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Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy

Public Grades K-6

5068^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 13% of California elementary schools

Summary

Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy is a public K-6 elementary school serving 577 students in Salinas, part of the Alisal Union school district, which faces significant academic challenges across all its schools.

While the school's overall academic performance is low compared to the state, it has important strengths, including mathematics scores that are better than the district average and a dramatic, successful reduction in chronic student absenteeism to a rate now better than both the district and state. The school also shows notable effectiveness in supporting its English Language Learner and migrant student populations. However, it faces severe challenges in science education and a concerningly large performance gap between male and female students.

When compared to nearby schools like Fremont Elementary and Frank Paul Elementary, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy achieves its comparable or better math results with lower per-student spending. Like its closest neighbor, Jesse G. Sanchez Elementary, it serves a community with very high economic need, yet it distinguishes itself through its improved attendance and relative math performance within a difficult district-wide context.

577

Students ?

24.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,715

Per pupil spending ?

96.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

925 North Sanborn Rd.
Salinas, CA 93905-1308

(831) 796-3916

District: Alisal Union

Students who attend Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy usually attend:

Middle:	El Sausal Middle
High:	Alisal High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

99.7%

White:

0.2%

Asian:

0.2%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 12th percentile in 2013 → 13th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (21% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (13th percentile)

!English Language Arts/Literacy scores 28 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school21%

District avg24%

California avg41%

5,068^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 13%▲ up 1 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

9^th of 12Elementary Schools in the Alisal Union

1327^th of 1,543Alisal Union among California 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	California percentile	Rating
2025	17.3	5068 of 5857	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.3	5003 of 5869	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.1	5132 of 5859	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.1	4844 of 5883	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.7	4647 of 5789	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.3	5152 of 5662	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	18.3	4843 of 5692	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	16.4	4921 of 5614	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	16.8	4926 of 5611	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	17.9	4874 of 5530	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	15.5	4933 of 5390	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	7.7	5284 of 5377	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	3.6	5293 of 5314	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	3.5	5171 of 5193	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	7.8	5013 of 5113	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	9.6	4934 of 5113	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	10.0	4634 of 4818	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	16.5	4215 of 4822	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	9.9	4672 of 4809	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	42.7	1633 of 3162	48.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	41.2	1731 of 3245	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	48.3	1297 of 3311	60.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	50.5	1223 of 3275	62.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	53.1	1120 of 3246	65.5%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	13.3	5234 of 5597	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	15.7	5069 of 5612	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.8	4804 of 5609	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.7	4650 of 5635	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.5	4750 of 5492	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.7	4927 of 5413	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	24.3	4154 of 5107	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.2	4096 of 5107	19.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.1	4246 of 5087	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	27.9	3878 of 5084	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.6	3653 of 4963	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.6	4274 of 4830	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	45.1	222 of 429	48.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	34.8	259 of 364	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	33.6	252 of 356	29.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	24.0	4434 of 5460	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.9	4468 of 5517	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.7	4395 of 5363	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	29.9	3850 of 5264	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	32.1	3710 of 5173	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.9	4499 of 5084	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	23.8	4401 of 5628	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.4	4499 of 5643	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.8	5003 of 5638	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.0	4619 of 5663	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.1	4091 of 5510	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.0	4893 of 5431	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	46.3	34 of 78	56.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	37.3	52 of 74	29.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	25.8	54 of 68	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	31.8	1895 of 2847	33.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	23.8	2184 of 2635	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Migrant (2025)56th percentile+43 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)48th percentile+34 vs school

Homeless (2025)48th percentile+35 vs school

Special Education (2025)33rd percentile+20 vs school

Male (2025)22nd percentile+8 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)19th percentile+5 vs school

Hispanic (2025)19th percentile+5 vs school

Female (2025)6th percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics24%-13 vs state

English Language Arts/Literacy21%-28 vs state

Science5%-27 vs state

4.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Sunday, March 7, 2010

School has a disadvantaged population and teachers work very hard to instill good work and study ethics for being good students. My step-daughter attended the summer school program and it was an excellent learning experience for her. Close Quote

