The top reported proficiency rate is 17% in Math. The lowest is 12% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Sheridan Way Elementary
Sheridan Way Elementary sits on the western edge of Ventura, serving kindergarten through fifth grade as part of Ventura Unified. The school is a small-to-mid-sized elementary campus with a sharply defined student population: nearly the entire enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, and an overwhelming majority of students are Hispanic. That economic and demographic concentration shapes what the school is and who it serves. Data on English learner rates and special education participation were not available in this profile.
State assessment results from the 2024-25 school year are the clearest academic signal available, and they point to a school where proficiency rates are low across every tested subject and grade. In English language arts, results are well below the California average at every tested grade level, with third and fourth grade results particularly low. Math results follow a similar pattern, though the gap between grades is somewhat wider. Fifth-grade science scores on the CAST assessment are also in a low range. Placed against districts in Ventura County, the school's overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile of that comparison set. Trend data is available for only a single year, so it is not possible to say whether scores are improving, stable, or declining. A parent who wants to understand whether the school is making gains should ask the school directly about its trajectory.
No information was available on program offerings, staffing levels, chronic absenteeism, or discipline practices. The school's own website may carry details on instructional approach, enrichment programs, or family engagement that this profile cannot fill in. Those are reasonable things to ask about before drawing conclusions.
The district context matters here. Ventura Unified is managing simultaneous pressures: a bond measure approved in 2022 funds facility upgrades over decades, adding a lasting property tax obligation for families in the district. A parcel tax renewal that had funded music, arts, technology, and mental health services was narrowly defeated in late 2024, which publicly reported accounts indicate means a loss of locally controlled dollars for those programs. The district is also navigating declining enrollment and a projected budget deficit, and has formally opened a process that could result in school closures as early as the 2027-28 school year. Families choosing a neighborhood school in Ventura Unified should be aware that the campus their child attends today may be reviewed for consolidation within the next few years.
Ventura itself is a coastal city with a genuine downtown core along Main Street, where a pedestrian promenade that closed several blocks to traffic has become a walkable commercial and civic spine. That district is well within reach by car. The housing market around the school is expensive by any national measure, sitting well above both the California and national medians, and estimated monthly ownership costs represent a very high ratio relative to typical household income. Rents are also high relative to income. For families weighing this ZIP code, the cost of entry is steep. The city is adding housing, with multifamily development concentrated downtown and new construction in east Ventura and the hillsides, but supply-side relief has been gradual. Healthcare anchors local employment, and Naval Base Ventura County and county government are the dominant employers at the regional scale. Gold Coast Transit provides bus service across the city, with Amtrak and Metrolink connections for regional commuting.
Sheridan Way Elementary is a school serving a high-poverty, predominantly Hispanic student body in a district that is actively managing declining enrollment and a tightening budget. Academic proficiency rates are low and a parent would be well served by asking the school what specific supports are in place for students, what the instructional priorities are, and how the school closure evaluation process might affect this campus specifically.
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