The top reported proficiency rate is 35% in Math. The lowest is 31% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Van Buskirk Elementary School
Van Buskirk Elementary School serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school within the Tucson Unified District. It operates in a mid-sized building on Tucson’s south side, a part of the city with a mix of older residential blocks and commercial corridors. The school enrolls a student body that is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with small shares of White students and African American students. The size of the school is modest for an elementary, with enrollment distributed fairly evenly across the grades from kindergarten through fifth grade. Prekindergarten is also offered, which may be a point of interest for families with younger children.
State testing results for the most recent year present a mixed picture. In English language arts, proficiency rates in each tested grade were below where many families would hope to see them. Third-grade reading showed about two out of five students meeting the proficiency benchmark, while fourth and fifth grades were lower. Math results were similar, with third- and fourth-grade figures suppressed due to small group sizes—a caution that the school’s numbers are low enough that reporting could identify individual students. The fifth-grade math rate was reported and fell in a similar range. Science results for fifth graders were also suppressed. When all tested subjects and grades are combined into a single proficiency index, the school places below the midpoint among the many elementary schools across Pima County districts. This is a clear soft spot. A parent weighing this school should be aware that academic attainment on state assessments is well below the county median, and they may want to ask the school directly about the strategies and supports in place to raise those outcomes.
Because Van Buskirk serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to consider. The school also does not have reported figures on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing ratios in the available data, so those dimensions cannot be characterized here. The school’s free or reduced-price lunch eligibility count was not reported, though the overall economic context of the surrounding area can be inferred from housing values that are moderate relative to Arizona state benchmarks and considerably lower than national medians. Rents in the area are also on the lower side, suggesting the neighborhood is more affordable than many parts of Tucson.
The larger district context matters for families at this school. Tucson Unified has been operating under a federal desegregation order that shapes magnet programs, student assignment, and transportation policies across the district. Voters in late 2024 renewed a maintenance and operations override that funds teacher salaries, art, music, physical education, and class-size reduction, among other programs. That override represents a meaningful portion of the district’s budget. At the same time, TUSD has seen a sustained enrollment decline over the past decade, falling from a peak to a substantially smaller count of students across its schools. This decline has prompted ongoing discussions about school utilization and potential closures, which may affect Van Buskirk families if the district consolidates schools in the future.
Tucson itself is a large desert city anchored by the University of Arizona, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and a growing tech sector. The school sits well outside the downtown and university core, in an area that is car-dependent and typical of the city’s spread-out residential fabric. For a family looking for an elementary school in a diverse, predominantly Hispanic community with a modest enrollment, Van Buskirk is a straightforward neighborhood option. The main consideration is the academic picture, which is a clear area where the school’s results trail those of many peers across the county.
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