The top reported proficiency rate is 18% in Science. The lowest is 14% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on James Monroe Elementary
James Monroe Elementary sits on Marlow Road in Santa Rosa, the county seat of Sonoma County, serving kindergarten through sixth grade as a regular public school within the Santa Rosa Elementary School District. The school's student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with the vast majority of families qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, making it one of the more economically concentrated campuses in the district. Data on English learner enrollment was not available in what we reviewed.
State assessment results from the most recent year show proficiency rates that are low across all tested grades and subjects. In English language arts, results ranged from a very small share of fourth graders meeting standards to roughly a fifth of sixth graders doing so. Math results were similarly modest, with fourth grade posting the weakest result of any grade level in either subject, and no grade reaching above roughly a fifth of students meeting the standard. Science was tested at fifth grade only and came in at a comparably low level. Taken as a whole, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Sonoma County. Only a single year of data was available, so no trend direction can be established. Parents who want to understand whether scores are moving and what the school is doing to improve them would be well served by asking directly.
The district context around this school is in significant flux, and that matters as much as the test scores for any family deciding where to enroll. Publicly reported coverage from local sources describes a district managing a serious budget shortfall that has led to the closure of multiple elementary campuses, with two closing in June 2025 and a third scheduled to close in 2026. The ripple effects have included rising class sizes at receiving schools, reductions of more than fifty teaching and counseling positions, and cuts to therapists and wellness staff. Publicly reported district plans have also included a proposal to reconfigure James Monroe itself into a TK-3 campus, shifting older grades elsewhere. Families should confirm directly with the district what James Monroe's grade configuration will be in the coming year and beyond, since this is an active and evolving situation.
On the property tax side, voters approved a general obligation bond in late 2022 to fund facility repairs and upgrades, with costs running on property tax bills for decades. A parcel tax to address the operating deficit was under consideration by the district and, separately, a citizens group was publicly reported in early 2026 to be pursuing a citywide ballot measure. Prospective homebuyers in the attendance zone should track both.
Housing in the zip code surrounding the school is priced well above the national median, and meaningfully above even the California statewide benchmark, though values have edged down slightly year over year. Monthly rental costs also run high relative to incomes, with rent consuming a substantial share of a typical household's earnings. The area is more car-dependent than downtown Santa Rosa; the school's neighborhood falls outside the walkable downtown core, where most daily errands require driving.
Santa Rosa itself offers genuine civic assets. The SMART commuter rail connects downtown to points south as far as Larkspur. Howarth Park and the adjoining Spring Lake Regional Park and Trione-Annadel State Park form a continuous green corridor accessible from city streets. Healthcare employment anchors the local economy, with Kaiser Permanente and two hospital systems among the largest employers, alongside the County of Sonoma and Santa Rosa Junior College. Growth is being directed inward, with infill housing and zoning changes allowing denser development near downtown, including affordable projects that broke ground recently.
For a family enrolling at James Monroe today, the academic results are a genuine concern that warrants a conversation with the school about instructional supports, particularly for students who may be learning English alongside grade-level content. The district restructuring adds an additional layer of uncertainty about what the school will look like in one or two years. Those realities sit alongside a community with deep roots, a heavily Spanish-speaking peer environment that some families will find a strong fit, and a city that, despite its pressures, retains meaningful neighborhood and civic infrastructure.
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