Matsuyama Elementary, Sacramento CA

Original Research by School Decision on Matsuyama Elementary

Matsuyama Elementary sits in the Windbridge Drive neighborhood of Sacramento and serves kindergarten through sixth grade. It is a regular public school within Sacramento City Unified, a district currently navigating serious financial strain that is affecting school operations across the system.

The school enrolls a small-to-moderate population with diverse composition. About a quarter of students are Asian, another quarter Hispanic, with Black, white, and multiracial students each making up smaller shares. About half of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that many families have limited income.

On California's 2024-25 assessments, Matsuyama's overall proficiency across tested grades and subjects sits in the top quartile among elementary schools in Sacramento County. In English language arts, the school shows uneven performance across grades: third graders score solidly, fifth graders perform notably above the school's average, but fourth and sixth graders fall below the school's overall mark. Math proficiency follows a downward slope as students advance. Third and fourth graders reach similar proficiency rates; fifth grade drops noticeably lower; and sixth grade falls to around half proficient. Fifth grade science proficiency sits at roughly mid-range statewide terms. The school does not report data on English learner or special education populations, so a parent may want to ask directly about support structures for students in those categories.

At the district level, Sacramento City Unified faces acute headwinds. A serious budget deficit has triggered staff reductions, furloughs, and layoff notices affecting hundreds of employees. State oversight agencies have warned of potential cash depletion and risk of takeover. The district has delayed purchases of updated curriculum materials and technology, a constraint that trickles down to individual schools. In fall 2024, voters approved a school facilities bond that will fund modernization and construction, but that adds a property tax for homeowners and renters. The district experienced an eight-day strike in spring 2022 that closed schools and disrupted instruction; it has since rearranged school calendars to recover lost time and avoid state penalties, shifting start dates earlier than families might expect.

The neighborhoods around the school and across Sacramento have seen modest housing appreciation, though prices have softened slightly year over year. Rents are steady. Mortgage and unemployment rates are in moderate ranges for the region.

For a family considering Matsuyama, the school's position in the top academic quartile for its county is a clear strength, driven in part by solid performance in the early elementary grades. The uneven trajectory across grades, particularly the decline in math and the sixth-grade dip in both subjects, may signal either the challenge of students transitioning to middle-school material or resource constraints affecting instruction in the upper grades. The district's budget crisis and ongoing cost-cutting are real factors that shape what schools can offer. A parent would be wise to have a direct conversation with the school about how staffing reductions and delayed curriculum purchases are playing out at Matsuyama specifically, and to confirm enrollment and support for English learners and students with disabilities before committing to the school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 368%

School 68% · District 39% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 467%

School 67% · District 35% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 28% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 36% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 366%

School 66% · District 37% · ▲ 29 pts above district

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

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 39% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 573%

School 73% · District 39% · ▲ 33 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 651%

School 51% · District 44% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Science

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 28% · ▲ 28 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

This schoolSacramento City 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-income55%Higher-income75%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income65%15 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income63%Higher-income81%18 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income37%Higher-income65%28 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income55%Higher-income78%23 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income52%Higher-income79%28 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income61%Higher-income59%2 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income39%Higher-income61%23 pp gap