Is Lafayette Elementary a good school?

Lafayette Elementary ranks 3291 st of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Lafayette Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 205 students attended Lafayette Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Lafayette Elementary?

Students at Lafayette Elementary are 57% Hispanic, 26% White, 7% Two or more races, 5% African American, 5% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Lafayette Elementary attend?

Students who attend Lafayette Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Innovation Middle High : Madison High

Lafayette Elementary

Summary:

Lafayette Elementary is a public elementary school in San Diego, California, serving around 200 students in grades K-6. It is part of the San Diego Unified School District, which has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

While Lafayette Elementary has a relatively low student-teacher ratio, its academic performance, as measured by standardized test scores, is generally lower than the district and state averages across various subjects and grade levels. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, the percentage of students proficient or better in Smarter Balanced Assessments/English Language Arts/Literacy ranged from 30.77% (3rd grade) to 41.94% (4th grade), compared to the San Diego Unified School District's range of 52.54% to 55.30% and the California state average of 42.80% to 47.37%. Similar patterns are observed in mathematics and science, with Lafayette Elementary's proficiency rates lagging behind the district and state. Additionally, Lafayette Elementary has experienced relatively high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 17.3% in 2017-2018 to 48.7% in 2021-2022, which is significantly higher than the district and state averages.

Interestingly, the nearby schools, such as Holmes Elementary, Field Elementary, and Hawthorne Elementary, generally outperform Lafayette Elementary in academic achievement, with higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. This suggests that factors beyond just socioeconomic status may be contributing to the academic challenges faced by Lafayette Elementary, which has a high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds (81.5% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch).

Detail:

Public K-6

6125 Printwood Way
San Diego, CA 92117-3346

(858) 987-5000

District: San Diego Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
3291^st of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $11,922

Students who attend Lafayette Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Innovation Middle
High:	Madison High

Student/teacher ratio: 14.3

Number of students: 205

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

56.6%

White:

25.9%

Two or more races:

6.8%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 77.6%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Lafayette Elementary ranks worse than 56.1% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 81^st among 117 ranked elementary schools in the San Diego Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 38.11. (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 Racial makeup is: Hispanic (56.6%), White (25.9%), two or more races (6.8%). (See more...)

Compare Details 77.6% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Lafayette Elementary is 14.3, which is the lowest among 117 elementary schools in the San Diego Unified School District! (See more...)

Compare Lafayette Elementary employs 14.3 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Lafayette Elementary is $11,922, which is the 8^th highest among 117 elementary schools in the San Diego Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Lafayette Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Lafayette Elementary 3291^st of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Lafayette Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

San Diego Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks San Diego Unified 604^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Lafayette Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Lafayette Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	37.22	2795^th	4809	41.9%
2005	40.58	2683^rd	4822	44.4%
2006	35.22	2986^th	4818	38.0%
2007	48.61	2403^rd	5113	53.0%
2008	46.46	2582^nd	5113	49.5%
2009	42.27	2922^nd	5193	43.7%
2010	55.06	2274^th	5314	57.2%
2011	64.27	1789^th	5377	66.7%
2012	48.68	2703^rd	5390	49.9%
2013	34.23	3729^th	5530	32.6%
2015	51.03	2394^th	5611	57.3%
2016	40.10	3069^th	5614	45.3%
2017	44.44	2836^th	5692	50.2%
2018	39.97	3143^rd	5662	44.5%
2019	32.59	3724^th	5789	35.7%
2022	38.43	3200^th	5883	45.6%
2023	45.35	2799^th	5874	52.3%
2024	38.11	3291^st	5862	43.9%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Lafayette Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	35.73	2144^th	3311	35.2%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Lafayette Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	52.10	857^th	2420	64.6%
2024	47.37	1044^th	2634	60.4%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Lafayette Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	56.87	1912^th	5084	62.4%
2019	42.52	2936^th	5173	43.2%
2022	41.00	2917^th	5264	44.6%
2023	56.87	1940^th	5374	63.9%
2024	42.74	2928^th	5511	46.9%

