River Charter Schools Lighthouse Charter, West Sacramento CA

Original Research by School Decision on River Charter Schools Lighthouse Charter

River Charter Schools Lighthouse Charter sits on Bryte Ave in West Sacramento, in the Broderick-Bryte neighborhood, one of the city's older and more affordable residential pockets along the Sacramento River. It serves kindergarten through eighth grade, making it a tuition-free public charter option for families who want a single school to carry their children from the earliest years through the end of middle school.

That full TK-8 span is a relatively recent development. Publicly reported information indicates the school added one grade per year until reaching its current configuration, meaning families who enrolled in earlier years experienced the school as an elementary-only setting. The middle school now exists, offers letter grades across core subjects including language arts, math, science, social science, PE, and arts, and issues report cards three times a year. For a family with a kindergartner today, the practical effect is that no middle school transition is required.

The program is publicly described as built around project-based learning, visual and performing arts, technology, and agriculture integration. Earlier descriptions of the school's identity emphasized Spanish language instruction; that framing has receded in current materials. A family weighing this school would want to ask directly how Spanish instruction is currently structured, since the stated emphasis appears to have shifted.

On state assessments, the picture is mixed and worth examining carefully. Across tested grades in English language arts, proficiency climbs through the middle grades, with fifth and sixth graders performing at the strongest rates schoolwide, then moderating somewhat in seventh and eighth. In math, third grade and eighth grade show the lowest rates, while the middle elementary and sixth grade years show relatively stronger results. Science results at both tested grade levels fall below half of students reaching proficiency. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among districts in Yolo County, which is meaningful context, but the individual grade-level figures suggest that a parent should ask what academic supports are in place, particularly in math at the entry and exit points of the school's grade span. Only one year of assessment data is available in this data set, so trend direction cannot be determined from what we have here.

Demographically, the school is a mid-sized campus for its grade band. Hispanic students make up the largest share of enrollment, followed by white students, with students of two or more races and Asian students also present in meaningful proportions. A little more than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting a student body that spans working-class and middle-income families. Data on English learner populations and students with IEPs was not available in what we received.

The housing market around the school is notably more affordable than the California statewide benchmark, though still above national norms. Home values in the zip code have edged down slightly year over year, and rents have followed a similar pattern. West Sacramento as a whole is in active transition: the riverfront Bridge District a short distance away is drawing new residential and commercial development, and a state grant tied to the Grand Gateway master plan is funding affordable housing, electric streetcar expansion, and new bike infrastructure. Broderick-Bryte itself remains one of the more established and lower-cost parts of the city, with older housing stock and a different feel from the newer Southport area or the emerging waterfront districts. Most daily errands require a car; the city's overall walkability is low, though transit connections to Sacramento and Davis exist via Yolobus.

A graduation rate is not applicable here because Lighthouse Charter does not serve high school grades. No information on course access, AP or dual enrollment offerings, or staffing ratios was available in the data, which reflects the school's K-8 scope.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 323%

School 23% · district not reported

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

Grade 435%

School 35% · district not reported

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

Grade 532%

School 32% · district not reported

▲ 1 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 638%

School 38% · district not reported

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

Grade 735%

School 35% · district not reported

▲ 5 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 823%

School 23% · district not reported

▼ 5 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 317%

School 17% · district not reported

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

Grade 432%

School 32% · district not reported

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

Grade 541%

School 41% · district not reported

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

Grade 647%

School 47% · district not reported

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

Grade 743%

School 43% · district not reported

▼ 2 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 839%

School 39% · district not reported

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

Science

Grade 530%

School 30% · district not reported

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 828%

School 28% · district not reported

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 1 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income11%Higher-income25%14 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income27%Higher-income43%16 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income57%24 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income42%Higher-income55%13 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income32%Higher-income60%28 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income27%Higher-income53%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income11%Higher-income40%29 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income32%Higher-income43%11 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income20%Higher-income57%37 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income26%Higher-income55%29 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income27%Higher-income47%19 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income14%Higher-income35%22 pp gap