Woodside Elementary, Woodside CA

Original Research by School Decision on Woodside Elementary

Woodside Elementary sits on a fourteen-acre campus near the heart of Woodside, a small, deliberately rural town on the San Francisco Peninsula that has long resisted the suburban density surrounding it. The school is the only one within town limits, serving kindergarten through eighth grade in a single building and running the full K-8 arc that families either seek out or work around depending on their preferences.

The academic picture is strong. On the most recent California state assessments, English language arts proficiency across all tested grades runs well above what most California schools post, with upper-grade ELA scores particularly high. Math is similarly well above the state middle, with the strongest results in the elementary grades and somewhat lower, though still solid, rates in the middle school years. Science proficiency at the tested grade points is also above average statewide, though the eighth-grade science rate is more modest than the ELA scores at the same level. Looking at the school's overall proficiency index relative to districts in San Mateo County, the school sits in the top quartile, a competitive county that includes some of the state's highest-performing systems. Multi-year trend data was not available to show direction of travel, so a parent curious about momentum would want to ask the school directly.

Enrollment is small for a K-8 school. Class sizes in the upper grades are notably thin, which affects the social and extracurricular texture of middle school years as much as any academic measure. The student body is predominantly white, with Hispanic students making up a meaningful share, smaller Asian and multiracial populations, and very few students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available in the source material. The low economic need rate reflects Woodside's character: this is one of the wealthiest communities in the country, built on large-lot estates and horse properties, with home values that are multiples of the California median and rents that are among the highest in the state. Buying into the attendance zone is a substantial financial commitment by any measure.

Because the school ends at eighth grade, families will plan for a transition to high school. Publicly reported information indicates Woodside students typically feed into Woodside High School in the Sequoia Union High School District, a separate campus on a larger suburban site serving students from Woodside, Portola Valley, and Redwood City.

Two recent funding decisions are relevant to any family weighing a move. Voters renewed a parcel tax in late 2024 for a multi-year term, with proceeds earmarked for small class sizes, teacher retention, and arts and physical education programs. The tax carries an annual inflation adjustment and an exemption for older residents, and it passed well above the required threshold. Separately, a facilities bond passed in early 2024 to fund campus modernization and new construction, including renovated classrooms, a new gymnasium, a preschool facility, and design lab spaces. Publicly reported coverage notes that five new transitional kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms are being built for the coming school year after older rooms were demolished, with enrollment in the youngest grades growing. A family entering now would be arriving during active construction and physical change on campus.

The town itself offers exceptional open space, two large county parks with redwood trails, an extensive network of horse trails, and a recently renovated public library. Daily life is car-dependent; the town center is compact and walkable in a narrow strip, but most of Woodside is multi-acre lots and private drives. There is no rail station in town, with the nearest Caltrain stops in Redwood City and Menlo Park. The local commercial offering is intentionally minimal by town policy.

Chronic absenteeism data and graduation rate data were not reported for this school. The graduation rate metric does not apply here because the school ends at eighth grade. Discipline data and course access details were also not available in the source material.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 386%

School 86% · District 86%

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 492%

School 92% · District 92%

▲ 54 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 584%

School 84% · District 84%

▲ 53 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 676%

School 76% · District 76%

▲ 46 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 786%

School 86% · District 86%

▲ 56 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Grade 871%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 384%

School 84% · District 84%

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 488%

School 88% · District 88%

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 592%

School 92% · District 92%

▲ 47 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 676%

School 76% · District 76%

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 793%

School 93% · District 93%

▲ 48 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Grade 894%

School 94% · District 94%

▲ 50 pts above state median · ▲ 36 pts above county median

Science

Grade 573%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 862%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 890%

School 90% · District 90%

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

This schoolWoodside Elementary, 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.