Summary:
Zip code 93656 in Riverdale, California, is served by six public schools across two districts, Riverdale Joint Unified and Burrel Union Elementary, educating over 1,500 students from kindergarten through high school in a high-need community.
Among these schools, Riverdale High stands out for its exceptional 97.5% graduation rate, which is well above the state average, despite academic proficiency scores in core subjects that are generally below state benchmarks. In contrast, Burrel Elementary and the very small Horizon High show significant challenges, with Burrel ranking very low statewide and Horizon grappling with severe chronic absenteeism. The alternative Riverdale Virtual school reports a remarkably low chronic absenteeism rate of 3.4%.
Overall, schools in this area consistently report high economic need but manage chronic absenteeism better than the state average, except for Horizon High. Parents should note the wide performance differences between schools and districts here, with Riverdale Elementary showing recent declines in its statewide ranking. The relationship between strong graduation rates and lower academic proficiency at the high school level is a notable area for further parent inquiry.
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