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Los Ninos Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-6

891^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 909 Arizona Elementary Schools

Better than 2% of Arizona elementary schools

Summary

Los Ninos Elementary School is a public elementary school serving grades PK-6 in the Sunnyside Unified District in Tucson, Arizona, with 427 students. The school has consistently ranked among the lowest-performing elementary schools in the state over the past decade, with a current statewide ranking of 891 out of 909 Arizona elementary schools.

Los Ninos Elementary faces significant challenges in terms of academic performance, with only 16-17% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and Science, compared to state averages of 38-41%. In math, the proficiency rates were even lower, ranging from 6-29% compared to the state average of 31-43%. The school's struggles are compounded by its high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, with over 87% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The Sunnyside Unified District, which Los Ninos Elementary is a part of, is ranked 267 out of 289 districts in Arizona and is rated 0 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger, suggesting the district may struggle with funding and resources.

Nearby schools in the Sunnyside Unified District, such as Drexel Elementary, Esperanza Elementary, and Los Amigos Elementary, also struggle with low academic performance and are ranked among the lowest-performing schools in the state. This indicates that the challenges faced by Los Ninos Elementary may be systemic within the district, rather than unique to the school.

456

Students ?

15.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$7,870

Per pupil spending ?

87.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

5445 S Alvernon Way
Tucson, AZ 85706-1958

(520) 545-3300

District: Sunnyside Unified District

Students who attend Los Ninos Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Challenger Middle School
High:	Desert View High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

80.3%

African American:

8.6%

White:

4.6%

See top rated Arizona elementary schools

Compare Los Ninos Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 5th percentile in 2014 → 2nd in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Arizona average (16% vs 38% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (2nd percentile)

!English Language Arts scores 24 pts below the Arizona average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school16%

District avg19%

Arizona avg38%

891^st of 909

Arizona public elementary schools ?

Bottom 2%▲ up 1 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of Arizona Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

9^th of 10Elementary Schools in the Sunnyside Unified District

267^th of 289Sunnyside Unified District among Arizona districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	8.0	891 of 909	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.5	1100 of 1245	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	4.2	998 of 1000	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	13.6	1148 of 1226	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	17.1	874 of 1039	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.3	851 of 1109	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	22.2	872 of 1106	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	19.7	890 of 1079	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	7.7	945 of 955	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	11.1	1021 of 1079	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	23.7	981 of 1158	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	29.9	893 of 1141	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	24.3	875 of 1075	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	33.3	763 of 1090	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2009	38.1	680 of 1062	36.0%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	32.6	434 of 607	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	28.7	726 of 895	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	8.6	604 of 620	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	20.5	386 of 451	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	41.7	440 of 975	54.9%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	16.5	1073 of 1219	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.9	1087 of 1219	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.5	753 of 862	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.6	863 of 1023	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Foster Care

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	29.4	276 of 306	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	17.9	1046 of 1170	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.1	1112 of 1198	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	24.4	543 of 709	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.3	650 of 911	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	32.3	275 of 423	35.0%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	18.7	1005 of 1116	9.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	32.7	571 of 820	30.4%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	14.2	1116 of 1216	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	13.3	1163 of 1220	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	18.7	695 of 850	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	32.6	664 of 1032	35.7%	★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	14.6	956 of 1027	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	27.0	641 of 654	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	34.2	786 of 1201	34.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	23.7	348 of 417	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	31.6	736 of 1024	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	53.2	357 of 800	55.4%	★★★☆☆
2021	22.4	1000 of 1161	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Homeless (2021)35th percentile+29 vs school

Special Education (2021)35th percentile+28 vs school

African American (2023)29th percentile+17 vs school

White (2023)28th percentile+16 vs school

English Language Learner (2023)14th percentile+3 vs school

Female (2023)12th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2023)11th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2023)10th percentile~ school

Foster Care (2021)10th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2023)8th percentile-3 vs school

Multi-racial (2021)7th percentile~ school

Asian (2021)3rd percentile-4 vs school

Native American (2021)2nd percentile-4 vs school

By subject vs Arizona (2024-2025) ?

