The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in English language arts. The lowest is 32% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Nestle Avenue Charter
Nestle Avenue Charter is a kindergarten-through-fifth-grade charter school sitting within a residential stretch of Tarzana, a quieter, more spread-out corner of the San Fernando Valley. It operates under the Los Angeles Unified umbrella but with charter autonomy. The school's enrollment puts it in a moderate size range for an elementary campus, and its student body reflects genuine demographic breadth: white students form the largest single group, with Hispanic students the second largest, and multiracial students making up a meaningful portion alongside smaller Asian and Black populations. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a different economic context than its upper-end Tarzana zip code might suggest. Data on English learner and special education populations were not available in what was provided.
On state assessments, the picture is mixed and worth examining closely. California tests grades three through five on the CAASPP Smarter Balanced exam, and across all tested grades and subjects combined, Nestle Avenue Charter sits above the midpoint among the schools and districts compared within Los Angeles County. That positioning is genuinely better than most of its county peers. Within that aggregate, though, there is real variation by grade and subject. Third-grade math is the strongest single result, with a majority of students scoring proficient. Fifth-grade ELA also clears a majority. Fourth-grade math and ELA both come in below half, and fifth-grade science, measured on the California Science Test, is the softest result of the set, with roughly a third of students reaching proficiency. Only one year of data is available, so it is not possible to say whether these reflect a trend or a snapshot. A parent who wants to understand how individual classrooms or subgroups are performing would do well to ask the school directly, since the data here covers all students in aggregate only.
Tarzana itself is a predominantly residential neighborhood built along the gentle logic of the San Fernando Valley flats, quieter than nearby denser communities. Ventura Boulevard is the commercial spine, lined with strip-mall shopping centers, restaurants, and the main civic anchors: the public library branch and the recreation center with sports fields and youth programs. Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center, currently undergoing a major expansion, is the area's anchor employer. For families thinking about commuting regionally, the Metro G Line busway connects through the Valley and links at North Hollywood to the subway toward Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles.
The housing market here is expensive by almost any national measure, sitting far above both California and national medians, and well above the state average. Rents are also high relative to income, with the monthly cost of renting consuming a large share of typical household earnings. Year-over-year, home values have moved only slightly upward while rents have edged down a bit. Families considering a purchase should also factor in that Los Angeles voters recently approved Measure US, a major LAUSD school facilities bond, publicly reported to be the district's largest ever, repaid through a property tax increase that could run for decades. That affects assessed-value tax bills throughout the district.
Two other district-wide changes are worth knowing. LAUSD implemented a full school-day cellphone ban in early 2025, covering not just class time but lunch and breaks as well, with most campuses using lockable pouches for devices. At an elementary school this is likely less disruptive than at older grades, but it is a shift in how parents stay in touch during the day. The district has also revised its Black Student Achievement Plan, which funds culturally responsive curriculum and support staffing at targeted schools, and boosted its funding for the coming year; whether Nestle Avenue Charter participates in that program is not specified in the available data.
No information was provided about specific programs, enrichment offerings, staffing ratios, discipline data, or attendance patterns at Nestle Avenue Charter. Families would want to ask the school about those directly, particularly given that the academic results, while comparatively solid, show some subjects where a majority of students are not yet reaching proficiency.
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