Don Julian Elementary, La Puente CA

Original Research by School Decision on Don Julian Elementary

Don Julian Elementary is a school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in La Puente, a small, densely populated residential city in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles. The school sits within Bassett Unified School District, which has invested in facility upgrades through a long-term bond approved by voters to address roof replacement, security systems, technology access, and modernized classroom and career-technical spaces.

The student body at Don Julian is small, with enrollment distributed across all grades from kindergarten through middle school. The vast majority of enrolled students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the neighborhood. The school population is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller numbers of Asian, Black, and White students and very small counts of other groups.

Academic performance across tested grades and subjects shows consistent, sizable gaps from statewide proficiency benchmarks. In English language arts, performance ranges from the low thirties in third grade to the high fifties in fifth grade, with middle school results falling back into the forties. Math proficiency is noticeably weaker, clustering in the mid-twenties to low thirties across grades three through eight, with a slight uptick in fourth and eighth grade. Science results, available for fifth and eighth grade, sit in the low to mid-twenties. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts across Los Angeles County. Only one year of assessment data was available, so trend information is limited.

The school spans a broad grade range from early elementary through middle school, which is characteristic of some elementary districts' configurations but means the building serves roles across multiple developmental stages. State assessment data was not available for grades below third, so reading and math proficiency cannot be measured for kindergarten, first, and second grade. Enrollment data on English learners and students receiving special education services were not provided, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those populations and what supports are available.

La Puente itself is a working- and middle-class community undergoing gradual change. Housing costs in the area are moderate relative to the wider Los Angeles market but substantial relative to household incomes, placing pressure on many families. The city has a recognizable downtown centered on Main Street with civic anchors including City Hall and the library, and the area is seeing planned mixed-use redevelopment to add housing, including affordable units, within the existing urban footprint rather than through new suburban expansion. Transit service is available through local and regional bus lines, and the nearest rail is at the adjacent City of Industry Metrolink station.

Families considering Don Julian should understand that this is a school serving a high-poverty neighborhood with proficiency levels well below the state average. The gap is largest in mathematics. The school's broad grade span means students can stay in one building from kindergarten through middle school, which some families prefer for continuity. A parent interested in this school would benefit from asking directly about instructional approaches in math and reading, what interventions or support the school has in place for students below grade level, and what the school's trajectory has been in prior years, since only the current year's test data was available to us.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 30% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 32% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 28%

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

Grade 623%

School 23% · District 34% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Grade 729%

School 29% · District 29%

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

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 29% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 36% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 40% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 48% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 645%

School 45% · District 41% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 745%

School 45% · District 45% · ▲ 1 pts above district

even with state median · even with county median

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 42% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 27% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 826%

School 26% · District 21% · ▲ 5 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

This schoolBassett 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.