Cal Aero Preserve Academy, Chino CA

Original Research by School Decision on Cal Aero Preserve Academy

Cal Aero Preserve Academy serves kindergarten through eighth grade in Chino, a mid-size city in the western Inland Empire of San Bernardino County experiencing rapid growth. The school sits within The Preserve, a master-planned community where new housing development has accelerated significantly, with families moving into neighborhoods built on formerly agricultural land.

The student body reflects the region's diversity. About a third of students come from households qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment includes a substantial share of Asian students, alongside meaningful populations of Hispanic, Black, and white students, with smaller numbers of students from other backgrounds. The school is roughly split between elementary and middle grades, with steady enrollment across each level from kindergarten through eighth grade.

In English language arts, students show solid performance in the lower grades, with a majority meeting or exceeding proficiency in grades three through four. Results strengthen notably in grades six and seven, where a substantial majority demonstrate proficiency. Grade five and eighth grade show somewhat lower results, with roughly two-thirds or fewer meeting the standard. Math proficiency is more uneven. Grades three and six show above-average results, but grade five stands out as notably weaker, with only about half of students proficient. Grades four, seven, and eight range between fifty and sixty percent proficiency.

In science, available data covers grades five and eight only. Both grades show results around the forty to fifty percent range, suggesting this is an area where the school may want to invest additional support or resources.

The school sits in a dynamic housing market. Home prices in the Chino zip code have shifted down slightly in recent months, though they remain elevated relative to national benchmarks. Rental rates are climbing. For a family financing a home purchase with a standard down payment and current mortgage rates, housing cost relative to typical household income runs high, and rent similarly takes a substantial share of household budgets. This is consistent with broader Inland Empire affordability pressures.

Chino itself is evolving quickly. New single-family neighborhoods and condominium projects are coming online through 2026, with retail anchors like a second In-N-Out opening at The Preserve's Town Center. The city's economy centers on logistics, manufacturing, retail, and government employment, including significant state correctional facilities. Daily civic life includes the Chino Branch Library, multiple parks and recreational fields, and Omnitrans bus service; there is no rail service within the city itself, though Metrolink can be reached at nearby hubs. The historic downtown corridor along Central Avenue has lower walk scores and serves civic functions, while newer master-planned areas like The Preserve are built as separated campuses with their own amenities.

At the district level, Chino Valley Unified has pursued instructional improvement through a Professional Learning Communities and Mathematics at Work framework, and publicly reported data indicates that math and English language arts gains have outpaced state averages while achievement gaps have narrowed across student subgroups. This academic trajectory is relevant context for any school within the district. The district has also navigated a multi-year governance dispute over parental notification policies tied to student gender identity and pronoun use, with litigation ongoing as of recent years. Families hold different views on these policies, and this remains an active area of district governance that parents may want to understand directly through the district or school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 369%

School 69% · District 58% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 57% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 48% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 671%

School 71% · District 56% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 48 pts above county median

Grade 758%

School 58% · District 50% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 45% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 366%

School 66% · District 58% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 464%

School 64% · District 60% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 564%

School 64% · District 62% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 679%

School 79% · District 66% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Grade 773%

School 73% · District 63% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 870%

School 70% · District 59% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Science

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 43% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 44% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 886%

School 86% · District 71% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

This schoolChino Valley 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income55%Higher-income75%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income55%Higher-income73%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income53%Higher-income77%24 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income72%Higher-income84%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income60%Higher-income88%28 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income66%Higher-income73%7 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income55%Higher-income82%26 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income55%Higher-income73%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income42%Higher-income58%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income62%Higher-income77%15 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income48%Higher-income69%22 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income41%Higher-income62%21 pp gap