Enrollment
295
Elementary
DISTRICT 347 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·OLD ADOBE UNION·NCES 062832004384
La Tercera Elementary
1600 Albin Way, Petaluma, CA 94954 · (707) 765-4303 · Sonoma County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL295 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 43% 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.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- A+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
23.6:1
13 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.8:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
37%
110 students
DISTRICT 40% · STATE 65%
Community
0
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 | 52 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 28 | 9% |
| Grade 2 | 48 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 31 | 11% |
| Grade 4 | 38 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 54 | 18% |
| Grade 6 | 44 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (52) is 18% larger than its 6th grade class (44).
Student demographics
58%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 59% · 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
59.1%
CA avg 49.1% . +28.1pp since 2014
Math
39.9%
CA avg 37.7% . +26.9pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 59 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 40 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 28 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 27 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 21.3% | 37.8% | 20.7% | 20.1% |
| Math | 14.9% | 25.0% | 29.2% | 30.9% |
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 | 59.1% | 39.9% |
| 2023-24 | 40.1% | 32.2% |
| 2022-23 | 30.4% | 29.9% |
| 2021-22 | 34.1% | 30.3% |
| 2018-19 | 48.5% | 40.4% |
| 2017-18 | 42.9% | 33.1% |
| 2016-17 | 36.2% | 28.7% |
| 2015-16 | 40.0% | 20.0% |
| 2014-15 | 31.0% | 13.0% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of CA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
42.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
57.7%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-14.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 43% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 58% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 La Tercera Elementary
La Tercera Elementary's state test result (42.9% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Tercera Elementary this school | 295 | 37.3% | 42.9% |
| Buena Vista Elementary Carlsbad | 281 | 39.9% | 70.5% |
| Harold Ambuehl Elementary San Juan Capistrano | 324 | 35.2% | 56.6% |
| Poinsettia Elementary Ventura | 351 | 38.5% | 50.2% |
| Sycamore Canyon Elementary Santee | 373 | 37.0% | 64.9% |
| Woodland Star Charter Glen Ellen | 244 | 34.8% | N/A |
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 La Tercera Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Sonoma County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.9% | #2,243 of 5,151 | #38 of 79 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 39.9% | #2,297 of 5,172 ▲ 552 | #38 of 79 ▲ 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 59.1% | #1,394 of 5,172 ▲ 1,319 | #20 of 79 ▲ 24 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +17.3pp | #104 of 5,116 | #3 of 79 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 295 | #4,806 of 5,915 | #60 of 105 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 23.6:1 | #3,438 of 5,352 | #56 of 76 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 58.2% | #2,009 of 5,354 | #26 of 76 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 37.3% | #4,450 of 5,625 | #58 of 89 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -14.7% | #2,071 of 3,837 | #21 of 50 |
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
295
-2 (-1%) vs 2020
-55% since 1990-91, when it was 658
Student : Teacher
23.6:1
was 24.8:1
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 | 295 | 12.5 | 23.6:1 | 37% (110) |
| 2023-24 | 313 | 13.4 | 23.4:1 | 34% (105) |
| 2022-23 | 325 | 13 | 25.0:1 | 37% (120) |
| 2020-21 | 297 | 12 | 24.8:1 | 28% (83) |
| 2017-18 | 346 | 14.2 | 24.4:1 | 53% (182) |
| 2015-16 | 351 | 14 | 25.1:1 | 48% (170) |
| 2010-11 | 496 | N/A | N/A | 51% (252) |
| 2000-01 | 483 | 23 | 21.0:1 | 16% (76) |
| 1990-91 | 658 | 27 | 24.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for La Tercera Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 15% (346 to 295); teachers down 12% (14.2 to 12.5).
About La Tercera Elementary
La Tercera Elementary is a public low-enrollment elementary school in Petaluma, California. It has an enrollment of 295 students in kindergarten through 6. That compares with an average of about 465 students for elementary schools in California.
The 5 schools of Old Adobe Union, including La Tercera Elementary, enroll 1,734 students.
About 53% of the student body at La Tercera Elementary is White. The remaining students are 36% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, 3% Black, and 2% Asian. Among people living in Sonoma County, the White share is about 62%. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 58, compared with 70 nationally.
The school has 12.5 full-time-equivalent teachers and a ratio of 23.6 students per teacher. The average for elementary schools in California is 22.3:1, so this school has more students per teacher. The school reported 37% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. Public schools in Sonoma County average 51%.
La Tercera Elementary holds a C+ allk12 Grade, placing it above 43% of California public elementary schools.
A school in California with La Tercera Elementary's free or reduced-price lunch share would be expected to score about 57.7%. La Tercera Elementary scores 42.9%.
In the surrounding county, Sonoma County, median household income comes to about $104,674, about 39% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 5% of residents are in poverty. La Tercera Elementary shares Sonoma County with 183 other public schools.
La Tercera Elementary's nearest public school is Casa Grande High (about 0.6 miles). Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. La Tercera Elementary is 2nd of 5 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as City: Small, meaning it is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
The school's size has been steady, with 297 students in 2020-21 and 295 in 2024-25. The school's ratio dropped from 24.8:1 to 23.6:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
The La Tercera Elementary discussion page is a place for special education services, counseling, and support programs. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Sonoma County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
485,040
Census ACS
Median income
$104,674
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
184
63,389 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Old Adobe Union
- Loma Vista Immersion AcademyElementary · 451 students
- Sonoma Mountain ElementaryElementary · 422 students
- Miwok Valley Elementary CharterElementary · 288 students
- Old Adobe Elementary CharterElementary · 278 students
Other schools in Petaluma
- Casa Grande HighHigh · 1,653 students
- Petaluma HighHigh · 1,193 students
- Kenilworth Junior HighMiddle · 812 students
- Heartwood CharterCombined · 739 students
- Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry ValleyElementary · 494 students
- Petaluma Junior HighMiddle · 454 students
Nearby schools
- Casa Grande High0.6 mi · 1,653
- Dual Language Immersion Academy Charter0.6 mi · 31
- McDowell Elementary0.6 mi · 329
- Sonoma Mountain High (Necessary Small School)0.6 mi · 21
- Miwok Valley Elementary Charter0.7 mi · 288
- Loma Vista Immersion Academy1.2 mi · 451
Frequently asked questions
About La Tercera ElementaryHow large is La Tercera Elementary?
La Tercera Elementary enrolls approximately 295 students in grades KG-06.
What age range does La Tercera Elementary serve?
La Tercera Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at La Tercera Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at La Tercera Elementary is approximately 23.6:1 (13 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at La Tercera Elementary?
Student demographics at La Tercera Elementary are roughly 53% White, 36% Hispanic, 3% Black, 2% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is La Tercera Elementary in?
La Tercera Elementary is part of Old Adobe Union.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.