Los Padres Elementary, Salinas CA

Original Research by School Decision on Los Padres Elementary

Los Padres Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Salinas, a mid-sized agricultural hub and county seat in Monterey County. The school sits in a community shaped by farm production, with downtown anchored by the National Steinbeck Center and a revitalized Main Street, while newer residential growth is spreading into planned neighborhoods on the city's edges. Housing in the area spans Victorian and Craftsman homes near Old Town to 1960s ranch homes and newer subdivisions; the local housing market is moderately valued relative to the state.

The school's enrollment is small, with students distributed evenly across grades. The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, and a large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the Salinas labor market centered on agriculture and service work. Data on the share of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not available.

Academic performance at Los Padres Elementary is a significant concern. On California's 2024-25 state assessments, overall proficiency in English language arts and math sits well below the midpoint among Monterey County school districts. The picture varies sharply by grade. Third and fourth graders show particularly low proficiency in both subjects, at roughly one in five students meeting standards. Fifth grade proficiency rises somewhat, with about one in four students meeting ELA and math standards. Sixth grade shows the strongest performance, with about half of students meeting ELA standards and a higher share meeting math standards, suggesting that older students in the school are performing at notably higher levels than their younger peers. In science, proficiency among fifth graders tested was low. Only one year of assessment data is available, so trends cannot be established.

The parent district, Salinas City Elementary, voter-approved two general obligation bond measures in 2022 to repair, upgrade, and modernize school facilities across the district. As of 2025, the district is among plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging California's school facilities funding, citing deteriorating conditions including leaking portables and black mold at century-old Lincoln Elementary. These facility-condition challenges are ongoing and shape the physical environment families would encounter.

A family choosing Los Padres should understand that the school serves a predominantly low-income, Hispanic population in a working agricultural community, and that academic proficiency rates are substantially below the county median. The grade-level spread in outcomes warrants a direct conversation with the school about what changes or supports differ between upper and lower grades, and what academic interventions or supports the school provides. The district's bonds signal commitment to improvement, but the litigation over facilities funding suggests ongoing resource constraints that are relevant to a long-term enrollment decision.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 319%

School 19% · District 24% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 418%

School 18% · District 20% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 19% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 655%

School 55% · District 25% · ▲ 30 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 316%

School 16% · District 18% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 411%

School 11% · District 20% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 29% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 33% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 15% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

This schoolSalinas City 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income13%Higher-income27%15 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income24%Higher-income50%26 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income45%Higher-income62%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income19%Higher-income18%1 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income24%Higher-income33%9 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income53%Higher-income62%8 pp gap