Chawanakee Academy Charter, O'neals CA

Original Research by School Decision on Chawanakee Academy Charter

Chawanakee Academy Charter is a K-12 charter school serving a small, rural foothill community in Madera County. The school sits on a shared campus near O'Neals, a dispersed hamlet in the Sierra Nevada foothills where ranching and farming remain the economic foundation. The school's enrollment is small, with students drawn from scattered families across the surrounding hills who drive to the campus at Road 200.

The academic picture here reflects a school working with significant challenges. State testing data from the 2024-25 school year shows proficiency rates well below the statewide median. In math, students testing in third grade and later grades showed proficiency in the single digits to low teens, with a small uptick to about one in four students in eighth grade. English language arts results were somewhat stronger, particularly in the middle grades, with about one in three students proficient by eighth grade. Science proficiency hovered around one in four students in fifth and eighth grades. Overall, the school's proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile when compared against other districts in Madera County. State testing data for only one year is available, so no trend over time can yet be drawn.

The student body reflects the rural character of the area. About half the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The majority of students are white, with smaller populations of Hispanic and American Indian students; the school is quite small, with fewer than two hundred students across all grades. Data on English learner enrollment and students receiving special education services were not available.

The school serves grades K through 12, spanning both elementary and secondary in a single facility. This span means the school must manage substantial differences in instructional approach and peer environment across early childhood and adolescence. No information was available regarding specific programs, course offerings, or dual-credit or career pathways. The school's website was not identified in available data, so details on instructional philosophy, student supports, or extracurricular offerings could not be drawn from school-level sources.

The broader context matters here. Chawanakee Unified, the parent district, is in the midst of significant growth, with a new TK-12 educational complex and high school under development at Tesoro Viejo, a master-planned community in the southern part of the district. That expansion reflects the district's shifting footprint toward newer residential areas. O'Neals itself remains a stagnant foothill settlement much as it has been historically, with no substantial new development. Families choosing this school are choosing a small charter school in a very rural setting with demonstrated academic challenges, which a parent may want to look into further with the school directly, particularly around what support structures exist for students not yet meeting proficiency and how the school approaches the full K-12 span.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 31 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

2,394 schools plotted. 142 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 38%

School 8% · District 33% · ▼ 25 pts below district

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

Grade 613%

School 13% · District 29% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 713%

School 13% · District 33% · ▼ 20 pts below district

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

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 28% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 38%

School 8% · District 32% · ▼ 24 pts below district

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

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 39% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 45% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 727%

School 27% · District 50% · ▼ 23 pts below district

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

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 51% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Science

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 32% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 33% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

This schoolChawanakee 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income28%Higher-income46%18 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income6%Higher-income23%18 pp gap