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Which teacher or staff member at Donaldson Way Elementary deserves more recognition?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
528
Elementary
DISTRICT 453 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NAPA VALLEY UNIFIED·NCES 062664004017
Donaldson Way Elementary
430 Donaldson Way, American Canyon, CA 94589 · (707) 644-4486 · Napa County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL528 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 52% of California public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C-Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
26.4:1
20 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 24.3:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
66%
346 students
DISTRICT 67% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 100 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 81 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 75 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 76 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 97 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 99 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (100) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (99).
Student demographics
71%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 58% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
46.7%
CA avg 49.1% . -3.3pp since 2014
Math
42.0%
CA avg 37.7% . -6.0pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 47 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 42 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 3 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 6 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 21.2% | 25.6% | 24.1% | 29.2% |
| Math | 19.7% | 22.3% | 26.3% | 31.8% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 46.7% | 42.0% |
| 2023-24 | 46.3% | 41.0% |
| 2022-23 | 42.4% | 35.3% |
| 2021-22 | 47.3% | 44.5% |
| 2018-19 | 53.2% | 49.4% |
| 2017-18 | 47.4% | 48.6% |
| 2016-17 | 51.1% | 51.7% |
| 2015-16 | 50.0% | 51.0% |
| 2014-15 | 50.0% | 48.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
43.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
41.1%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 44% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 41% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Donaldson Way Elementary
Donaldson Way Elementary's state test result (43.9% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donaldson Way Elementary this school | 528 | 65.5% | 43.9% |
| Gladys Poet-Christian Elementary Tracy | 555 | 67.2% | 35.9% |
| James A. McKee Elementary Elk Grove | 488 | 68.0% | 37.2% |
| Tustin Ranch Elementary Tustin | 520 | 61.3% | 54.3% |
| Chatsworth Park ES Urban Planning/Comm Development Magnet Chatsworth | 422 | 63.0% | 56.2% |
| Mason Elementary San Diego | 538 | 71.0% | 44.1% |
Matched among California elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Donaldson Way Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Napa County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 43.9% | #2,164 of 5,151 | #7 of 18 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 42.0% | #2,152 of 5,172 ▼ 42 | #7 of 18 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.7% | #2,299 of 5,172 ▼ 131 | #7 of 18 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -1.6pp | #1,333 of 5,116 | #12 of 18 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 528 | #2,115 of 5,915 | #5 of 22 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 26.4:1 | #4,985 of 5,352 | #17 of 19 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 71.0% | #520 of 5,354 | #1 of 19 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 65.5% | #3,201 of 5,625 | #10 of 20 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -12.3% | #2,400 of 3,837 | #7 of 11 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
528
+4 (+1%) vs 2020
+43% since 1990-91, when it was 369
Student : Teacher
26.4:1
was 23.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 528 | 20 | 26.4:1 | 66% (346) |
| 2023-24 | 517 | 20 | 25.9:1 | 65% (338) |
| 2022-23 | 490 | 19 | 25.8:1 | 62% (304) |
| 2020-21 | 524 | 22 | 23.8:1 | 46% (239) |
| 2017-18 | 602 | 23 | 26.2:1 | 39% (235) |
| 2015-16 | 643 | 25 | 25.7:1 | 38% (247) |
| 2010-11 | 527 | N/A | N/A | 33% (175) |
| 2000-01 | 429 | 21 | 20.4:1 | 24% (105) |
| 1990-91 | 369 | 15 | 24.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Donaldson Way Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (602 to 528); teachers down 13% (23 to 20).
About Donaldson Way Elementary
Donaldson Way Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school. Its address is in American Canyon, California. Grades offered run from kindergarten through 5, with 528 students enrolled.
Donaldson Way Elementary is one school in a 26-school district, Napa Valley Unified, which enrolls 16,077 students.
By race and ethnicity, the largest group at Donaldson Way Elementary is Hispanic (45%). Other groups make up 20% White, 19% Asian, 12% multiracial, and 4% Black. Napa County as a whole is about 36% Hispanic, so the school's share is higher. The chance that two students picked at random at Donaldson Way Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 71%.
With 20 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Donaldson Way Elementary was 26.4:1. Among elementary schools in California, the typical ratio is 22.3:1. Donaldson Way Elementary's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 66%. That is close to the 64% average for public schools in Napa County.
The allk12 Grade for Donaldson Way Elementary is B-. Compared with California public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 52% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Schools in California with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 41.1%. Donaldson Way Elementary scores 43.9%.
According to the American Community Survey, in Napa County, median household income is about $111,471, roughly 40% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Donaldson Way Elementary is one of 43 public schools in Napa County, which together enroll about 18,557 students.
The nearest other public school, American Canyon Middle, is about 0.2 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 32.7%; Donaldson Way Elementary's is 43.9%, ranking 3rd of 8.
Its location is classified as Suburb: Mid-size by the National Center for Education Statistics.
The school's size has been steady, with 524 students in 2020-21 and 528 in 2024-25. The school's ratio rose from 23.8:1 to 26.4:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Discussion on this page can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Napa County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
134,869
Census ACS
Median income
$111,471
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
43
18,557 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Napa Valley Unified
- American Canyon HighHigh · 1,720 students
- Napa HighHigh · 1,642 students
- Vintage HighHigh · 1,622 students
- American Canyon MiddleMiddle · 1,074 students
- Redwood MiddleMiddle · 868 students
- Canyon Oaks ElementaryElementary · 696 students
Other schools in American Canyon
- American Canyon HighHigh · 1,720 students
- American Canyon MiddleMiddle · 1,074 students
- Canyon Oaks ElementaryElementary · 696 students
- Napa Junction ElementaryElementary · 531 students
Nearby schools
- American Canyon Middle0.2 mi · 1,074
- Napa Junction Elementary0.8 mi · 531
- Canyon Oaks Elementary1.2 mi · 696
- American Canyon High1.4 mi · 1,720
- Dan Mini Elementary1.5 mi · 433
- Solano Widenmann Leadership Academy1.9 mi · 615
Frequently asked questions
About Donaldson Way ElementaryHow large is Donaldson Way Elementary?
Donaldson Way Elementary enrolls approximately 528 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Donaldson Way Elementary serve?
Donaldson Way Elementary serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Donaldson Way Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Donaldson Way Elementary is approximately 26.4:1 (20 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Donaldson Way Elementary?
Donaldson Way Elementary reports a student body of 20% White, 45% Hispanic, 4% Black, 19% Asian, 12% Two or more.
Is Donaldson Way Elementary public or private?
Donaldson Way Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Napa Valley Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.