Salmon Creek School - a Charter, Occidental CA

Original Research by School Decision on Salmon Creek School - a Charter

Salmon Creek School is a small K-8 charter serving grades two through eight in Occidental, a rural, artsy unincorporated village in the redwood belt of western Sonoma County. The school enrolls a modest population of about half the student body from families with above-average means (the median home value in the area is substantially higher than the state benchmark), with a quarter of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch and enrollment that is predominantly white, with smaller Hispanic and multiracial shares.

On state assessments, the school shows uneven performance across grades and subjects. In English language arts, results are stronger and more stable, ranging from solid to very strong across the grade span, with eighth grade and fourth grade performing notably well. Math proficiency is more problematic. Third grade and fourth grade perform near or modestly above a midpoint, but fifth grade shows particularly weak results, while sixth and seventh grades remain below a midpoint. Eighth grade bounces back to strong performance in math. Science results, reported only for grades five and eight, sit in a solid range. Overall, the school's proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it above the midpoint among Sonoma County's districts, but this aggregate hides real volatility in math performance, particularly in the middle grades. A parent may want to ask the school directly about the low math results in grade five and what supports are in place to prevent or address such dips.

The student body is small and stable, allowing for personalized attention. The school's charter status reflects a governance choice that sits it within the Harmony Union Elementary District rather than as an independent entity. The surrounding community is quiet, bohemian in character, home-owning, and oriented toward outdoor recreation and small-scale local life; the school campus itself occupies a forested 56-acre site south of the town center, separated from the downtown's small commercial core and civic anchors by distance and geography.

The district recently passed a general obligation bond approved by voters in March 2024, which will fund facility repairs and modernization at both Salmon Creek and the main Harmony school over the coming years. This represents a multi-year commitment to capital improvement but also a lasting increase in property taxes for homeowners in the district.

Data on English learner enrollment, special education enrollment, attendance rates, and discipline were not available, so a parent seeking detail on those dimensions should contact the school directly.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 344%

School 44% · District 44%

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

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 55%

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

Grade 59%

School 9% · District 8% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 29%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 727%

School 27% · District 27%

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

Grade 860%

School 60% · District 60%

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

English language arts

Grade 356%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 477%

School 77% · District 77%

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 54% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 662%

School 62% · District 62%

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

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 46%

even with state median · even with county median

Grade 880%

School 80% · District 80%

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Science

Grade 573%

School 73% · District 62% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Grade 874%

School 74% · District 74%

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

Social studies

Grade 875%

School 75% · District 75%

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

This schoolHarmony 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.