The top reported proficiency rate is 81% in Math. The lowest is 72% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Foothill Elementary
Foothill Elementary is a small school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Saratoga, a hillside community in Santa Clara County that has resisted rapid growth despite state housing mandates. The school enrolls about that many students, drawn predominantly from an affluent, highly educated residential base in which Asian families make up a majority and white families a substantial minority. Few students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school sits within a housing market where values are well above the state and national average, and rental costs consume a significant fraction of household income, though median incomes in the county are themselves quite high.
On California's state assessments in 2024-25, Foothill's performance was solid across tested subjects and grades. In mathematics, overall proficiency was strong, with grade four performing at a noticeably higher level than grades three and five. In English language arts, fifth grade showed particular strength, while third grade was the softest grade-level result, though still above half proficiency. Grade five science proficiency was in the low-to-mid range. Across the school's tested grades, the overall proficiency index places Foothill in the top quartile among the county's elementary schools. The school has only a single year of data, so trend information is not yet available.
The school population includes very few students identified as English learners or receiving special education services, though specific counts for these groups were not reported. This composition likely reflects both the neighborhood demographics and the school's existing student body; families new to the area may self-select based on the school's profile and the surrounding community.
Saratoga itself is navigating tension between conservation and state-mandated housing growth. The city was assigned a substantial sixth-cycle Regional Housing Needs Allocation target, and its housing element was certified by the state in July 2024. Meeting these goals would require taller, higher-density mixed-use development in limited pockets such as downtown and arterial corridors, since much of the city's land sits in the Wildland Urban Interface with wildfire and geologic constraints. This push has been locally divisive, with strong resident resistance to duplexes, fourplexes, and higher-density projects that residents worry would alter the city's semi-rural, single-family character. Saratoga was among county jurisdictions that appealed their draft allocations.
For families at Foothill, two property-tax items are relevant to the school-funding and housing-cost picture. The Saratoga Union Elementary School District's own parcel tax, Measure A, funds core academic programs in reading, writing, math, and science and is set to expire around 2027, placing a renewal decision on the near-term horizon. Additionally, the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District, which serves Saratoga middle and high school students, passed Measure A in May 2024 by a narrow margin. This parcel tax replaces an expiring levy with a higher per-parcel amount that adjusts annually for inflation and runs through the next decade. It is explicitly intended to keep teacher salaries competitive and represents an incremental property-tax burden on Saratoga homeowners alongside existing obligations.
For a parent considering Foothill, the picture is one of a small, high-performing school in a well-resourced but high-cost community with a particular demographic and income profile, and in a town where growth constraints and housing affordability remain contested local issues.
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