Huerta (dolores) Elementary, San Francisco CA

Original Research by School Decision on Huerta (dolores) Elementary

Huerta (Dolores) Elementary is a small public school in San Francisco serving kindergarten through fifth grade. The school sits in the Excelsior neighborhood, a residential area with a predominantly Hispanic community character. With about a third of the school on the roster, the overall enrollment is modest for its grade band.

The student body is substantially Hispanic, with smaller populations of multiracial, white, and Asian students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting economic pressures common to much of San Francisco despite the city's high cost of living. State testing data on English learner and special education populations was not available.

On the most recent California assessments, Huerta's students showed proficiency in English language arts around mid-range, with fifth-grade performance notably stronger than third grade. Math proficiency sat lower, particularly in fifth grade where less than two in five students met the standard. In science, fifth-grade proficiency was even lower. Overall, the school's proficiency index places it above the midpoint compared to other schools' results in San Francisco County, though this does not signal strong performance in absolute terms; parents may want to look into what support structures the school has in place for math and the upper elementary grades.

San Francisco's housing market is a dominant feature of family life here. The median home value in the school's zip code substantially exceeds the California benchmark, and rent has climbed sharply in the past year. The mortgage-to-income ratio is extreme, and rent takes up a high share of household income, putting constant pressure on families even those with stable employment. The city's job market remains substantial, anchored by municipal government, Salesforce, and health care, though downtown's economic recovery has been uneven since the pandemic.

The neighborhood itself is quieter and more residential than central San Francisco, with more single-family homes and a suburban feel compared to the dense commercial corridors closer to downtown. Transit service is available via Muni, and the broader city offers the ordinary citywide amenities of parks, libraries, and cultural institutions. Daily life involves navigating steep topography and the city's walkable but congested streets.

The school is part of San Francisco Unified, a large urban district serving the entire city.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 52% · ▼ 9 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 445%

School 45% · District 49% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 46% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 47% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 51% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 55% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 42% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

This schoolSan Francisco 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-income24%Higher-income62%38 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income19%Higher-income73%54 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income31%Higher-income79%48 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income24%Higher-income66%42 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income19%Higher-income73%55 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income20%Higher-income62%42 pp gap