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Coming soon: We're expecting this year's test scores from the California Department of Education any day now — new rankings will be posted the moment they're released!

Coming soon: This year's test scores are expected from the California Department of Education any day now — new rankings will follow the moment they're released!

Holly Drive Leadership Academy

Public, Charter Grades K-8

4986^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 15% of California elementary schools

Summary

Holly Drive Leadership Academy is a small K-8 school in San Diego, CA, serving just 108 students in a high-poverty community, and it operates as its own single-school district, the Holly Drive Leadership Academy District, which gives it unique autonomy over its budget and curriculum compared to nearby schools that belong to the much larger San Diego Unified district.

Academically, the school is below the state average but shows a strong upward trend, with its state ranking jumping from the 1st percentile in 2021-2022 to the 15th percentile in 2024-2025. Its English Language Arts proficiency rate of 37.14% actually outperforms several nearby San Diego Unified schools, including Porter Elementary (20%), Horton Elementary (22.49%), and Joyner Elementary (26.29%). A particularly interesting comparison is with Webster Elementary, which shares the exact same address but is part of San Diego Unified; Webster outperforms Holly Drive in most subjects, yet Holly Drive achieves its results with significantly less funding per student ($20,018 vs. $37,444). The school also shows a notable "small school advantage" in math, with 4th graders improving dramatically from 7.14% proficiency in 3rd grade to 26.32% proficiency, the largest single-grade jump among all nearby schools.

Despite these bright spots, Holly Drive faces a persistent challenge with chronic absenteeism at 29.4%, which is well above the state average of 19.4% and likely a key factor in its overall low performance. The school serves a high-poverty population, with 84.26% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and its subgroup ranking for low socio-economic status students is in the 10th percentile, slightly better than its overall ranking, suggesting it is doing a marginally better job serving these students compared to other schools statewide. For families seeking a close-knit, K-8 environment with a focus on improvement and fiscal efficiency, Holly Drive offers a unique option in the neighborhood.

108

Students ?

16.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

84.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4801 Elm St.
San Diego, CA 92102-1354

(619) 266-7333

District: Holly Drive Leadership Academy District

Racial breakdown:

African American:

56.5%

Hispanic:

36.1%

Two or more races:

7.4%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Holly Drive Leadership Academy to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 10th percentile in 2019 → 15th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2019

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (29% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (15th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (29% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school29%

California avg41%

4,986^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 15%▲ up 5 pts since 2019

From bottom 10% (2019) to bottom 15% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1431^st of 1,543Holly Drive Leadership Academy District 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)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.3	4986 of 5857	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	8.0	5812 of 5883	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.5	5203 of 5789	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	16.9	4937 of 5460	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.5	5194 of 5264	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	25.1	4222 of 5173	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Elementary school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)10th percentile-5 vs school

Middle school

African American (2019)41st percentile+23 vs school

Male (2019)35th percentile+17 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2019)29th percentile+10 vs school

Female (2019)19th percentile~ school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy37%-12 vs state

Science24%-9 vs state

Mathematics23%-14 vs state

★

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Schools Near Holly Drive Leadership Academy

