Lena M. Preston Elementary, Rialto CA

Original Research by School Decision on Lena M. Preston Elementary

Lena M. Preston Elementary sits in Rialto, an Inland Empire city with a mixed residential and industrial character where family-oriented neighborhoods blend Spanish Revival and ranch-style homes alongside a large warehouse and logistics corridor to the south. The school itself serves kindergarten through fifth grade in a stable enrollment of about that size spread across six grade levels.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial Black enrollment and very small representation of other groups. The school serves a high-poverty population; a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on English learners and students receiving special education services was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those populations and what supports are in place.

State testing results from the 2024-25 school year show proficiency rates that are low across the board. In English language arts, third graders performed at the level of slightly more than one in three students meeting grade-level standards, while fourth graders and fifth graders came in at around one in three. In math, the pattern is steeper: third graders achieved proficiency at a rate in the low double digits above one in three, fourth graders at roughly one in four, and fifth graders at a rate in the single digits. Science proficiency in fifth grade was similarly low. These figures place the school below the midpoint for overall proficiency relative to other districts in San Bernardino County.

Rialto Unified is in the midst of significant capital investment. In 2022, voters approved a substantial general obligation bond intended to overhaul school facilities—replacing aging infrastructure, removing environmental hazards, building new science, engineering, and vocational classrooms, and replacing portable classrooms with permanent structures. The district also shifted to by-trustee-area board elections in 2022, meaning families now elect board members from their geographic area rather than at-large, a change intended to strengthen representation. The city itself is growing, with active residential development and the recent completion of a housing element compliance plan that positions more density development along the Foothill Central corridor and elsewhere.

A parent considering Preston should understand that this is a school serving a low-income, predominantly minority student population with state test scores that are substantially below grade-level benchmarks. The data does not reveal classroom conditions, instructional approaches, specialized programs, or staffing depth. A visit to the school and conversation with staff and families would help a prospective family understand whether the school's approach and culture align with their child's needs, what tutoring or intervention is available for students below grade level, and what the school's trajectory looks like as the Measure A bond work proceeds.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 34% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 422%

School 22% · District 28% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 21% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 35% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 434%

School 34% · District 36% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 41% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 23% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

This schoolRialto 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.