Best Public Schools in Zip Code 95361

The 95361 zip code in California's Oakdale, Valley Home, and Knights Ferry area contains 12 public schools serving grades K-12 across four districts, presenting a mix of high-performing traditional schools and alternative options with significant challenges.

Parents will find standout elementary schools like Knights Ferry Elementary and Sierra View Elementary, which consistently achieve strong test scores and have low chronic absenteeism. In contrast, Mesa Verde Elementary (part of Riverbank Unified) and the alternative high schools, East Stanislaus High and Valley Oak Online Learning Academy, show concerning academic results and very high absenteeism despite higher per-student spending in some cases.

Overall, schools in the Oakdale Joint Unified district perform well, with graduation rates above the state average. Key takeaways are that smaller school size does not guarantee success, chronic absenteeism is strongly linked to lower performance, and math scores lag behind English scores across most schools. The large, comprehensive Oakdale High offers solid outcomes, while the online and alternative education models in the area face significant hurdles.