Louise Van Meter Elementary, Los Gatos CA

Original Research by School Decision on Louise Van Meter Elementary

Louise Van Meter Elementary is a small public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Los Gatos, a small affluent town in Santa Clara County. The school enrolls just under five hundred students across six grades. The student body is predominantly White and Asian, with smaller shares of Hispanic, multiracial, and other students. Very few students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the high-income character of the community.

On California's CAASPP assessments given in the most recent school year, Louise Van Meter shows solid proficiency. In math, students scored well in third and fifth grades, with slightly lower proficiency in fourth grade. English language arts results show strength in third and fifth grades but notably lower proficiency in fourth grade. Fifth-grade students also took California's science assessment, where proficiency was in the middle range. Across tested grades and subjects, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to elementary and middle schools across Santa Clara County.

Fourth-grade English language arts is a soft spot worth noting. The proficiency rate there was notably lower than in adjacent grades, particularly when compared to the stronger results in third and fifth grade ELA. A parent may want to ask the school what approaches or supports are in place at that grade level and what the school understands about this pattern.

The school sits in Los Gatos proper, a small, compact town with a historic downtown anchored by independent retail and dining, surrounded by established residential neighborhoods known for well-maintained Victorians and Craftsman homes. The community is notably affluent, with median home values well above state and national benchmarks. Netflix is the defining major employer, headquartered in Los Gatos since the mid-2010s. The town has historically favored controlled growth and density, preserving its walkable downtown and residential character, though significant new housing projects approved in 2026 will reshape parts of the landscape in coming years.

Louise Van Meter is part of Los Gatos Union Elementary, a small district that serves the town. The district recently passed two significant measures that families should understand. In November 2024, voters approved a facilities bond funding classroom upgrades, safety and security improvements, and heating and electrical system work across the district's schools. This represents a multi-decade property tax obligation. In November 2021, voters had approved a parcel tax renewal and increase to fund teacher retention and core academic programs, an ongoing cost to property owners. Both measures reflect the community's willingness to fund schools through tax measures, and both represent long-term financial commitments tied to homeownership.

The school offers music programming. State testing data on special education and English learner enrollment was not available, so a parent considering the school may want to inquire directly about how the school serves students with disabilities or English learners, if those populations are relevant to their family.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 381%

School 81% · District 80% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 473%

School 73% · District 80% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 579%

School 79% · District 78% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 374%

School 74% · District 74%

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

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 78% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 579%

School 79% · District 85% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Science

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 74% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

This schoolLos Gatos 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 4Lower-income17%Higher-income70%53 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income79%46 pp gap