Los Medanos Elementary, Pittsburg CA

Original Research by School Decision on Los Medanos Elementary

Los Medanos Elementary is a public school in Pittsburg, California, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. It sits in a city on growth trajectory, with new housing and infill development reshaping the community while the downtown undergoes steady revitalization anchored by waterfront parks and historic Old Town. The school's enrollment is small to moderate for its grade band, drawn largely from the immediate neighborhood.

The student body reflects Pittsburg's demographic makeup. A substantial majority of students are Hispanic, with significant Asian, Black, and smaller White and multiracial populations. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a common marker of economic need. The school does not report English learner or special education enrollment data in the available records, so a parent may want to look into those numbers directly with the school.

In state testing, Los Medanos shows below-midpoint performance relative to other district-level schools in Contra Costa County. In English language arts, proficiency ranges from roughly one-third in grade four to about half in grade five, with third grade in between. Math proficiency is lower across all tested grades, running from the low twenties to roughly thirty percent. Science proficiency in grade five sits in the low twenties. The school has only one year of test results available, so no trend can yet be assessed. Overall proficiency across subjects and grades places the school below the median among county schools.

The gap between English language arts and math proficiency is notable: students show stronger grasp of reading and writing than of mathematics. A parent weighing this school should understand that these students are not on track to state proficiency benchmarks and may want to ask the school directly about instructional priorities, intervention supports, and plans to raise achievement, particularly in mathematics.

Pittsburg Unified approved Measure P in November 2024, a general obligation bond for school facility repairs, upgrades, and expansion. The district refinanced earlier bond debt in May 2026, lowering its interest rate and saving taxpayers money without extending the repayment timeline. These moves signal ongoing investment in the schools, though they do add property tax burden to homeowners in the district.

The community itself is mixed-use and mixed-income. Housing stock ranges from century-old Craftsman bungalows near downtown to newer suburban subdivisions. The housing market has been appreciating but with recent modest decline. Walkability is concentrated in Old Town along Railroad Avenue, where shops, restaurants, and the marina cluster; outside that core, the city is auto-oriented. The major employers have historically been heavy industry, though legacy plants like U.S. Steel are closing and the city is pivoting toward small business and reuse of industrial land. Two BART stations connect the area to the broader Bay Area.

For a family considering Los Medanos, the key trade-off is clear: the school sits in a community with affordable-to-moderate housing and growing amenities, but it is not serving at proficiency levels that the state expects. The school may be right for a family whose local enrollment zone includes it and who can engage actively in their child's learning; it would not be the choice for a parent seeking a school with strong test performance.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 25% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 22% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 17% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 29% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 27% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 38% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 20% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

This schoolPittsburg 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 3Lower-income37%Higher-income50%13 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income30%Higher-income50%20 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income46%Higher-income58%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income28%Higher-income35%7 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income20%Higher-income50%30 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income21%Higher-income30%9 pp gap