Weaverville Elementary, Weaverville CA

Original Research by School Decision on Weaverville Elementary

Weaverville Elementary serves a small rural mountain community in Trinity County and enrolls students across kindergarten through eighth grade. The school sits in a town that functions as the county seat but remains economically fragile, dependent on government employment, health care, and tourism drawn by proximity to the Trinity Alps and national forest.

The student body is predominantly white, with substantial representation of low-income families; the majority qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The enrollment is small for its grade span, with about equal class sizes across grades and consistent across the range. No data on special education enrollment or English learners was available.

In state assessments, the school shows uneven performance by grade and subject. In English language arts across tested grades, student proficiency ranges from roughly in the low forties for grades three, six, seven, and eight to the high-fifty to mid-seventy range for grades four and five. Math proficiency is weaker and more volatile: grades four and five show solid performance around mid-sixty to mid-sixty-seven range, but grades three, six, seven, and eight fall to the low twenties through low fifties, with grade three at roughly mid-forty-eight and grade six dropping sharply to around nineteen. Science data is sparse; grade five shows proficiency around sixty-one, while grade eight sits at approximately thirty-seven. An older social studies assessment from over a decade ago is not a reliable indicator of current standing.

The school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among districts in Trinity County. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly to understand whether the sharp drops in math performance in the upper middle grades reflect curriculum transitions, staffing changes, or shifts in student composition.

The district itself faces structural funding instability. Federal Secure Rural Schools funding, critical because more than a portion of Trinity County is untaxable federal forest land, lapsed in 2025. Congress restored it in December 2025 with back pay, allowing the district to avoid layoffs and preserve reserves. This program requires repeated reauthorization and has created recurring budget crises that affect staffing stability and program continuity.

Housing in the area is affordable by state standards; median home value is below the state benchmark and well below the national average, with monthly mortgage estimates in the low thousands for a modest down payment. The Weaverville community is a compact historic town centered on a four-block downtown with a courthouse, library, and small independent retail and restaurants. Beyond the core, the area is car-dependent rural mountain terrain. The broader region has grown slowly, with Weaverville itself stable or declining slightly over recent decades.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 348%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 6 pts above state median

Grade 467%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 29 pts above state median

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 61% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median

Grade 619%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 720%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 3 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 14 pts above state median

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 20 pts above state median

Grade 577%

School 77% · District 71% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 42%

▼ 2 pts below state median

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 6 pts below state median

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 20 pts below state median

Science

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 57% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 38%

▲ 12 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 851%

School 51% · District 51%

▲ 2 pts above state median

This schoolTrinity Alps 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-income39%Higher-income50%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income24%Higher-income63%39 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income16%Higher-income25%9 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income12%Higher-income31%19 pp gap