The top reported proficiency rate is 77% in English language arts. The lowest is 62% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Grace Miller Elementary
Grace Miller Elementary sits on Holly Oak Street in La Verne, a residential suburb tucked into the San Gabriel Valley foothills east of Los Angeles. It serves kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school within Bonita Unified School District.
The school's academic results, measured by California's CAASPP Smarter Balanced assessments in the most recent year available, tell a mixed but generally strong story. In English language arts, fourth and fifth graders are proficient at well above the typical rate for California schools, and these are genuinely strong results. Third-grade ELA proficiency comes in somewhat lower, though still respectable. In math, fourth grade stands out as particularly high, third grade is solid, and fifth grade is the softer spot, sitting below the other grades. Science, tested at fifth grade through the California Science Test, comes in at a level that is reasonable but not exceptional. Taken together across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Los Angeles County, which is a meaningful position in one of the most competitive and varied school populations in the country.
Trend data is limited to a single year, so there is no multi-year pattern available to show whether results are rising or holding steady. A parent who wants to understand whether this reflects a recent improvement or a stable baseline would need to ask the school directly.
The student body is diverse. Hispanic students make up a large majority of enrollment, followed by white students, with smaller shares of Asian, multiracial, and Black students. Well under half the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places Grace Miller in a less economically concentrated situation than many California elementary schools, though still a meaningful share of families face economic strain. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not reported in what was available, so those dimensions of the student population cannot be characterized here.
The school is not a charter and carries no magnet designation. Title I status was not reported.
Housing in the La Verne zip code is expensive. Typical home values run substantially above the California statewide benchmark and far above the national figure, with only modest year-over-year appreciation. Rents are also well above national norms and absorb a large share of a typical household's income. For families considering a move to the attendance area, the cost of entry is high relative to nearly any national reference point.
La Verne itself is a place with a genuine character. The city describes itself as a well-balanced community that includes the University of La Verne, an airport, and a mix of commercial and residential uses, alongside a historically citrus-belt, tree-lined neighborhood fabric. Publicly reported sources describe a compact walkable downtown with restaurants and boutique shops, though the broader city is car-dependent. The city, Bonita Unified, and the University share facilities including an aquatics center and sports park under joint-use agreements. A Metro A Line light rail station opened at La Verne in the fall of 2025, with transit-oriented mixed-use development planned around it in the Old Town area. That growth context, plus a state housing allocation the city is working to meet, means La Verne is actively adding residential density near its historic core.
At the district level, Bonita Unified placed a facilities bond measure on the June 2026 ballot to fund repairs and upgrades across all school sites. Passage would carry a per-parcel cost for property owners, layered over prior bonds still outstanding, and would position the district to pursue state matching funds. Separately, the district adopted an ethnic studies curriculum through a process that included parent input, with courses beginning in the 2025-2026 school year at the high school level, aligned with California's statewide graduation requirement taking effect in 2030.
Program details specific to Grace Miller, including enrichment offerings, staffing ratios, and attendance patterns, were not available in the data reviewed.
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