Walt Disney Elementary, San Ramon CA

Original Research by School Decision on Walt Disney Elementary

Walt Disney Elementary sits in San Ramon, a suburb in Contra Costa County's affluent eastern reach. The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade and enrolls a school of roughly that size for its grade band, drawn from a community where housing is expensive and family income is high.

The student body reflects the composition typical of this area. Nearly half the enrollment identifies as Asian, with a quarter as white and smaller shares of Hispanic, multiracial, and other students. The school has a very low share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on English learners and special education enrollment was not available. The neighborhood itself shows strong economic markers: median home values in the ZIP code are well above both state and national benchmarks, and while housing costs have declined year over year, the area remains expensive relative to household income.

On state assessments, Walt Disney shows mixed academic strength. In English language arts, the school's overall proficiency is solid, with fifth graders showing particularly strong performance; third grade is weaker. Mathematics follows a similar pattern, with fifth graders well above third and fourth graders. Science, tested only in fifth grade, shows moderate proficiency. Across tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among districts in Contra Costa County. This is a genuine strength worth noting, though parents may want to see what local factors explain the grade-level variation, especially the gap between fifth-grade ELA and earlier grades.

The school is part of San Ramon Valley Unified, a district navigating significant budget constraints. In 2024 the district eliminated more than sixty staff positions to balance its budget. Measure Q, a parcel tax renewal, passed in November with broad support and will fund roughly half of classroom teaching positions for another term, a recurring property charge homeowners pay. However, further reductions in support services, including counselor, psychologist, and social worker positions, are planned for the 2025-2026 school year. These cuts can affect both the breadth of services available to students and the size or scope of academic offerings. The district has also made curriculum changes, adopting an ethnic studies graduation requirement for high school students beginning with the class of 2030.

For a family considering Walt Disney, the school offers solid academic results placed in the county's top tier, a stable if affluent community, and access to a district managing through financial pressure. The specific academic needs of your student, paired with a direct conversation with the school about how budget constraints have affected the services or programs your family prioritizes, will matter more than the aggregate numbers alone.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 369%

School 69% · District 79% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Grade 467%

School 67% · District 79% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 574%

School 74% · District 76% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 73% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

Grade 469%

School 69% · District 77% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 589%

School 89% · District 81% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Science

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 66% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

This schoolSan Ramon Valley 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.