Del Dayo Elementary, Carmichael CA

Original Research by School Decision on Del Dayo Elementary

Del Dayo Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Carmichael, an established suburban community in northeastern Sacramento County. The school enrolls a small student body that is predominantly white with notable representation from Hispanic, multiracial, and Asian families. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a mixed-income area typical of suburban Sacramento.

On California's Smarter Balanced assessments in English language arts, the school's overall proficiency rate sits near the midpoint, with stronger performance in fifth grade and weaker results in third. Math proficiency is softer, with students in fifth and sixth grades showing particular difficulty; fourth grade is the high point. Science testing, available only for fifth grade, shows proficiency below half. Against districts countywide, Del Dayo's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile, a solid standing that reflects the school's position within a county cohort spanning a wide range of achievement levels.

The data available does not include the school's rates for students with disabilities or English learners, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the scope and quality of support services in those areas. Chronic absenteeism and discipline data were also not provided, limiting visibility into school culture and attendance patterns.

Carmichael itself is a mature, car-dependent suburban landscape dominated by mid-twentieth-century ranch homes on spacious lots. The community has long been valued for its semi-rural feel and established neighborhood character, though it is now largely built out. Recent infill development, including a new all-electric community, marks the transition from growth to redevelopment. Housing values are mid-range for the Sacramento region, and residents commonly commute to larger employers in Sacramento or to regional centers such as UC Davis and Intel's Folsom campus. The community anchors itself through an extensive parks system, a regional library branch, and bus transit, though it lacks a central downtown core and is oriented around arterial commercial strips rather than walkable neighborhoods.

Del Dayo's parent district, San Juan Unified, serves this area and has undergone two major structural changes. Voters approved a substantial facilities bond in November 2024 that will fund classroom repairs and modernization over the coming years, supported by a property tax increase that will appear on homeowners' bills through the mid-2050s. The district also adopted a new strategic plan in 2024 centered on early literacy and middle-grade math, with a new district-wide mathematics curriculum rollout beginning in 2026-27. These shifts shape the instructional environment across all schools in the district.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 351%

School 51% · District 33% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 462%

School 62% · District 31% · ▲ 31 pts above district

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

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 26% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 27% · ▲ 19 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 349%

School 49% · District 34% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 457%

School 57% · District 36% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 40% · ▲ 31 pts above district

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

Grade 662%

School 62% · District 41% · ▲ 22 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 30% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

This schoolSan Juan 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-income48%Higher-income49%1 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income39%Higher-income68%28 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income62%Higher-income76%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income42%Higher-income55%12 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income59%Higher-income64%5 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income41%Higher-income46%5 pp gap