Colonial Acres Elementary, Hayward CA

Original Research by School Decision on Colonial Acres Elementary

Colonial Acres Elementary is a small public elementary school in Hayward serving kindergarten through fifth grade, located in a diverse, working-class part of the East Bay. The school enrolls roughly half of its seats in each grade, with the enrollment fairly even across kindergarten through fifth grade. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the area's economic profile. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller shares of Asian, Black, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and other students; white enrollment is minimal.

Academic performance is a significant concern. On California's most recent state assessments in English language arts and math, proficiency rates across the tested grades were very low, ranging from around five percent in fifth-grade math to around eighteen percent in third-grade math. In English language arts, proficiency ranged from around eleven to thirteen percent across grades three through five. Science testing, available only in fifth grade, showed similarly low performance. These results place the school in the bottom quartile among elementary schools in Alameda County on overall proficiency. The school is part of San Lorenzo Unified, which was identified by California's accountability system as needing more intensive support due to persistent performance disparities for students with disabilities, African American students, English learners, and other groups. The district commissioned a Systemic Instructional Review in 2023-24 with WestEd and the Alameda County Office of Education to guide district-wide instructional improvement, a multi-year reform effort that may reshape classroom practice over time.

The school sits in Hayward, a mid-sized East Bay city that blends industrial, commercial, and residential neighborhoods. The immediate area around Colonial Acres is part of a working-class residential community. Hayward's economy centers on logistics, warehousing, manufacturing, and distribution, alongside service industries and education anchored by California State University, East Bay and Chabot College. Downtown Hayward, about a short distance away, has a walkable core with the 21st Century Library, parks, and dining, though it faces traffic challenges from a regional bypass. The city is pursuing downtown development and is a college town with BART transit access.

Housing in the Hayward area carries a cost of ownership well above national norms, though below some Bay Area markets. Rental costs are also elevated, with rent representing a substantial share of household income for renters. These economic conditions are reflected in the school's enrollment: a very large majority of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

No data was available on English learner enrollment, students with disabilities, chronic absenteeism, or school discipline. The school's website location was not provided, so parents seeking additional program information or enrollment details would need to contact San Lorenzo Unified directly. A parent may want to look further into the school's specific interventions and support structures, as well as any specialized programs or staffing additions the district's instructional review has prompted, to understand what academic support is in place for students working below proficiency.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 318%

School 18% · District 32% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Grade 416%

School 16% · District 31% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 55%

School 5% · District 20% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 311%

School 11% · District 26% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 38 pts below county median

Grade 412%

School 12% · District 26% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 42 pts below county median

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 28% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 44 pts below county median

Science

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 18% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

This schoolSan Lorenzo 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.