Ballington Academy for the Arts and Sciences, El Centro CA

Original Research by School Decision on Ballington Academy for the Arts and Sciences

Ballington Academy for the Arts and Sciences is a charter school serving kindergarten through sixth grade in El Centro, a regional hub in the agricultural Imperial Valley about a short distance north of the Mexican border. The school enrolls a small group of students, just under half of whom do not qualify for free or reduced-price meals, making it a predominantly low-income community school. The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with a small number of students from other backgrounds represented.

On state testing, Ballington Academy shows uneven results across grades and subjects. In English language arts, the school's overall proficiency sits around the middle range statewide. Performance varies notably by grade: fourth and fifth graders show stronger proficiency in reading, while third and sixth graders test lower. Math proficiency is lower across the board, with sixth grade performing especially weakly and fifth grade somewhat stronger. The school administered California's science test only in fifth grade, where results were around the midpoint statewide. When looking at overall proficiency across tested grades and subjects combined, the school sits above the midpoint among districts in Imperial County, its peer comparison universe.

One detail from the school's operator worth noting: as recently as mid-2025, the charter narrowed its grade span from kindergarten through sixth grade to kindergarten through fifth grade at the El Centro location. The school's own website and various earlier sources describe it as serving through sixth grade, creating some ambiguity. Families enrolling a fifth grader should confirm directly with the school whether a child completing fifth grade will be able to continue there for sixth grade or whether a transition to another school will be required.

El Centro itself is a modest, slowly growing city where agriculture remains foundational, though government, healthcare, education, and retail are also significant employers. The area's housing stock is mostly ranch-style homes and bungalows with newer Mediterranean-style buildings in pricier neighborhoods. Downtown Main Street has faced commercial challenges but is undergoing revitalization through facade improvements and a planned conversion of Main Street Town Square into a food truck court. The city has approved ongoing residential and commercial development including affordable housing projects and new apartment complexes, and is exploring residential uses in its downtown commercial zone. Bucklin Park serves as a major civic anchor, offering walking paths, playgrounds, and sports areas. Public transit through Imperial Valley Transit connects El Centro to surrounding cities on fixed-route bus service.

The school's name signals an emphasis on arts and sciences alongside traditional academics, though specific details about arts programming, special curriculum, or particular instructional approaches were not available in the data provided.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 326%

School 26% · district not reported

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

Grade 426%

School 26% · district not reported

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

Grade 540%

School 40% · district not reported

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 623%

School 23% · district not reported

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

English language arts

Grade 330%

School 30% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 440%

School 40% · district not reported

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 558%

School 58% · district not reported

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 635%

School 35% · district not reported

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

Science

Grade 548%

School 48% · district not reported

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above 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.