Sybil N. Crookham Elementary, Winton CA

Original Research by School Decision on Sybil N. Crookham Elementary

Sybil N. Crookham Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Winton, a small, predominantly Hispanic farming community in northern Merced County. The school sits within a tight-knit, family-centered residential area surrounded by agricultural land, where most residents rent and the cost of living remains well below the state average. Housing values in the zip code are modest, and most families qualify for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting the economic circumstances of the community it serves.

The school's enrollment is small, distributed across six grades with roughly even cohorts in the lower elementary years and smaller classes in the upper grades. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial minority of Asian students and smaller numbers of white and other students. Data on the rate of English learners and students in special education was not available.

On the 2024-25 California assessments, Crookham's proficiency in English language arts outpaced math. In third and fifth grade, students showed stronger performance in reading and writing, with around half or more meeting grade-level standards. Fourth grade showed the highest ELA performance among the tested grades. In math, proficiency was notably lower. Third-grade math proficiency was in the mid-to-high range, but fourth grade dipped modestly, and fifth grade fell substantially below that. In fifth-grade science, fewer than a third of students met the standard. Taken together across subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among districts in Merced County, a meaningful strength given the economic and demographic profile of its student body. That said, math performance below about one half in grades four and five warrants attention; a parent may want to look into how the school is addressing math skill gaps in the upper elementary grades.

Winton itself is a quiet, walkable community with grid-style blocks of older homes clustered around North Winton Way, though it has minimal commercial activity and few everyday amenities beyond a handful of restaurants, bars, and grocery stores. Residents rely on nearby Atwater and Merced for larger shopping, services, and job opportunities. The area is dominated by agriculture; Foster Poultry Farms and other regional agribusiness operations are the largest employers in the county. Winton Community Park, renovated in recent years, and the county library branch serve as civic anchors. Public transit via Merced County Transit connects residents to surrounding areas.

The Winton School District, which operates Crookham, has no recent major bonds, parcel taxes, or curriculum changes to report. Growth in Winton's population has been slow and steady, with the county's long-range Winton Community Plan setting capacity for residential and mixed-use development but no specific active projects. The school environment is stable and rooted in a community with strong family presence and agricultural heritage.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 48% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 45% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 31% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 51% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 457%

School 57% · District 56% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 54% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Science

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 29% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

This schoolWinton, 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.