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

Rank History for Female students at Lafayette Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	27.08	3989^th	5413	26.3%
2019	26.15	4142^nd	5492	24.6%
2022	39.13	3047^th	5635	45.9%
2023	46.71	2597^th	5617	53.8%
2024	33.70	3508^th	5605	37.4%

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

Rank History for Male students at Lafayette Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	54.52	2197^th	5431	59.5%
2019	35.95	3323^rd	5510	39.7%
2022	37.80	3152^nd	5663	44.3%
2023	43.42	2843^rd	5650	49.7%
2024	43.45	2849^th	5636	49.4%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Lafayette Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	62.49	1510^th	4830	68.7%
2019	44.05	2678^th	4963	46.0%
2022	35.00	3289^th	5084	35.3%
2023	54.23	1990^th	5098	61.0%
2024	42.91	2764^th	5102	45.8%

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

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Wednesday, August 28, 2019

This website does not accurately reflect the environment/school community at Lafayette. The school is incredibly diverse, serving not only a wide range of demographics and socioeconomics, but also providing a hub for San Diego Unified's auditory services, TK-5th. All students at Lafayette learn weekly American Sign Language symbols to help them communicate with their deaf and hard-of-hearing classmates. They have a garden science and nutrition science program, sponsored by the Sage Garden Project and the Sprouts Foundation, through which students participate in weekly classes growing, caring for, harvesting, composting and learning about nutrition in their school garden. The school has recently adopted the district's STEAM Innovation initiative, and students are working with products developed by LEGO Education. This year, Lafayette was awarded a grant from KidSpark Education, which provides Rokenbok building class sets along with teacher training to implement this STEM programming into the 2nd-5th grade classes. UCSD BioCircuits program also is a partner with the school, bringing weekly science from UCSD grad students into the 3rd-5th grade classrooms for interactive, hands-on science learning. Lafayette has been the host site for Clairemont's Family Science & Engineering Day for two years in a row. The kinder and 1st grade classrooms were repainted and all new furniture this summer, and the entire school is (finally!) air-conditioned. There are beautiful green spaces, courtyards, an expanding school garden and a special native plant garden was installed with the assistance of the Pollinator Alliance last spring. Students experience Visual and Performing Arts every month, there is a wonderful library and librarian, caring office staff, and some of the most professional teachers I have known in my twenty years in education. Do more than just look at websites to gauge a school's worth. Visit your neighborhood school, ask to sit in a class, ask to speak to parents who send their kids there. There is so much to celebrate at Lafayette, a lot of wonderful learning happens there, and at all the neighborhood schools in Clairemont. Close Quote

Enrollment information for Lafayette Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	349	64	66	82	0	n/a	n/a	0	561
1989	337	82	68	83	3	n/a	n/a	0	573
1990	365	84	85	91	3	n/a	n/a	0	628
1991	368	72	101	85	3	n/a	n/a	0	629
1992	354	71	92	136	3	n/a	n/a	0	656
1993	355	62	98	145	4	n/a	n/a	0	664
1994	337	85	113	159	5	n/a	n/a	0	699
1995	298	84	110	180	5	n/a	n/a	0	677
1996	298	84	110	180	5	n/a	n/a	0	677
1997	322	91	110	203	4	n/a	n/a	0	730
1998	315	89	101	178	6	n/a	n/a	0	689
1999	316	84	88	169	5	n/a	n/a	0	662
2000	298	80	94	169	4	n/a	n/a	0	645
2001	269	67	94	152	3	n/a	n/a	0	585
2002	190	52	82	164	2	n/a	n/a	0	490
2003	190	52	82	164	2	n/a	n/a	0	490
2004	159	42	75	161	2	n/a	n/a	0	439
2005	151	53	62	165	2	n/a	n/a	0	433
2006	130	31	63	178	2	n/a	n/a	0	404
2007	126	27	59	167	1	n/a	n/a	7	387
2008	123	23	53	159	3	n/a	n/a	0	361
2009	102	21	51	139	1	9	0	0	323
2010	84	22	35	145	1	7	22	0	316
2011	75	18	36	147	0	1	22	0	299
2012	63	19	30	159	0	3	21	0	295
2013	57	20	26	159	0	6	17	0	285
2014	40	13	29	177	0	8	16	0	283
2015	41	16	26	165	0	5	13	0	266
2016	31	12	18	162	0	7	17	0	247
2017	36	7	16	150	0	2	16	0	227
2018	38	5	15	151	0	2	14	0	225
2019	41	11	14	185	0	4	11	0	266
2020	42	12	13	171	0	2	14	0	254
2021	41	12	14	172	0	0	15	0	254
2022	47	7	10	145	0	0	17	0	226
2023	39	5	11	129	0	0	16	0	200
2024	53	11	11	116	0	0	14	0	205

