John Sinnott Elementary, Milpitas CA

Original Research by School Decision on John Sinnott Elementary

John Sinnott Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Milpitas, a mixed-use Silicon Valley city where tech manufacturing and residential neighborhoods coexist. The school enrolls a small-to-mid-sized population with a pronounced Asian student majority, reflecting the city's demographic composition. About one in five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the school draws from a community shaped by major employers like Cisco Systems and KLA, whose presence anchors the local economy and housing market.

Academically, the school demonstrates solid performance across tested subjects. In mathematics, proficiency runs in the high range for third grade and strengthens through fourth grade, settling in the mid-to-upper range in fifth and sixth grades. English language arts proficiency is similarly strong across all tested grades, with fifth and sixth graders reaching the highest levels. Science proficiency, measured in fifth grade, falls in the mid-range. Overall, the school's average proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among schools in Santa Clara County, indicating performance above the county median across its peer group of elementary and middle schools with comparable test data.

The student body is predominantly Asian, with smaller populations of Hispanic, multiracial, white, and other students. This composition reflects both the broader demographics of Milpitas and the school's location within a city that has drawn significant Asian populations for decades. The school serves a small special-education population, though precise enrollment numbers were not available in the source data. English learner enrollment figures were also not provided, which is a gap a parent may want to clarify with the school given Milpitas' linguistic diversity.

Milpitas itself is a car-dependent suburb undergoing significant change. The city is directing major residential growth toward its southern transit area near the new BART and light-rail stations, with multifamily housing clusters rising near those hubs. The broader city remains organized around retail centers and freeways rather than a traditional walkable downtown, though planning efforts are underway to create more pedestrian-friendly districts. The Civic Center and library anchor daily community life, and the city maintains a network of parks and recreation facilities, including the large Ed R. Levin County Park in the eastern foothills.

Housing values in the Milpitas zip code are substantially elevated relative to the national average, reflecting Silicon Valley's cost-of-living profile. Rents have risen notably in the recent period. The regional economy is jobs-rich and stable, with Milpitas serving as headquarters for multiple Fortune 500 technology and manufacturing firms. A parent considering this school should expect a suburban, family-oriented setting with limited walkability outside emerging transit corridors, strong baseline academic performance, and a diverse peer environment shaped by the city's role as a tech hub.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 376%

School 76% · District 72% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 483%

School 83% · District 67% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 579%

School 79% · District 62% · ▲ 18 pts above district

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

Grade 681%

School 81% · District 64% · ▲ 17 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 373%

School 73% · District 65% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 481%

School 81% · District 67% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 581%

School 81% · District 70% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Grade 684%

School 84% · District 73% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 55% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

This schoolMilpitas 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-income50%Higher-income78%28 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income67%Higher-income87%20 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income66%Higher-income87%21 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income71%Higher-income90%19 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income39%Higher-income84%46 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income66%Higher-income91%25 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income59%Higher-income87%28 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income66%Higher-income89%23 pp gap