% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

This schoolArizona Community Development Corporation (79947), same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.