Dunsmore Elementary, La Crescenta CA

Original Research by School Decision on Dunsmore Elementary

Dunsmore Elementary is a small neighborhood school in the La Crescenta-Montrose area of unincorporated Los Angeles County, serving kindergarten through sixth grade. The school enrolls a small, balanced student body with substantial racial and economic diversity. About one quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student makeup is roughly a third Asian, a third white, and about a fifth multiracial, with smaller shares of Hispanic students and very few Black students. Data on English learner enrollment and special education were not available.

The school's academic performance in the 2024-25 school year sits solidly in the upper range for elementary schools countywide. In mathematics, students across tested grades scored around three quarters proficient, with fourth grade slightly higher and third grade slightly lower. English language arts proficiency runs a bit below math, ranging from about two thirds proficient in third grade to about three quarters in sixth grade. Fifth-grade science proficiency was around three quarters. Overall, Dunsmore's combined proficiency index places it in the top quartile among county elementary schools, a clear strength. Only one year of data is available, so trend information is not yet present.

La Crescenta itself is a quiet, predominantly single-family residential community nestled in the foothills between the Verdugo and San Gabriel Mountains. Housing stock ranges from historic bungalows and midcentury ranch homes to newer splits and condos. The area is unincorporated and car-dependent, with walkability concentrated along commercial corridors like Foothill Boulevard. Daily life centers on neighborhood parks, the relatively new La Crescenta Library, and schools; public transit exists via Glendale Beeline community routes and Metro but is limited. The median home value is high and has declined slightly in the past year. Rent is also high relative to income, making housing affordability a real consideration for families. Development is constrained by mountains on either side, though new multifamily housing projects are now reshaping parts of the foothill corridor, including an 80-unit affordable development on the former La Crescenta Motel site.

Dunsmore sits within Glendale Unified School District, a large urban-suburban district spanning Glendale and the unincorporated foothill communities. The district has recently made a significant scheduling change: secondary schools are reverting from a seven-period to a six-period day in 2025-26, eliminating the extra elective slots that students have had since the pandemic. This affects families planning their children's pathway into middle school. Additionally, the district is pursuing a major facilities bond measure for a future ballot, reflecting a substantial backlog of deferred maintenance across aging school buildings. Dunsmore itself is a regular public elementary school with no special designation.

For families in La Crescenta, Dunsmore represents solid academic performance in a neighborhood setting with a diverse peer group and reasonable socioeconomic diversity. The school's reading and math proficiency both exceed the county median, making it a reasonable neighborhood option. Parents weighing the move to the area should understand that the community is expensive, car-dependent, and geographically constrained, with a lifestyle built around family households and schools rather than walkable street life. The prospect of future bond measures and secondary schedule constraints should factor into longer-term planning.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 374%

School 74% · District 60% · ▲ 14 pts above district

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

Grade 480%

School 80% · District 59% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

Grade 576%

School 76% · District 52% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 46 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

Grade 677%

School 77% · District 55% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 47 pts above state median · ▲ 46 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 364%

School 64% · District 58% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 473%

School 73% · District 61% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

Grade 574%

School 74% · District 62% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Grade 675%

School 75% · District 61% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Science

Grade 573%

School 73% · District 44% · ▲ 28 pts above district

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 45 pts above county median

This schoolGlendale 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-income63%Higher-income64%1 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income63%Higher-income80%16 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income67%Higher-income78%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income71%Higher-income78%7 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income68%Higher-income78%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income70%Higher-income86%16 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income73%Higher-income78%5 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income74%Higher-income80%6 pp gap