Keiller Leadership Academy, San Diego CA

Original Research by School Decision on Keiller Leadership Academy

Keiller Leadership Academy is a public charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in San Diego. The school enrolls a modest population, with roughly equal numbers of students across grades, and sits in a zip code where housing values and rents reflect the broader San Diego market.

The student body is predominantly Latino, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals. The school's enrollment is economically concentrated, which aligns with the neighborhoods it serves.

In state testing, the school's proficiency results show a clear pattern: students perform better in English language arts than in math across all tested grades. In ELA, proficiency ranges from the mid-twenties in third grade and climbs into the low forties by eighth grade. Math proficiency is consistently lower, ranging from the low teens to mid-thirties in the upper elementary grades. Science proficiency at fifth and eighth grade sits in the low twenties. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index falls below the midpoint among the county's districts.

The school sits outside the broader district system, operating as its own charter entity. Three features distinguish its pathway: the primary grades use Montessori-based principles that transition into inquiry-driven traditional instruction as students move into upper elementary; the curriculum incorporates Project Lead The Way, a project-based STEM framework; and the school has recently built out a sports program, expanding from none to multiple offerings. These are meaningful choices for families weighing a K-8 enrollment: the pedagogical shift from Montessori to structured learning, the STEM orientation, and the addition of athletics all shape what the school day looks like.

A parent considering Keiller Leadership Academy faces a school where language arts instruction appears stronger than math, and where overall proficiency runs below county peers. The school's defining features center on an early-childhood methodology, STEM emphasis, and growing extracurricular sports—elements worth weighing against state testing results when deciding whether the school's approach and environment align with a family's expectations for academic growth.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 331%

School 31% · district not reported

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

Grade 436%

School 36% · district not reported

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

Grade 519%

School 19% · district not reported

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

Grade 611%

School 11% · district not reported

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

Grade 719%

School 19% · district not reported

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

Grade 823%

School 23% · district not reported

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

English language arts

Grade 326%

School 26% · district not reported

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

Grade 448%

School 48% · district not reported

▲ 6 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 542%

School 42% · district not reported

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

Grade 632%

School 32% · district not reported

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

Grade 742%

School 42% · district not reported

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

Grade 847%

School 47% · district not reported

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 523%

School 23% · district not reported

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

Grade 823%

School 23% · district not reported

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

This schoolDistrict average, 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 5Lower-income40%Higher-income54%14 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income29%Higher-income50%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income41%Higher-income47%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income42%Higher-income65%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income17%Higher-income31%14 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income9%Higher-income21%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income20%Higher-income13%6 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income14%Higher-income59%45 pp gap