Rancho Santa Gertrudes Elementary, Santa Fe Springs CA

Original Research by School Decision on Rancho Santa Gertrudes Elementary

Rancho Santa Gertrudes Elementary serves students in kindergarten through sixth grade in Santa Fe Springs, a predominantly industrial city east of Los Angeles dominated by warehousing, manufacturing, and logistics operations. The school sits in a small residential pocket on the city's east side, a classic midcentury suburb of single-family homes where most families live and work within or around the local economy.

The school's enrollment is small, concentrated in the early grades with slightly fewer students in sixth grade. The vast majority of students are Latino, and a substantial share of the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the area's economic profile. Demographic and English learner data by subgroup were not available, so a parent may want to reach out to the school directly about the composition of support services.

Academic performance across the school is weak. In math, proficiency is low across the lower grades, with around a quarter of third graders and roughly a quarter of fifth graders meeting the state standard, while fourth grade and especially sixth grade show improvement, with sixth graders reaching above fifty percent. In English language arts, third grade proficiency is very low, below fifteen percent, but a meaningful climb appears as students move through the grades, reaching above half of fourth graders and sixty percent of sixth graders. Science proficiency data, available only for fifth grade, shows about a quarter of students meeting the standard. The school has only one year of testing data on record, so trend information is not yet available.

Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's proficiency index places it below the midpoint among the county's districts, based on a comparison of schools serving similar grades. A parent looking at this school should understand that current academic attainment is low, particularly in the lower elementary grades, and should have a direct conversation with school leadership about intervention strategies, literacy and numeracy support, and any specialized services the school offers.

The school is part of the Los Nietos School District, a small district serving four schools across the Santa Fe Springs area. In November 2024, voters approved a facilities bond to repair aging classrooms, address water damage, remove asbestos and lead, and upgrade heating and cooling systems across the district's schools. The district also placed a second bond measure on the same ballot for student safety improvements and classroom technology upgrades. These investments signal district attention to physical plant and learning infrastructure, though it will take time for those improvements to be completed.

Housing in Santa Fe Springs is substantially more affordable than state and national medians, with home values reflecting the city's industrial and mixed-use character. The area offers a Metrolink commuter rail connection and is served by local transit, making it accessible for families who work elsewhere in the county. For families considering this school, the key questions are whether the current academic support systems match their child's needs and whether the school's trajectory and district initiatives address the performance gaps evident in the proficiency data.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 329%

School 29% · District 34% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 33% · ▲ 4 pts above district

even with state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 34% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 34% · ▲ 18 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 314%

School 14% · District 30% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 40% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 53% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 660%

School 60% · District 48% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 24% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

This schoolLos Nietos, 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.