Lawrence E. Jones Middle, Rohnert Park CA

Original Research by School Decision on Lawrence E. Jones Middle

Lawrence E. Jones Middle serves grades six through eight in Rohnert Park, a master-planned suburban city in Sonoma County built largely on former farmland in the decades after the 1950s. The school's enrollment is evenly distributed across its three grades and sits in the lower-middle range for a suburban middle school, with a student body that is roughly half white and a little more than a third Hispanic, plus smaller shares of students from other backgrounds. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

On state assessments administered in 2024-25, the school's results show a consistent pattern. In English language arts, proficiency across the three grades runs in the low-to-mid range, with sixth grade performing slightly better than the school's average and eighth grade falling below it. Math proficiency is notably lower across all three grades, with each successive grade showing a decline. Science proficiency, measured only in eighth grade, is the lowest result. These results place the school below the midpoint when compared to other districts in Sonoma County across all tested subjects and grades combined.

The gap between ELA and math proficiency is pronounced, and math performance that deepens as students move from sixth to eighth grade may warrant closer conversation with the school about teaching approaches, support structures, or resource allocation in that subject. A parent may want to look into what the school offers in terms of intervention or tutoring, particularly for students approaching or below proficiency.

Rohnert Park itself is experiencing substantial growth. The city is actively adding housing units through multiple projects, most visibly the SOMO Village mixed-use development on a former corporate campus, with home construction underway and additional phases approved. A new downtown district with mixed-use development is planned near the SMART commuter rail station, which opened recently and connects the city to the broader region. The city's economy is anchored by Sonoma State University, the school district itself, Graton Resort & Casino, and large retailers. Housing values in the zip code are moderate for the greater Bay Area, though rents have risen; most housing is single-family detached, established but not old, with wide streets and mature trees. The city was intentionally designed with parks and schools distributed across lettered neighborhood sections, though it lacks a single central walkable downtown as yet.

Lawrence E. Jones Middle operates within the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District. No recent strategic changes at the district level that would affect this school were located in publicly available sources.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 28% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 734%

School 34% · District 25% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 22% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 645%

School 45% · District 40% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 37% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 37% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 22% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

Social studies

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 39%

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

This schoolCotati-Rohnert Park 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 6Lower-income32%Higher-income53%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income33%Higher-income55%23 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income25%Higher-income56%31 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income22%Higher-income44%22 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income21%Higher-income43%22 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income14%Higher-income44%30 pp gap