Loma Vista Immersion Academy, Petaluma CA

Original Research by School Decision on Loma Vista Immersion Academy

Loma Vista Immersion Academy is a charter school serving kindergarten through sixth grade in Petaluma, part of the Old Adobe Union School District. The school enrolls a population of about that size overall, with particularly strong enrollment in the earlier grades and a noticeably steeper drop-off as students progress toward sixth grade. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller shares of white and multiracial students. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

The school's state test results show proficiency below the midpoint among districts in Sonoma County. In the most recent administration, overall math proficiency sat below where one would hope for grades three through six, with sixth-grade math proficiency notably lower than in the other tested grades. English language arts results tracked similarly, with fifth grade showing the strongest performance but sixth grade slipping again. The school administered science assessment in fifth grade, where proficiency rates were also modest. The data available captures only the current school year, so trends across years are not yet visible; a parent may want to look into what historical data the school can share and what interventions or supports may be underway to strengthen these results.

Loma Vista operates as an immersion school within a charter framework. That model name typically signals instruction in a second language alongside English, which shapes the pedagogical and linguistic environment. The school sits in Petaluma, a medium-sized city north of the San Francisco Bay built around a historic downtown with riverfront parks, a walkable core of boutiques and galleries, and a network of residential neighborhoods. Housing costs are above the state median, and like much of the region, the city has been experiencing modest population and property-value pressure in recent years. The school's location gives families access to civic anchors including farmers markets, museums, and newly expanded public transit via two SMART rail stations.

The district itself has faced budget pressure. Old Adobe Union entered qualified fiscal status in 2022 and made significant budget cuts in the 2025-26 school year, including staffing reductions in counseling, library services, and classroom support roles. On the instructional side, the district has adopted Benchmark Advance and Adelante for English language arts aligned with the Science of Reading and uses Second Step social-emotional learning curriculum in kindergarten through sixth grade, so the literacy and SEL approach is district-wide.

Loma Vista serves a community with real economic diversity. As a charter within a public district, it is tuition-free and open to families across the school's designated area. The immersion model and charter status appeal to families seeking a specific instructional approach or language opportunity, though a parent should confirm details of how the immersion program works, the language or languages involved, and what happens to students as they transition beyond sixth grade, since Loma Vista does not serve middle or high school. Given the current proficiency data and the district's resource constraints, conversations with the school about academic support and the school's improvement strategies would be prudent.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 52% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 49% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 36% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 627%

School 27% · District 41% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 48% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 52% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 55% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 52% · ▼ 20 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 36% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

This schoolOld Adobe Union, 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-income21%Higher-income42%21 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income13%Higher-income53%41 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income44%Higher-income50%7 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income13%Higher-income59%46 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income14%Higher-income62%48 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income42%Higher-income50%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income30%Higher-income50%20 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income21%Higher-income35%15 pp gap