George W. Bush Elementary, Stockton CA

Original Research by School Decision on George W. Bush Elementary

George W. Bush Elementary sits on Fred Russo Drive in Stockton's northeast zip code, serving kindergarten through eighth grade within Stockton Unified. It is a conventional public school, not a charter, and draws from a city that is large by Central Valley standards, anchored by logistics, healthcare, agriculture, and government employment. Stockton's housing costs sit well below the California statewide median, and the zip code around the school has seen modest home-value softening recently, making it more accessible to buyers than much of the state. Rents in the area consume a meaningful share of a typical household budget, though the rent-to-buy math here looks more favorable than in most California markets. The city as a whole is adding affordable housing downtown and recently adopted a state-certified housing element, so the growth context is active even if George W. Bush Elementary's immediate suburban neighborhood is more settled than the urban core.

Demographically, the school is majority-minority with no single group forming an outright majority. Asian and Hispanic students together account for the large majority of enrollment, with smaller shares of Black, multiracial, and white students. Nearly three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that reflects the economic pressures many Stockton families face. Data on English learner enrollment and students with individualized education programs was not available in what was provided.

On the California state assessments, the picture is mixed and a parent should look at it clearly. In English language arts, performance is stronger relative to math, with upper-elementary and middle grades reaching roughly the lower-to-mid range of what the state considers proficient. Third-grade ELA is the relative high point, and scores in sixth and eighth grade ELA are approaching or at the midpoint of what California sets as the proficiency bar. Math is a more persistent challenge across every tested grade. Fifth-grade math in particular sits at a low level, and no tested grade reaches the statewide midpoint. Science scores at the two tested grade levels are also below where most California schools land. Compared to districts across San Joaquin County, the school's overall proficiency index places it just below the county midpoint among the districts in that comparison set, meaning it is in the middle of the pack for this region rather than at either extreme.

No multi-year trend data was available beyond the most recent year, so it is not possible from this data to characterize whether scores are moving up or down. A parent curious about trajectory would want to ask the school directly.

Stockton Unified has made a district-level commitment to structured literacy. The district publicly adopted SIPPS, a phonics-based foundational reading program, and has credited it with measurable early-grade reading gains. That matters most for families with children in kindergarten through second grade, who will be taught to read using this approach. The district also passed a bond measure in 2022 and issued its first tranche of funds in 2025 for facility improvements, so physical upgrades are underway across district schools, though it also means a long-term property-tax obligation for homeowners in the district. A district-wide cell phone restriction took effect in the 2025-26 school year. The district's current accountability plan names raising academic achievement and improving outcomes for Black students and students with disabilities as explicit multiyear goals, shaped by an equity audit.

Program details specific to George W. Bush Elementary, such as extracurricular offerings, after-school programs, or specialized academic tracks, were not in the data provided. The school's website would be the right place to look for those.

The school serves a population where many students are navigating economic challenge, and the academic outcomes on state tests reflect that context. Families weighing this school should ask specifically what additional academic support looks like at the classroom and grade level, and how the district's literacy initiative is being implemented at this particular campus.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 27% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 622%

School 22% · District 17% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 735%

School 35% · District 19% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 826%

School 26% · District 19% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 24% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 24% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 25% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 649%

School 49% · District 28% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 744%

School 44% · District 31% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 34% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Science

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 15% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 15% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 23% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

This schoolStockton 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income46%13 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income50%Higher-income46%4 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income39%Higher-income65%26 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income53%Higher-income41%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income20%Higher-income27%8 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income22%Higher-income23%1 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income33%Higher-income41%8 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income25%Higher-income27%2 pp gap