Schools Near Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CSA Spanish Overall (2025)					CSA Spanish Listening (2025)					CSA Spanish Writing (2025)					CSA Spanish Reading (2025)					CAST Science (2025)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)					% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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	CSA Spanish Overall 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy	Public	K-6	925 North Sanborn Rd.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-3916	577	24	24.5	96.2%	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	575 (99.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17.3	5068^th of 5857 public elementary schools	13.5%		18.3	5003^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	14.8%	65																					5.3	5.3	12.5	27.4	23.1	20.8	21.0	32.1	29.4	22.1	11.4	23.9				$20,715	$3,172	$17,543
Jesse G. Sanchez Elementary	Public	K-6	901 North Sanborn Rd.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5760	646	27	23.9	98.0%	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	643 (99.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	17.6	5050^th of 5857 public elementary schools	13.8%		13.8	5403^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	7.9%	353																					13.4	13.4	20.0	19.1	32.9	17.2	22.0	26.3	17.9	25.6	18.3	22.0				$21,953	$2,889	$19,064
Virginia Rocca Barton Elementary	Public	K-6	680 Las Casitas Dr.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5770	526	20	26.3	94.1%	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	517 (98.3%)	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	23.9	4503^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	23.1%		30.2	3909^th of 5869 public elementary schools	33.4%	594																					4.7	4.7	22.7	32.5	10.8	40.8	26.4	42.1	26.7	8.2	31.3	26.6				$22,357	$3,357	$19,000
Fremont Elementary	Public	K-6	1255 East Market St.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5750	711	30	24.1	96.9%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	708 (99.6%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	12.2	5489^th of 5857 public elementary schools	6.3%		13	5481^st of 5869 public elementary schools	6.6%	8																					8.1	8.1	14.1	17.8	22.1	29.9	21.2	16.3	7.8	4.0	22.7	12.0	96.5	98.3	97.4	$20,345	$2,686	$17,659
Cesar E. Chavez Elementary	Public	K-6	1225 Towt St.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5224	628	24	26.1	95.1%	6 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	621 (98.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27.4	4183^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	28.6%		27	4199^th of 5869 public elementary schools	28.5%	16																					13.1	13.1	25.0	34.7	36.9	43.3	35.4	30.9	27.7	15.6	28.6	24.7				$21,177	$3,536	$17,641
Alisal Community	Public	K-6	1437 Del Monte Ave.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5720	591	24	24.6	94.2%	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	587 (99.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	34	3652^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	37.6%		35.8	3454^th of 5869 public elementary schools	41.1%	198																					20.3	20.3	27.0	33.3	44.6	50.0	39.1	29.9	27.2	31.1	24.1	27.9				$21,569	$2,662	$18,907
Frank Paul Elementary	Public	K-6	1300 Rider Ave.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5740	638	27	24.0	92.0%	5 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	622 (97.5%)	5 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.6%)	14	5347^th of 5857 public elementary schools	8.7%		21.5	4719^th of 5869 public elementary schools	19.6%	628																					3.3	3.3	20.8	22.5	9.1	40.8	22.7	24.1	14.6	5.6	14.3	14.3				$21,689	$2,882	$18,807
Los Padres Elementary	Public	K-6	1130 John St.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Salinas City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5630	620	26	23.8	80.5%	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	604 (97.4%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.8%)	27.3	4193^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	28.4%		23	4579^th of 5869 public elementary schools	22.0%	386	6.9	17.9	16.7	17.5	14.2	59.7	16.1	48.2	42.1	42.7	8.3	30.4	16.7	26.3	19.7	0.0	14.3	1.9	21.1	8.8	19.5	19.5	15.8	11.2	27.7	47.7	25.2	18.6	17.8	25.3	54.6	28.7
Monte Bella Elementary	Public	K-6	1300 Tuscany Blvd.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5700	812	31	26.1	86.2%	5 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	785 (96.7%)	14 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	7 (0.9%)	37.4	3390^th of 5857 public elementary schools	42.1%		33	3690^th of 5869 public elementary schools	37.1%	300																					23.1	23.1	35.6	29.5	48.4	41.3	39.0	43.3	24.1	32.0	28.6	31.7				$20,357	$2,696	$17,661
Dr. Oscar F. Loya Elementary	Public	K-6	1505 Cougar Dr.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 751-1945	573	27	21.6	89.2%	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	562 (98.1%)	8 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	24.3	4472^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	23.6%		19.4	4911^th of 5869 public elementary schools	16.3%	439																					28.4	28.4	24.3	20.8	47.8	24.1	28.8	23.2	13.9	31.3	16.3	20.8				$22,054	$3,691	$18,363

Frequently Asked Questions about Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy

How many students attend Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 577 students attended Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy.

What is the racial makeup of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy?

Students at Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy are 100% Hispanic.

What district is Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy in?

Alisal Union

What schools do graduates of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy attend?

Students who attend Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy usually go on to attend:

Middle : El Sausal Middle
High : Alisal High

Is Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy a good school?

Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy ranks in the bottom 13.5% of California elementary schools.

Rate Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy!

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