Flora Vista Elementary scored highest among Encinitas schools in the 2027 U.S. News Best Elementary Schools rankings released Oct. 20.
The Village Park campus placed No. 1,018 out of 5,920 ranked California elementary schools, earning an overall score of 82.82 out of 100. That put it in the top 18% statewide.
Four other Encinitas Union School District schools also landed in the top half of the state list. Capri Elementary ranked No. 1,165 with a score of 80.33. Park Dale Lane Elementary came in at No. 1,548, and Ocean Knoll Elementary followed at No. 1,572. Paul Ecke-Central Elementary ranked No. 2,226.
Flora Vista's proficiency numbers outpaced both the district and the state. According to U.S. News, 75% of Flora Vista students scored at or above the proficient level in reading and 70% in math, based on 2023-24 state assessment data. Districtwide, those figures were 72% in reading and 68% in math. Statewide, 43% of students hit the reading mark and 36% hit it in math.
The school, led by Principal Arlene Oyagi, serves 377 students in grades K-6 with a 25-to-1 student-teacher ratio, according to the U.S. News profile. The California Department of Education's 2025-26 profile lists current enrollment at 357.
Flora Vista has been recognized four times as a California Distinguished School and is the only elementary school in the state to receive the 2019 Civic Learning Award of Excellence, according to the school's website.
The rankings, produced by U.S. News & World Report, evaluated about 46,000 public elementary schools nationwide, according to a press release from the publication. Half of each school's score came from math and reading proficiency rates. The other half measured how those results compared with expectations based on socioeconomic factors.
Eric Brooks, U.S. News director of education data analysis, said in the release that the updated methodology "gives families, educators and community leaders an even clearer view of academic achievement."
The Encinitas Union School District enrolls 4,298 students across nine schools and spends $18,523 per student each year, according to the U.S. News district profile. Superintendent Andrée Grey, Ed.D., leads the district.
California's top 10 elementary schools, per U.S. News:
- Buckeye Union Mandarin Immersion Charter, El Dorado Hills
- Cold Spring Elementary, Santa Barbara
- Murdock-Portal Elementary, San Jose
- William Faria Elementary, Cupertino
- North Star Academy, Redwood City
- Herbert Hoover Elementary, Palo Alto
- Covington Elementary, Los Altos
- Bullis Charter, Los Altos
- Elkhorn, Stockton
- Jack L. Weaver Elementary, Los Alamitos
