Is Santa Barbara Community Academy a good school?

Santa Barbara Community Academy ranks 4101 st of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Santa Barbara Community Academy?

In the 2023-24 school year, 202 students attended Santa Barbara Community Academy.

What is the racial makeup of Santa Barbara Community Academy?

Students at Santa Barbara Community Academy are 98% Hispanic.

Santa Barbara Community Academy

Summary:

Santa Barbara Community Academy is a small elementary school serving grades K-6 in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. With just 197 students, the school has consistently ranked in the bottom half of California elementary schools, currently at 4101 out of 5862 schools with a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

The school faces significant challenges, particularly in the areas of chronic absenteeism, test scores, and socioeconomic status of its student population. Santa Barbara Community Academy has a 22.9% chronic absenteeism rate, much higher than the district's 17.5% rate at Washington Elementary and the 13.8% rate at Adams Elementary. The school's test scores are also consistently lower than the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas, with only 33.33% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy and just 23.08% in mathematics. Additionally, 80.71% of students at Santa Barbara Community Academy qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, significantly higher than the nearby schools.

When comparing Santa Barbara Community Academy to other elementary schools in the same district, it is clear that the school is underperforming. For example, Washington Elementary, just 1.78 miles away, consistently outperforms Santa Barbara Community Academy in test scores, chronic absenteeism, and other key metrics. The school's small size and the district's overall 3-star rating suggest that there may be opportunities for targeted interventions and support to help raise student achievement, but addressing the underlying issues of poverty and chronic absenteeism will be crucial in improving the school's overall performance and outcomes for its students.

Detail:

Public K-6

850 Portesuello Ave.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101-2971

(805) 687-2081

District: Santa Barbara Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
4101^st of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $11,715

Student/teacher ratio: 16.5

Number of students: 202

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

98.0%

White:

1.0%

Two or more races:

1.0%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 85.6%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Santa Barbara Community Academy ranks worse than 70% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 9^th among 10 ranked elementary schools in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 28.07. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Santa Barbara Community Academy has the smallest elementary school student body size in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (98%), two or more races (1%), White (1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 85.6% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Santa Barbara Community Academy is 16.5, which is the 3^rd best among 10 elementary schools in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Santa Barbara Community Academy employs 12.1 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Santa Barbara Community Academy is $11,715. 5 elementary schools in the Santa Barbara Unified School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Santa Barbara Community Academy:

SchoolDigger ranks Santa Barbara Community Academy 4101^st of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Santa Barbara Community Academy in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Santa Barbara Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Santa Barbara Unified 696^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Santa Barbara Community Academy

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Rank History for all students at Santa Barbara Community Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2013	43.53	3103^rd	5530	43.9%
2015	22.20	4411^th	5611	21.4%
2016	21.05	4529^th	5614	19.3%
2017	32.77	3624^th	5692	36.3%
2018	28.27	3969^th	5662	29.9%
2019	33.54	3658^th	5789	36.8%
2022	30.33	3849^th	5883	34.6%
2023	23.05	4553^rd	5874	22.5%
2024	28.07	4101^st	5862	30.0%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Santa Barbara Community Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	50.74	1217^th	3246	62.5%
2019	44.39	1527^th	3275	53.4%
2022	21.04	3149^th	3311	4.9%
2024	30.71	2507^th	3160	20.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Santa Barbara Community Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	39.86	3025^th	5084	40.5%
2019	44.59	2776^th	5173	46.3%
2022	41.60	2862^nd	5264	45.6%
2023	33.50	3610^th	5374	32.8%
2024	34.30	3592^nd	5511	34.8%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Santa Barbara Community Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	29.12	3826^th	5413	29.3%
2019	31.58	3704^th	5492	32.6%
2022	38.50	3087^th	5635	45.2%
2023	28.97	3869^th	5617	31.1%
2024	39.25	3120^th	5605	44.3%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Santa Barbara Community Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	28.88	3780^th	5431	30.4%
2019	29.79	3813^th	5510	30.8%
2022	23.81	4339^th	5663	23.4%
2023	13.29	5295^th	5650	6.3%
2024	18.36	4868^th	5636	13.6%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Santa Barbara Community Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	38.58	2959^th	4830	38.7%
2019	44.55	2647^th	4963	46.7%
2022	40.54	2864^th	5084	43.7%
2023	32.35	3517^th	5098	31.0%
2024	39.18	3028^th	5102	40.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Santa Barbara Community Academy

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Two or More Races	Total
2012	18	9	1	263	1	4	296
2013	9	6	2	261	0	4	282
2014	5	5	0	275	0	3	288
2015	10	5	1	282	0	2	300
2016	10	3	0	280	0	1	294
2017	8	3	0	294	0	1	306
2018	7	2	2	258	0	1	270
2019	3	0	0	205	0	1	209
2020	6	0	2	232	0	1	241
2021	5	0	0	237	0	4	246
2022	0	0	0	218	0	2	220
2023	3	0	0	193	0	1	197
2024	2	0	0	198	0	2	202

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Santa Barbara Community Academy

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2012	296	11.0	26.9	n/a
2013	282	11.0	25.6	79.1
2014	288	11.0	26.1	85.8
2015	300	12.0	25.0	83.3
2016	294	12.0	24.5	47.3
2017	306	12.0	25.5	85.9
2018	270	12.0	22.5	78.9
2019	209	10.0	20.9	91.9
2020	241	n/a	n/a	81.7
2021	246	12.9	19.0	68.7
2022	220	12.6	17.4	76.8
2023	197	12.3	15.9	80.7
2024	202	12.1	16.5	85.6

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Santa Barbara Community Academy

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2012	296	11.0	26.9	n/a
2013	282	11.0	25.6	79.1
2014	288	11.0	26.1	85.8
2015	300	12.0	25.0	83.3
2016	294	12.0	24.5	47.3
2017	306	12.0	25.5	85.9
2018	270	12.0	22.5	78.9
2019	209	10.0	20.9	91.9
2020	241	n/a	n/a	81.7
2021	246	12.9	19.0	68.7
2022	220	12.6	17.4	76.8
2023	197	12.3	15.9	80.7
2024	202	12.1	16.5	85.6

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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