J. X. Wilson Elementary, Santa Rosa CA

Original Research by School Decision on J. X. Wilson Elementary

J. X. Wilson Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Santa Rosa, a mixed-character city and the county seat of Sonoma County. The school sits on Brittain Lane in a postal area where housing values have softened slightly in recent quarters, and where a substantial share of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

The 2024-25 CAASPP results show proficiency rates that fall below the midpoint among Sonoma County districts. In English language arts, sixth grade performs strongest, while grades three and four score lower. In math, the pattern is steeper: third grade reaches the highest mark, fourth grade drops sharply, fifth grade falls further still to a very low rate, and sixth grade recovers somewhat. Fifth-grade science proficiency also registers very low. Only one prior year of state testing data was available, so trend information is absent; a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand whether these results reflect patterns over time or a recent shift.

The enrollment is small. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting economic need in the catchment area. The student body is majority Hispanic, with other students distributed across white, two or more races, Asian, and smaller numbers of other groups. Specific counts for English learners and students with IEPs were not available in the data provided.

Santa Rosa itself is a place shaped by downtown revitalization and distinct neighborhoods. The city center around Courthouse Square and Fourth Street is walkable and active, with shops, restaurants, galleries, and farmers markets; the broader city is car-dependent. Employment is anchored in health care and government, with Kaiser Permanente and Sonoma County as the region's largest employers. The eastern park system, including Howarth Park, Spring Lake Regional Park, and Annadel State Park, offers families outdoor access from urban streets into wilderness trails. Public transit includes the SMART commuter rail with a downtown station and the CityBus system.

The Wright Elementary School District, J. X. Wilson's parent district, recently passed a measure in November 2024 that authorizes facilities bonds for classroom upgrades and repairs. This is a lasting change for district families because it adds a property tax charge for homeowners while committing the district to long-term facility improvements. The district itself underwent a governance shift: the original Wright school operated as a TK-8 charter school between two prior years and 2025, then transitioned back to traditional public school status and narrowed its grade span to TK-6 beginning with the 2025-26 school year.

J. X. Wilson Elementary offers a neighborhood school experience in a city experiencing directed infill growth and downtown transformation. A family here would want to discuss directly with the school what instructional approaches are being used to address the gaps visible in math and science proficiency data.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 45%

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

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 33% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 18% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 29% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 43% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 431%

School 31% · District 47% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 47% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 50% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Science

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 23% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

This schoolWright 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.