The top reported proficiency rate is 31% in English language arts. The lowest is 22% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Harrington Elementary
Harrington Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Oxnard, California, and enrolls a small, economically disadvantaged student body in a high-poverty residential area. The school sits in a city that blends agricultural heritage with suburban and industrial development, where civic anchors cluster in the downtown but newer schools occupy separated campuses on developing edges of the city.
The school's academic performance is well below state proficiency levels across the tested grades and subjects. In English language arts, proficiency ranges from low in third grade to moderate in fifth grade, with the overall rate sitting below the middle of proficiency indices among Ventura County's elementary schools. Mathematics proficiency is lower still, particularly in third and fourth grade. Science proficiency at fifth grade is also notably low. The most recent results are from the 2024-25 school year, and single-year data means no trend information is available yet to show whether these numbers are stable, improving, or declining. A parent may want to ask the school directly about recent instructional changes, intervention programs, or staffing initiatives that may be underway.
Nearly all students at Harrington qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic. The school does not report special education enrollment or English learner identification data in the available records. The data section shows these populations exist at the school but does not quantify them, so a parent seeking detail on how the school serves students with disabilities or multilingual learners should ask directly.
The school's enrollment is small for an elementary school. Kindergarten is the largest grade, with lower enrollment in grades one and two, then numbers rising again in grades three through five. This uneven distribution may reflect residential turnover or cohort variation but is worth noting for a parent considering how class sizes and peer groups might look across the grade levels.
Oxnard itself is experiencing substantial residential growth. New housing projects are underway in multiple neighborhoods, and housing costs are moderately above the national benchmark, so families moving into the district should expect a competitive rental and purchase market. The city's economy centers on agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, and maritime trade, with major employers including Haas Automation, Mission Produce, hospitals, and the Port of Hueneme. The transit system connects to Metrolink and regional Amtrak, though most residents drive.
The Oxnard School District (which serves Harrington) recently passed a bond in 2022 that added a permanent property tax and funded middle school reconstruction and classroom modernization. Families buying or renting in the district will carry this tax forward. The companion Oxnard Union High School District passed another bond in 2024 and opened the new Del Sol High School in 2023 to relieve overcrowding at older campuses, adding infrastructure to the secondary system.
Harrington offers a traditional public elementary program with no special magnet or charter designation. The school serves a community with very high economic need and proficiency levels that are substantially below state average. For families in the area, this school is the designated neighborhood school; for those considering Oxnard broadly, it represents the academic and demographic reality of a significant portion of the city's elementary enrollment.
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