A+
Palo Alto Unified School District
Public school districtGrades K–12Regional · 2 towns
Serves Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills.
Students
10,187
Schools
20
Spent per student
$31,362
CA $21,206
Students per teacher
17:1
Free or reduced lunch
13%
Debt
$518.2M
fiscal 2024
What stands out about Palo Alto Unified School District
- School Grade A+: better than 95% of California districts
- Math proficiency 46 pts above the state
- Reading / language arts 32 pts above the state
- Graduation rate (4-year) 6 pts above the state
- Spends 48% more per student than the CA average
- 17 students per teacher
- Enrollment down 5% since 2020
- Debt of $518.2M, about $50,871 per student
Where would my kid go?
The school path for Cherryland.
K–5Colonial Acres ElementarySan Lorenzo Unified School District
6–89 middle schoolsHayward Unified School District
9–125 high schoolsHayward Unified School District
Test scores vs. CA
2020–21Math proficiency79%
State average 33.4%
Reading / language arts80%
State average 48.5%
Graduation rate (4-year)94%
State average 87.6%
Where the money goes
fiscal 2024$31,362 per student · 48% above CA
Spending
Classroom instruction 64%Support & administration 34%Other 2%
Paid for by
Local (mostly property tax) 87%State 11%Federal 2%
U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances.
Enrollment over time
10,726’20
10,463’21
10,285’22
10,254’23
10,187’24
Down 5% since 2020.
Students
Asian 43%White 27%Hispanic 16%Two or more races 11%Black 2%Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander <1%American Indian/Alaska Native <1%
Schools in the district
20 public schools.
Ohlone Elementary
A+464 students22:1
Escondido Elementary
A432 students18:1
Fairmeadow Elementary
A+425 students20:1
Herbert Hoover Elementary
A+389 students19:1
Duveneck Elementary
A+376 students21:1
Addison Elementary
A366 students20:1
Lucille M. Nixon Elementary
A+350 students19:1
Palo Verde Elementary
A+334 students19:1
Walter Hays Elementary
A305 students20:1
El Carmelo Elementary
A282 students19:1
Barron Park Elementary
A−278 students18:1
Juana Briones Elementary
A+260 students20:1
Greendell
A26 students13:1
Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle
A+1,002 students15:1
Frank S. Greene Jr. Middle
A+732 students15:1
Ellen Fletcher Middle
A+572 students14:1
Palo Alto High
A+1,891 students17:1
Henry M. Gunn High
A+1,643 students16:1
Palo Alto Middle College High
45 students11:1
Packard Children's Hospital/Stanford
15 students5:1
Towns served
Nearby districts
Compare spending and schools next door.
Mountain View-Los Altos Union School DistrictLos Altos, Mountain View
$33,926per student
Sequoia Union High School DistrictEast Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Portola Valley
$27,344per student
Cupertino Union Elementary School DistrictLos Altos
$18,329per student
Fremont Union High School DistrictLos Altos
$24,927per student
District facts: U.S. Department of Education (NCES directory and district boundaries) and the U.S. Census Bureau school finance survey. Test scores and graduation: EDFacts via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal. Neighbor ratings are opinions.