Pacific Union Elementary, Fresno CA

Original Research by School Decision on Pacific Union Elementary

Pacific Union Elementary is a small kindergarten-through-eighth-grade public school located in the Bowles-Oleander area of eastern Fresno, serving a neighborhood population that sits well below the state average in academic proficiency. The school enrolls a modest number of students, of whom a substantial share qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a predominantly working-class student body. The student population is heavily Hispanic, with smaller numbers of white students and very few students from other backgrounds.

On California's state assessments in 2024-25, Pacific Union's results paint a picture of academic struggle across subjects and grades. In English language arts, proficiency ranges from lows in the middle elementary grades to stronger showings in eighth grade. In mathematics, third graders perform better than older students, with proficiency dropping sharply in grades four and five before recovering somewhat in the upper middle school grades. Science testing, available only in grades five and eight, shows similar patterns of lower proficiency overall. These results place the school above the midpoint among Fresno County's districts on an overall proficiency index, but that comparison sits against a county where academic performance broadly trails state averages. The school's current data spans only the 2024-25 school year, so no trend line is available to show whether results have been improving or declining.

Third-grade students show the strongest absolute performance in both English and math, which may reflect the cumulative effect of earlier instruction or differences in how younger students engage with assessment. The consistent drops in proficiency in grades four and five across both subjects warrant close attention, as this represents a critical transition period when elementary mathematics and literacy instruction typically deepen. Eighth graders recover substantially in English language arts, outpacing nearly all other grades, though that improvement does not extend uniformly to mathematics.

Fresno itself is a sprawling Central Valley city where agricultural employment and service sectors dominate, and where decades of suburban expansion have pulled investment and population away from the historic downtown, though recent city and state initiatives aim to revitalize the core. The neighborhood around Pacific Union sits in the Bowles-Oleander area of eastern Fresno. Housing values in the ZIP code are substantially below state benchmarks, and rental-to-income ratios are low relative to national affordability standards, reflecting a neighborhood where housing is relatively affordable but incomes are also modest. The broader economic context is stable but not buoyant, with unemployment near the national rate and median household income flat in real terms over recent years.

A parent considering this school should expect a neighborhood institution that serves a predominantly low-income, Hispanic student body and faces real academic gaps, particularly in the middle elementary and middle school transitions. The school is not a choice school or specialized program, but rather a traditional neighborhood school. Anyone enrolling here will want to investigate what additional supports or interventions the school offers for students not yet proficient, how literacy and numeracy instruction is differentiated across grade bands, and what the school's plans are for addressing the grade-four and grade-five performance dips. The school's location in a car-dependent part of Fresno means families will drive, not walk, for pickup and dropoff.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 356%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 23%

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

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 22%

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

Grade 635%

School 35% · District 35%

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

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 40%

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 53%

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 332%

School 32% · District 32%

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

Grade 414%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 34%

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

Grade 638%

School 38% · District 38%

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

Grade 743%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Science

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 28%

even with state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 34%

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 816%

School 16% · District 16%

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

This schoolPacific Union Elementary, 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.