Science17%-17 vs state

English Language Arts16%-24 vs state

★

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Schools Near Los Ninos Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				AASA English Language Arts (2025)						AASA Mathematics (2025)					AzSCI Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2022)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	AASA English Language Arts 3rd Grade	AASA English Language Arts 4th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 5th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 6th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 7th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 8th Grade	AASA Mathematics 3rd Grade	AASA Mathematics 4th Grade	AASA Mathematics 5th Grade	AASA Mathematics 7th Grade	AASA Mathematics 8th Grade	AzSCI Science 5th Grade	AzSCI Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
Los Ninos Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	5445 S Alvernon Way	Tucson	85706	Pima County	Sunnyside Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 545-3300	456	29	15.5		21 (4.6%)	39 (8.6%)	366 (80.3%)	8 (1.8%)	8 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.1%)	8	891^st of 909 public elementary schools	2.0%					(n/a)			16.0	16.0								17.0		$7,870	$852	$05	$1,708	$6,236	$778	$7,014
Gallego Primary Fine Arts Magnet	Public	K-3	6200 S Hemisphere Pl	Tucson	85706	Pima County	Sunnyside Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 545-3000	503	26	19.3		12 (2.4%)	4 (0.8%)	479 (95.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.0%)								(n/a)	34.0						42.0							$6,981	$685		$1,371	$5,876	$419	$6,295
Esperanza Elementary School	Public	K-6	2353 E Bantam Rd	Tucson	85706	Pima County	Sunnyside Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 545-2900	437	26	16.8		25 (5.7%)	3 (0.7%)	393 (89.9%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.8%)	1 (0.2%)	7 (1.6%)	9.9	879^th of 909 public elementary schools	3.3%		13.4	811^th of 912 public elementary schools	11.1%	68		20.0		24.0			19.0							$7,921	$725	$00	$1,451	$6,808	$387	$7,195
Los Amigos Elementary School	Public	K-6	2200 E Drexel Rd	Tucson	85706	Pima County	Sunnyside Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 545-3200	613	38	16.2		30 (4.9%)	13 (2.1%)	562 (91.7%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.8%)	14.9	789^th of 909 public elementary schools	13.2%		14.7	786^th of 912 public elementary schools	13.8%	3	27.0	27.0	26.0	21.0			29.0	20.0	22.0			19.0		$7,607	$769	$04	$1,543	$6,481	$352	$6,833
Ocotillo Early Learning Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	5702 S Campbell Ave	Tucson	85706	Pima County	Sunnyside Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 545-3600	284	24	11.9		13 (4.6%)	4 (1.4%)	254 (89.4%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.5%)								(n/a)														$19,785	$1,733		$3,466	$17,130	$921	$18,051
Craycroft Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	5455 E. Littletown Rd.	Tucson	85756	Pima County	Sunnyside Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 545-2600	586	27	21.7		46 (7.8%)	52 (8.9%)	457 (78.0%)	7 (1.2%)	5 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (3.2%)	7.4	896^th of 909 public elementary schools	1.4%		8.7	887^th of 912 public elementary schools	2.7%	9	12.0	21.0	22.0					15.0	12.0			14.0		$6,907	$1,073	$22	$2,167	$5,496	$317	$5,813
Sierra K-8 School	Public	K-8	5801 S Del Moral Blvd	Tucson	85706	Pima County	Sunnyside Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 542-3200	801	54	14.9		12 (1.5%)	38 (4.7%)	720 (89.9%)	3 (0.4%)	14 (1.7%)	1 (0.1%)	13 (1.6%)								(n/a)		22.0			15.0	23.0		15.0		9.0	12.0		15.0	$7,125	$626	$37	$1,290	$5,960	$502	$6,462
Rivera Elementary	Public	K-6	5102 S Cherry Ave	Tucson	85706	Pima County	Sunnyside Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 545-3900	454	24	18.9		8 (1.8%)	5 (1.1%)	427 (94.1%)	1 (0.2%)	10 (2.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	16.4	760^th of 909 public elementary schools	16.4%		8.7	886^th of 912 public elementary schools	2.9%	126	27.0	22.0		28.0			26.0							$8,065	$1,161	$25	$2,348	$6,313	$566	$6,879
Drexel Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	801 E Drexel Rd	Tucson	85706	Pima County	Sunnyside Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 545-2700	515	25	21.0		13 (2.5%)	17 (3.3%)	454 (88.2%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.6%)	9.1	883^rd of 909 public elementary schools	2.9%					(n/a)	21.0	21.0	19.0	16.0			18.0	19.0						$7,085	$934	$01	$1,870	$5,549	$600	$6,150
Cavett Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2120 E Naco Vis	Tucson	85713	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 225-1300	227	19	12.0		11 (4.8%)	12 (5.3%)	192 (84.6%)	3 (1.3%)	6 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.3%)								(n/a)			33.0						40.0						$00			$00

Frequently Asked Questions about Los Ninos Elementary School

What schools do graduates of Los Ninos Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Los Ninos Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Challenger Middle School
High : Desert View High School

How many students attend Los Ninos Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 456 students attended Los Ninos Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Los Ninos Elementary School?

Students at Los Ninos Elementary School are 80% Hispanic, 9% African American, 5% White, 3% Two or more races, 2% Asian, 2% American Indian.

What district is Los Ninos Elementary School in?

Sunnyside Unified District

Is Los Ninos Elementary School a good school?

Los Ninos Elementary School ranks in the bottom 2.0% of Arizona elementary schools.

Rate Los Ninos Elementary School!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Arizona Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.