Julia C. Lathrop Intermediate, Santa Ana CA

Original Research by School Decision on Julia C. Lathrop Intermediate

Julia C. Lathrop Intermediate is a middle school serving sixth through eighth grade in Santa Ana, located at the center of Orange County's urban core. The school enrolls a small student body, with substantially more seventh and eighth graders than sixth graders. About seven in eight students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student population is predominantly Hispanic, with small numbers of Asian, White, Native Hawaiian, and American Indian students. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available.

State testing results from spring 2025 show proficiency levels well below district and state norms across all tested subjects. In mathematics, proficiency rates range from about six percent in sixth grade to roughly twelve percent in seventh and eighth grades. English language arts proficiency is higher but still low, climbing from about sixteen percent in sixth grade to roughly twenty-four percent in eighth grade. In eighth-grade science, about fifteen percent met proficiency. These results indicate that most students are not meeting grade-level standards in core subjects. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what support services and intervention programs are in place and how the school is working to address these performance gaps.

The school sits in a dense, mixed-use neighborhood that is the county seat and Orange County's industrial and commercial heartland. Santa Ana combines government offices, warehousing and manufacturing, and historic residential districts with early-1900s homes. Downtown Santa Ana has strong walkability and street life, with Fourth Street as a commercial spine hosting shops, restaurants, galleries, and live venues. Outlying residential areas require a car. The city is in active redevelopment, with major housing projects under construction and billions of dollars in approved development. Housing values in the zip code are substantial, and rental costs are high relative to income, though home prices have remained relatively stable year-over-year. The median household income regionally exceeds the national average.

Santa Ana Unified, the parent district, recently passed a major bond measure in November 2024 to repair and modernize aging school facilities over a multiyear period, funded by increased property taxes. The district was an early adopter of ethnic studies as a graduation requirement starting in 2020, but in 2025 it agreed to discontinue three high school ethnic studies courses and rebuild them from scratch following a lawsuit and settlement, incorporating public input and compliance with open-meeting law. This represents a significant shift in a curriculum area families may be weighing.

Relative to other school districts in Orange County, Julia C. Lathrop's proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. Graduation rate data does not apply because this is a middle school. Chronic absenteeism data was not available.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 67%

School 7% · District 20% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 40 pts below county median

Grade 712%

School 12% · District 20% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 812%

School 12% · District 21% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 30% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 45 pts below county median

Grade 723%

School 23% · District 33% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 31% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 15%

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

Social studies

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 38% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

This schoolSanta Ana 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.