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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 (2025)	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 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 5th 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 All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Holly Drive Leadership Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	4801 Elm St.	San Diego	92102	San Diego County	Holly Drive Leadership Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 266-7333	108	7	16.6	84.3%	0 (0.0%)	61 (56.5%)	39 (36.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (7.4%)	18.3	4986^th of 5857 public elementary schools	14.9%					(n/a)														23.5	28.6	26.3		37.1	7.1	26.3		23.2	90.9
Webster Elementary	Public	K-5	4801 Elm St.	San Diego	92102	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 362-3000	208	9	23.1	92.3%	6 (2.9%)	61 (29.3%)	112 (53.8%)	15 (7.2%)	3 (1.4%)	1 (0.5%)	10 (4.8%)	53.7	2385^th of 5857 public elementary schools	59.3%		42.1	3064^th of 5869 public elementary schools	47.8%	679													34.5	34.5	39.3	53.3	51.7	49.0	48.3	37.0	37.9	40.4							$37,444	$32,656	$4,788
Horton Elementary	Public	K-5	5050 Guymon St.	San Diego	92102	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 344-3700	386	15	25.7	96.9%	1 (0.3%)	31 (8.0%)	325 (84.2%)	21 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	7 (1.8%)	13.1	5411^th of 5857 public elementary schools	7.6%		10.1	5681^st of 5869 public elementary schools	3.2%	270													8.8	8.8	17.3	25.0	24.6	22.5	22.2	15.0	12.3	16.4							$27,831	$25,296	$2,535
Chollas/Mead Elementary	Public	K-5	401 North 45th St.	San Diego	92102	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 362-3300	534	24	22.2	94.2%	8 (1.5%)	44 (8.2%)	434 (81.3%)	24 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	22 (4.1%)	27.4	4181^st of 5857 public elementary schools	28.6%		30.6	3886^th of 5869 public elementary schools	33.8%	295													22.0	22.0	33.3	22.5	49.2	33.6	32.9	17.3	23.7	24.5	96.6						$37,377	$33,316	$4,061
Oak Park Elementary	Public	K-5	2606 54th St.	San Diego	92105	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 344-5000	545	23	23.6	83.3%	28 (5.1%)	85 (15.6%)	236 (43.3%)	162 (29.7%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	32 (5.9%)	54.3	2350^th of 5857 public elementary schools	59.9%		64.2	1869^th of 5869 public elementary schools	68.2%	481													23.8	23.8	36.7	51.1	45.0	44.2	50.0	59.1	41.3	50.4	92.9	96.9		93.9	95.9		$27,067	$24,430	$2,637
Johnson Elementary	Public	K-5	1355 Kelton Rd.	San Diego	92114	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 344-4900	283	12	23.5	82.3%	13 (4.6%)	92 (32.5%)	148 (52.3%)	12 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	17 (6.0%)	32.3	3776^th of 5857 public elementary schools	35.5%		29.3	3986^th of 5869 public elementary schools	32.1%	210													32.5	32.5	24.4	20.6	46.2	30.5	31.1	20.0	37.5	30.0							$36,057	$33,234	$2,823
Hamilton Elementary	Public	K-5	2807 Fairmount Ave.	San Diego	92105	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 344-6800	406	18	22.5	93.6%	11 (2.7%)	48 (11.8%)	298 (73.4%)	23 (5.7%)	2 (0.5%)	3 (0.7%)	21 (5.2%)	37.6	3368^th of 5857 public elementary schools	42.5%		33.2	3665^th of 5869 public elementary schools	37.6%	297	0.0	0.0	0.0	15.4	21.4	18.5	15.4	7.1	11.1	7.7	0.0	3.7	22.2	22.2	14.7	35.3	54.0	32.5	37.7	32.7	45.3	38.4	92.1	93.4		92.1	93.4	92.1	$28,974	$26,708	$2,266
Rowan Elementary	Public	K-5	1755 Rowan St.	San Diego	92105	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 344-3400	205	10	21.5	79.0%	25 (12.2%)	17 (8.3%)	130 (63.4%)	19 (9.3%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (6.3%)	55.6	2267^th of 5857 public elementary schools	61.3%		46.9	2742^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	53.3%	475													33.3	33.3	48.0	46.0	44.4	46.1	52.0	46.0	40.7	46.1							$43,512	$39,582	$3,930
Joyner Elementary	Public	K-5	4271 Myrtle Ave.	San Diego	92105	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 640-4000	410	17	24.6	93.7%	7 (1.7%)	34 (8.3%)	315 (76.8%)	34 (8.3%)	1 (0.2%)	9 (2.2%)	10 (2.4%)	20.2	4808^th of 5857 public elementary schools	17.9%		14.6	5345^th of 5869 public elementary schools	8.9%	537													25.0	25.0	22.4	18.3	39.7	26.3	29.9	9.8	13.3	18.7	90.4	92.8		90.4	91.6	91.6	$26,678	$23,878	$2,800
Marshall Elementary	Public	K-5	3550 Altadena Ave.	San Diego	92105	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 344-5100	367	16	22.9	94.0%	21 (5.7%)	75 (20.4%)	212 (57.8%)	41 (11.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.9%)	11 (3.0%)	26.6	4259^th of 5857 public elementary schools	27.3%		29.5	3966^th of 5869 public elementary schools	32.4%	293													10.0	10.0	25.6	26.5	40.7	31.5	28.3	27.5	33.3	29.9	89.2	93.9	95.4	92.3	89.2	95.4	$28,371	$25,028	$3,343

Frequently Asked Questions about Holly Drive Leadership Academy

Is Holly Drive Leadership Academy a good school?

Holly Drive Leadership Academy ranks in the bottom 14.9% of California elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of Holly Drive Leadership Academy?

Students at Holly Drive Leadership Academy are 56% African American, 36% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races.

What district is Holly Drive Leadership Academy in?

Holly Drive Leadership Academy District

How many students attend Holly Drive Leadership Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 108 students attended Holly Drive Leadership Academy.

Rate Holly Drive Leadership Academy!

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Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025

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.