Evergreen Institute of Excellence, Cottonwood CA

Original Research by School Decision on Evergreen Institute of Excellence

Evergreen Institute of Excellence is a kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade charter school located in Cottonwood, a small rural community in southern Shasta County along Interstate 5 between Redding and Red Bluff. The school serves a small enrollment drawn from the broader Cottonwood area and surrounding communities. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic, multiracial, and Native American students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting economic conditions in the rural region.

The school's most recent academic results reveal significant challenges across tested subjects and grade bands. In English language arts, overall proficiency sits below half of students. Math proficiency is substantially lower, with results declining as students progress through grades, dropping sharply at the middle school level. Science proficiency is among the weakest areas. For context, Evergreen Institute's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint when compared to other districts in Tehama County, though this should be understood as a narrow positioning within a county that as a whole contains schools with varied performance levels.

The pattern in the test results suggests students are struggling with foundational skills and that achievement gaps widen significantly in the upper grades. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what academic supports are available, particularly as students advance into middle school mathematics and science.

The school encompasses all grade levels from kindergarten through twelfth grade on a single campus. This all-in-one configuration is relatively uncommon and presents both an advantage and a distinct learning environment. Younger students and teenagers share the same building and grounds, which can create logistical efficiencies but also means the school must accommodate the very different developmental and social needs of six-year-olds and eighteen-year-olds simultaneously. Data on staffing, discipline, attendance, and graduation outcomes was not available.

Housing in the Cottonwood area is affordable relative to state benchmarks. Rental costs are modest, and homeownership is achievable for families within the regional income range. The community itself is unincorporated, with a historic downtown core along Front Street and a more modern commercial strip on the west side of Interstate 5. Cottonwood has experienced rapid residential growth in recent years, with new master-planned communities under development, though the community's small-town identity and ranching heritage remain central to daily life. Employment opportunities in Cottonwood proper are primarily local small business and ranching; larger employers are in nearby Anderson and Redding.

No recent significant changes to Evergreen Union School District or the charter school's programs were documented. Civil-rights data on English learner enrollment and special education identification was not available. Graduation rate and chronic absenteeism data were also not available.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=50%Cohort of 10 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

2,394 schools plotted. 142 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 42% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 45%

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

Grade 720%

School 20% · District 37% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 36% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 52% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 51% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 727%

School 27% · District 48% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 845%

School 45% · District 49% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Science

Grade 845%

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

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

This schoolEvergreen Union, 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.