Suva Intermediate, Bell Gardens CA

Original Research by School Decision on Suva Intermediate

Suva Intermediate sits on East Suva Street in Bell Gardens, a densely settled, predominantly residential city in southeastern Los Angeles County. The school serves sixth through eighth grade as a regular public middle school within Montebello Unified. Its enrollment is moderate for a middle school, and the student body is nearly entirely Hispanic, with very few students from any other racial or ethnic group. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this firmly among schools serving high-need communities. Data on English learner rates and special education enrollment were not available in what was provided.

On the most recent California state assessments, proficiency rates in English language arts run roughly in the upper twenties to low thirties across the three grade levels, and math proficiency is considerably lower, sitting in the mid-to-upper teens across all three grades. Science proficiency at the eighth-grade level falls in a similar range to math. When Suva's overall proficiency index is placed against districts in Los Angeles County, the school lands in the bottom quartile of that comparison set. These are low numbers, and a parent thinking about academic preparation for high school should ask the school directly about course sequencing, any intervention supports in place, and how students are tracked into ninth-grade coursework. The trend data covers only a single year, so there is no multi-year trajectory to read.

The district context matters here. Montebello Unified has publicly reported receiving a California Community Schools Partnership Program implementation grant, a multi-year award that funds extended learning time, integrated student support, and culturally relevant instruction across several campuses. Bell Gardens High School, which is the likely destination for Suva students, is one of the named schools in the grant. Whether those supports extend meaningfully into the middle school years or primarily shape the high school experience is something a family would want to confirm with the district directly.

Bell Gardens itself is a compact, built-out city. Most residents rent rather than own, and the community is described publicly as tight-knit and heavily immigrant. Home values in the zip code are well above the national midpoint, which is the reality of the broader Los Angeles market, and estimated monthly ownership costs run substantially higher than typical rents, making renting the more common arrangement for families in the area. The city is walkable for its size, with a reasonable concentration of restaurants, parks, and everyday retail. John Anson Ford Park, with soccer fields, a lake, basketball courts, and a connection to the Rio Hondo river bike path, serves as the main community gathering space on weekends. Civic services cluster along Garfield Avenue. Bus transit connects residents to the wider county, though there is no rail service in the city.

Development in Bell Gardens is shifting slowly toward denser infill after decades of near-stasis. A mixed-use transit-oriented plan is underway around the Florence and Garfield intersection, and a handful of small residential projects are in various stages of planning. This is not a place experiencing rapid growth or significant school-enrollment pressure; the population has been largely stable.

Programs data for Suva was not available in what was provided, so it is not possible to say whether the school offers any specialized electives, intervention programs, or enrichment tracks beyond the standard middle school curriculum. Social studies assessment data was present only from a much earlier testing period under a now-discontinued state assessment, so it does not reflect current conditions.

For a family weighing this school, the picture is one of a community-rooted middle school serving a high-need population in a stable, dense urban neighborhood. The academic proficiency rates are low relative to the county, and that gap is worth taking seriously and investigating further with the school. The district-level community schools grant signals an intentional direction toward integrated support, but how that plays out at the middle school level is not yet clear from available data.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 22% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 717%

School 17% · District 24% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 26% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 628%

School 28% · District 36% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 727%

School 27% · District 39% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 40% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 819%

School 19% · District 21% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 33% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 18 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income29%Higher-income17%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income27%Higher-income33%7 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income32%Higher-income31%1 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income17%Higher-income8%9 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income17%Higher-income15%2 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income16%Higher-income29%12 pp gap