Rodeo Hills Elementary, Rodeo CA

Original Research by School Decision on Rodeo Hills Elementary

Rodeo Hills Elementary serves a small kindergarten-through-fifth-grade student body in Rodeo, a quiet refinery town on Contra Costa County's San Pablo Bay waterfront. The school sits in a working-class community shaped by industrial history, where most households rely on dual incomes and many residents commute across the Bay Area for work. Three-quarters of Rodeo Hills students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the area's modest economic base.

The student body is racially and ethnically diverse. Hispanic students make up a plurality of enrollment, with substantial shares of Asian, Black, and White students as well. A significant portion of the enrollment speaks languages other than English at home, though the school's exact English learner and special education counts were not available. The enrollment sits at a moderate size for an elementary school.

The academic picture is straightforward and warrants close attention. On state testing in 2024-25, Rodeo Hills' proficiency rates in math ran low across tested grades, ranging into single digits in fourth grade. English language arts results were comparatively stronger but still modest, with fifth-grade performance the highest of the three tested grades. Fifth-grade science proficiency was around one-fifth of students meeting the standard. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile when compared to other elementary schools in Contra Costa County. This means a parent should expect that a large majority of students are working below grade-level standards as defined by state assessment benchmarks.

These results suggest the school faces real academic challenges. A parent considering enrollment would want to ask the school directly about its literacy and numeracy interventions, how it identifies and supports struggling learners, and what progress monitoring and tutoring are in place. Understanding the school's instructional approach, class sizes, and staffing would also help clarify whether and how the school is working to close the proficiency gap.

The housing market around Rodeo is moderately valued by Bay Area standards, with home values below the state median but mortgage obligations that still consume a substantial share of household income for many families. Rental costs are similarly substantial relative to local incomes. The town itself is quiet and low-key, centered on Parker Avenue's main commercial drag, with the Lefty Gomez Recreation Center, trails, and marina anchors for recreation. Schools are split across two towns: Rodeo Hills sits in Rodeo, while middle and high school students travel to neighboring Crockett.

Growth in Rodeo has been incremental. Development along Parker Avenue has focused on small infill projects and modest downtown revitalization, with little large-scale expansion. This is a stable, slow-changing community, not one experiencing rapid growth or demographic turnover.

Rodeo Hills is a regular public elementary school, not a charter or magnet program, and serves the immediate neighborhood. For families in this area, the school offers proximity and accessibility, a diverse peer group, and access to district resources. The academic foundation, however, is weak, and a parent would need confidence in the school's improvement efforts and willingness to supplement instruction at home or seek outside help if their child is to reach grade-level performance.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 17%

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 49%

School 9% · District 9%

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

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 17%

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

English language arts

Grade 329%

School 29% · District 29%

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 26%

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

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 35%

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

Science

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 21%

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

This schoolJohn Swett 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-income23%Higher-income60%37 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income23%Higher-income43%20 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income44%11 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income15%Higher-income27%12 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income7%Higher-income21%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income20%Higher-income6%14 pp gap