Santa Lucia Elementary, King City CA

Original Research by School Decision on Santa Lucia Elementary

Santa Lucia Elementary is a small public elementary school in King City serving kindergarten through fifth grade. The school draws from a community anchored by agriculture, where farming and food processing are the dominant local industries. The city itself is a rural farming town in the southern Salinas Valley with a historic downtown grid layout and active planning for new housing development.

The student body is largely Hispanic, with a substantial majority qualifying for free or reduced price lunch, reflecting the economic circumstances of farmworker families and agricultural workers in the region. State test results from the most recent school year show proficiency in English language arts and mathematics well below the state midpoint. In ELA, proficiency ranged from the low teens in third grade to around forty percent by fifth grade. Math proficiency was lower across the board, ranging from mid-teens in third grade to around thirty percent in fourth grade and lower in fifth grade. A science test administered in fifth grade showed proficiency in the mid-teens. The school's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint relative to other districts in Monterey County.

These test results are consistent with the economic and demographic profile of the school's community. A very high proportion of students in the school qualify for free or reduced price lunch, indicating widespread economic disadvantage. English learner enrollment data was not available in the school's public profile, though the demographic composition and regional context suggest this is likely a significant population.

The school is part of the King City Union school district. Housing in the King City area is relatively affordable compared to much of coastal California, though less so than the national average, and the city is actively planning for increased housing density with several development projects underway. The area's economy centers on agriculture and health care, with limited job diversity, and the school serves families whose primary employment is in farming and related sectors.

For families considering Santa Lucia Elementary, the straightforward reading is that this school serves a predominantly low-income, Hispanic agricultural community with state test results that fall below regional norms. A parent seeking an elementary school with strong academic performance on state measures would likely want to explore this further with the school itself to understand any context or supports in place, as well as look carefully at other available options in the district.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 316%

School 16% · District 24% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 30%

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

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 19% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 314%

School 14% · District 21% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 39% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 37% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 16% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · even with county median

This schoolKing City Union, 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.