Summary:
ZIP code 93458 has eight public elementary schools, all serving kindergarten through grade six in the Santa Maria-Bonita district. In 2025–2026, their unweighted average proficiency was 22% in English language arts (ELA), 18% in math, and 14% in science, compared with state results of 49%, 38%, and 36%. The most important finding is that all three school averages trail the state, by 27 points in ELA, 20 in math, and 22 in science—and the gaps widened from the prior year.
Ontiveros (Juan Pacifico) Elementary leads the area in all three subjects, with 40% proficiency in ELA, 31% in math, and 21% in science. Its lead over the next-highest school is 11 points in ELA, 5 in math, and 2 in science. Sanchez (David J.) Elementary is the strongest challenger, ranking second in ELA and math and exceeding district results in all three subjects. At the bottom, Bonita Elementary has the lowest ELA and math results, both about 11%; Adam (William Laird) Elementary has the lowest science result, about 9%. Even Ontiveros remains below the state in each subject.
Recent trends are mixed, with math the clearest concern: the eight-school average fell 2 points in math, while science rose 2 and ELA was nearly unchanged. State results rose in all three subjects. There are notable exceptions within schools: Bruce (Robert) Elementary and Fairlawn Elementary each gained about 8 points in science, while Bonita’s science rose 6 points even as its ELA and math fell about 5 points apiece. SchoolDigger places Ontiveros at the 40th statewide percentile with 2 stars, Sanchez at the 24th, and Bonita at the 2nd. All schools reported free/reduced lunch eligible shares of 93%–98% for 2024–2025; these figures are context, not an explanation of results. Student-teacher ratios range from 18.1 at Bonita to 24.8 at Ontiveros, and the figures do not show a simple relationship between these characteristics and scores.
Thank you for your feedback!