James A. Whitaker Elementary, Buena Park CA

Original Research by School Decision on James A. Whitaker Elementary

James A. Whitaker Elementary is a kindergarten through fifth-grade school in Buena Park serving a student body drawn almost entirely from the local area. The enrollment is small to mid-sized for its grade band, with about two-thirds of students in the upper elementary grades. The student population is predominantly Hispanic, with substantial Asian and smaller Black and white populations. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a marker of economically lower-income enrollment. English learner and special education enrollment data were not available.

State testing data from the most recent year show proficiency rates across mathematics, English language arts, and science that sit well below the national midpoint. In mathematics across grades three through five, between roughly one-quarter and one-third of students scored at the proficient level. In English language arts, proficiency ranged from roughly one-fifth to slightly below one-third. Science proficiency at grade five came in at around one-sixth. Across subjects and grades, the overall proficiency index places Whitaker in the bottom quartile relative to other schools assessed in Orange County. Only one year of state testing data was available, so trend information was not provided.

Whitaker is a regular public elementary school, part of the Buena Park Elementary School District, which serves that city and its immediate surroundings. The school sits on Montana Street in a residential neighborhood setting. Buena Park itself is a mid-sized city anchored by entertainment attractions along Beach Boulevard, including Knott's Berry Farm and other venues, alongside manufacturing and warehousing operations. The residential fabric is older block-style neighborhoods built mostly from the 1950s through 1970s. The city is generally car-dependent, though a Koreatown commercial district around Beach Boulevard and Commonwealth Avenue offers walkable access to retail and dining. A Metrolink commuter rail station connects residents to regional transit. The housing market has shown steady appreciation, with median home prices rising modestly year-over-year and multiple large-scale residential redevelopments in progress, including conversion of former retail sites to mixed-use housing.

A parent considering Whitaker would be looking at an elementary school with early-grade and upper-elementary students in tight socioeconomic circumstances and substantially below-benchmark academic proficiency. The school serves families with fewer economic resources and serves a predominantly Hispanic enrollment in a city with strong industrial and entertainment-sector employment. Someone seeking out-of-level academic support or strong state test performance would likely want to look elsewhere. Families prioritizing a school deeply rooted in the local neighborhood with close ties to the broader Buena Park community might find Whitaker a natural choice.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 325%

School 25% · District 41% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 48% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 37% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 318%

School 18% · District 33% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 44% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 43% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Science

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 28% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

This schoolBuena Park Elementary, 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 4Lower-income29%Higher-income27%1 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income31%Higher-income27%3 pp gap