Warner Elementary, Warner Springs CA

Original Research by School Decision on Warner Elementary

Warner Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Warner Springs, a small unincorporated rural community in northern San Diego County nestled in a valley at the foot of Palomar Mountain. The school enrolls a small group of students, with a student body that is notably diverse: a substantial share are American Indian or Alaska Native, with meaningful populations of Hispanic and white students as well. Nearly a third of the student body is Black or identifies as two or more races. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting economic conditions in this dispersed, semi-rural area where ranching, vineyards, and outdoor recreation define the landscape rather than commercial development or conventional employment clusters.

Academically, the school is showing very low proficiency across mathematics and English language arts on California's state assessment. In the most recent tested year, proficiency rates in ELA ranged from below one-fifth in third grade down to one-ninth in the upper grades. Mathematics results were similarly low, with third grade at half proficient and upper grades ranging from below one-tenth to about one-sixth. Science proficiency data showed one-seventh of fifth graders meeting standards. These results place the school in the bottom quartile among districts in San Diego County on overall proficiency. A parent may want to look into these results further with the school directly, to understand what academic supports, intervention strategies, and instructional approaches are in place and how the school is working with families on student progress.

The school site sits on Highway 79 at a shared campus where Warner Elementary, Warner Junior/Senior High School, and San Jose Valley Continuation High School all operate. Warner Springs itself has no conventional downtown, no strip malls or convenience stores, and no public transportation; the community is accessed via State Route 79 and is defined instead by the Pacific Crest Trail, nearby state parks, and dispersed ranching and residential properties. Families rely on personal vehicles for access. The housing market in the area is relatively modest compared to countywide San Diego values. The broader Warner Unified School District has served the community since its establishment decades ago and operates three schools total with a student population measured in the low hundreds.

State assessment data for fourth grade in both ELA and mathematics was suppressed, likely due to small testing numbers that privacy rules protect. English learner and special education enrollment counts were not available. The school's small size means very few students take the state tests in each grade, which may affect the stability of year-to-year results and the specificity with which trends can be tracked.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 350%

School 50% · District 50%

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 57%

School 7% · District 7%

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 611%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 328%

School 28% · District 28%

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

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Grade 611%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 41 pts below county median

Science

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 13%

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

This schoolWarner Unified, 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.