Forestville Academy, Forestville CA

Original Research by School Decision on Forestville Academy

Forestville Academy is a small charter school serving grades two through eight in an unincorporated community in Sonoma County's Russian River Valley. The school sits on Highway 116 on the edge of a quiet, rural town known for vineyards, redwoods, and a compact downtown focused on local restaurants and wine-country businesses. The enrollment is small, with students distributed across seven grade bands, and the student body is predominantly white with a meaningful share of Hispanic students and a modest share qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

The school's academic performance on the California state assessments reflects significant challenges. In English language arts across all tested grades, overall proficiency sits well below what a parent would see in many comparable schools. Early grades show modestly stronger performance than upper grades, but the pattern weakens notably from grade four onward. In mathematics, proficiency is substantially lower, with results ranging from low in the elementary grades to near-zero in grade seven. Grade five science proficiency is modest, and grade eight science proficiency is quite low. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly around the mathematics curriculum and what support structures exist for students working toward grade-level mastery. The school's proficiency index places it below the midpoint among districts in Sonoma County.

The school offers arts programming in band and theater, suggesting some breadth in student experience beyond core academics. The town of Forestville itself is a laid-back, family-oriented place where most residents own homes and many are retired or work in wine-country hospitality. A compact downtown with bakeries, cafes, and local shops is walkable, though the surrounding area requires a car. River access through regional parks is a draw, and an annual Youth Park Parade in June anchors community life. Public transit connects the town to Santa Rosa and other Sonoma County communities.

The Forestville Union Elementary School District, which operates Forestville Academy alongside an adjacent K-1 school, approved a school facilities bond in November 2022 to address aging infrastructure, roof repairs, and energy improvements, which added a property-tax levy for district residents. This reflects an ongoing need for capital investment in school buildings. Growth is coming to Forestville through county rezoning that would allow substantial new multifamily housing near downtown over time, which could eventually shift the town's character from its current single-family, rural feel. For now, however, Forestville remains a small, quiet place where families prioritize a rural setting and close community ties. A parent considering the school would be balancing its small-school character and arts offerings against its current academic results and the need for clarity on what interventions and supports the school is implementing to strengthen core instruction.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 45%

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

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 611%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 77%

School 7% · District 7%

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 40%

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

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 35%

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

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 50%

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

Grade 748%

School 48% · District 48%

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

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 40%

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

Science

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 38%

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 819%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 867%

School 67% · District 67%

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

This schoolForestville Union 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 7Lower-income53%Higher-income43%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income7%Higher-income7%0 pp gap