Cesar E. Chavez Elementary, Bell Gardens CA

Original Research by School Decision on Cesar E. Chavez Elementary

Cesar E. Chavez Elementary is a small elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Bell Gardens, a densely populated, family-oriented residential community in southeastern Los Angeles County. The school sits within Montebello Unified School District, which recently received a significant community schools grant funding extended learning time and culturally relevant instruction over multiple years.

The student body is nearly all Hispanic and serves families with substantial economic need; about four in five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Enrollment is consistent across grades. The school reported no students identifying as Asian, Black, White, American Indian, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or multiracial; no data was available on the share of English learners or students with disabilities.

Academic performance is low across tested grades and subjects. In English language arts, third graders achieved around a third proficiency, while fourth and fifth graders fell below that, with fifth grade performing somewhat better than fourth. Math results were weaker still; fourth graders showed the lowest proficiency rate at less than a quarter, with third and fifth grades only marginally higher. Science testing occurred only in fifth grade, where proficiency was in the single digits. Across the county's elementary schools, this school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. Only one prior year of assessment data is available in the payload, so no trend can be established.

The school is a regular public school with no charter or magnet designation. Bell Gardens itself is a small, walkable, largely built-out community with minimal recent population growth. Housing values are moderate for the Los Angeles region, and rents reflect a community where most households rent rather than own. The city's economy centers on a large gaming operation and manufacturing; civic life clusters along Garfield Avenue, where City Hall and the library sit near each other. Residents are predominantly immigrant families, many foreign-born. A proposed Transit Oriented Community plan aims to add higher-density housing and improve walkability around the Florence and Garfield intersection.

A parent considering Cesar E. Chavez should recognize that the school currently serves a very high-need population in a district pursuing a multi-year shift toward community schools, integrated supports, and culturally responsive teaching. The school's test results indicate students are performing substantially below proficiency in core academics. A parent may want to look into further detail with the school about specific interventions underway, the composition of support staff, and how the district's broader grants and initiatives are being implemented at this particular campus. The school's location in Bell Gardens offers a neighborhood feel and proximity to parks and transit, though housing affordability relative to area income remains challenging for families in this market.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 36%

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

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 29% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 27% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 31% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 32% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 537%

School 37% · District 34% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Science

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 20% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

This schoolMontebello 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.