North Tamarind Elementary, Fontana CA

Original Research by School Decision on North Tamarind Elementary

North Tamarind Elementary sits in Fontana, a sprawling Inland Empire city shaped by logistics and manufacturing, where working families and young people predominate and the car is the primary mode of life. The school itself is small, serving about that size for its grade band from kindergarten through sixth grade, drawing a student body that is overwhelmingly Hispanic and economically under-resourced, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

The academic picture here is lean. State testing data from the most recent year show proficiency in math and English language arts well below the state middle. In math, proficiency ranges from very low in third and fourth grades to modest gains by sixth grade. In English language arts, the pattern is similar: low performance in third and fourth grades, with some improvement by the upper elementary grades. Fifth-grade science testing showed low proficiency as well. These numbers place North Tamarind in the bottom quartile relative to districts across San Bernardino County when looking at overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. A parent weighing this school may want to look into what targeted reading and math interventions the school is using, particularly in grades three and four where gaps appear widest.

Fontana Unified approved Measure I, a substantial facilities bond, in November 2024. The measure funds classroom modernization, expanded career and technical education including robotics and coding, upgraded STEAM labs, accessibility improvements, and infrastructure repairs. That investment is now underway and may shape school conditions and program breadth over the coming years, though it does carry a property-tax implication worth understanding alongside housing costs in the area.

Housing in the zip code is moderately valued; rental costs run at a substantial share of median household income locally. The city itself is growing and diversifying its economy beyond its historical steel and warehouse base, with downtown mixed-use development and an electric-vehicle manufacturing plant on the horizon. Civic life centers on the downtown core along Sierra Avenue, where the Lewis Library (the county's largest), the Metrolink station, and cultural venues cluster. The everyday texture is suburban and car-dependent, though some walkability exists in and around downtown.

North Tamarind serves a neighborhood population with real economic constraints. The school's academic performance is a material consideration for families choosing an elementary option in Fontana. Paired with the district's recent commitment to modernized facilities and career pathways, the school is in a transition period. Parents should seek concrete detail from the school itself on reading recovery, math support, and staffing stability, which will shape whether the upside of new resources reaches this particular student population.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 39%

School 9% · District 35% · ▼ 26 pts below district

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

Grade 49%

School 9% · District 29% · ▼ 20 pts below district

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

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 22% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 623%

School 23% · District 24% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 319%

School 19% · District 35% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 412%

School 12% · District 34% · ▼ 22 pts below district

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

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 39% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

Grade 637%

School 37% · District 36% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 22% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

This schoolFontana 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-income43%Higher-income17%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income28%Higher-income8%20 pp gap