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 Lafayette Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	561	20.2	27.7	n/a
1989	573	19.2	29.8	n/a
1990	628	20.2	31.0	n/a
1991	629	28.2	22.3	n/a
1992	656	28.7	22.8	34.5
1993	664	40.7	16.3	39.9
1994	699	39.0	17.9	44.6
1995	677	35.0	19.3	56.9
1996	677	35.0	19.3	56.9
1997	730	38.0	19.2	56.4
1998	689	43.5	15.8	54.3
1999	662	46.0	14.4	55.9
2000	645	45.2	14.3	56.6
2001	585	43.6	13.4	43.2
2002	490	34.0	14.4	68
2003	490	34.0	14.4	68
2004	439	27.7	15.8	60.1
2005	433	27.5	15.7	65.4
2006	404	32.1	12.6	67.3
2007	387	29.9	12.9	66.6
2008	361	26.5	13.6	69.3
2009	323	21.6	12.7	69.3
2010	316	22.0	14.3	73.7
2011	299	n/a	n/a	78.6
2012	295	21.0	14.0	99
2013	285	18.4	15.4	76.1
2014	283	14.2	19.9	78.1
2015	266	15.0	17.7	76.3
2016	247	15.0	16.4	79.4
2017	227	12.2	18.6	74.9
2018	225	10.0	22.5	83.6
2019	266	13.2	20.1	83.5
2020	254	n/a	n/a	81.9
2021	254	12.2	20.8	77.6
2022	226	15.0	15.0	81.4
2023	200	13.1	15.2	81.5
2024	205	14.3	14.3	77.6

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 Lafayette Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	561	20.2	27.7	n/a
1989	573	19.2	29.8	n/a
1990	628	20.2	31.0	n/a
1991	629	28.2	22.3	n/a
1992	656	28.7	22.8	34.5
1993	664	40.7	16.3	39.9
1994	699	39.0	17.9	44.6
1995	677	35.0	19.3	56.9
1996	677	35.0	19.3	56.9
1997	730	38.0	19.2	56.4
1998	689	43.5	15.8	54.3
1999	662	46.0	14.4	55.9
2000	645	45.2	14.3	56.6
2001	585	43.6	13.4	43.2
2002	490	34.0	14.4	68
2003	490	34.0	14.4	68
2004	439	27.7	15.8	60.1
2005	433	27.5	15.7	65.4
2006	404	32.1	12.6	67.3
2007	387	29.9	12.9	66.6
2008	361	26.5	13.6	69.3
2009	323	21.6	12.7	69.3
2010	316	22.0	14.3	73.7
2011	299	n/a	n/a	78.6
2012	295	21.0	14.0	99
2013	285	18.4	15.4	76.1
2014	283	14.2	19.9	78.1
2015	266	15.0	17.7	76.3
2016	247	15.0	16.4	79.4
2017	227	12.2	18.6	74.9
2018	225	10.0	22.5	83.6
2019	266	13.2	20.1	83.5
2020	254	n/a	n/a	81.9
2021	254	12.2	20.8	77.6
2022	226	15.0	15.0	81.4
2023	200	13.1	15.2	81.5
2024	205	14.3	14.3	77.6

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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