Lawton Alternative vs King (Thomas Starr) Elementary

King (Thomas Starr) Elementary outscores Lawton Alternative by 0.6 overall rating points — 9.3 versus 8.7 out of 10 — but the more telling gap is in state rank. King (Thomas Starr) Elementary sits at #123 of 9,533 California schools, placing it in the top 1.3 percent statewide. Lawton Alternative lands at #614 of 9,533, which is still a strong top-7-percent finish, but the distance between these two San Francisco schools in the state rankings is substantial: 491 positions.

The academic and growth scores tell opposite stories. Lawton Alternative leads on academic proficiency with a 9.8 out of 10, compared to King (Thomas Starr) Elementary's 8.9 — a 0.9-point edge that reflects higher tested achievement on current-year scores. King (Thomas Starr) Elementary counters with a growth score of 9.5 versus Lawton Alternative's 8.0, a 1.5-point gap indicating that King's students are making faster learning gains relative to comparable peers. Families who prioritize momentum and year-over-year progress will find King (Thomas Starr) Elementary more compelling on that dimension; families anchored to raw proficiency levels will favor Lawton Alternative.

The two schools differ meaningfully in size, resources, and demographics. Lawton Alternative enrolls 601 students with a student-teacher ratio of 22.3:1. King (Thomas Starr) Elementary serves 335 students at 16.8:1 — nearly six fewer students per teacher, a structural advantage for individualized attention. On economic diversity, Lawton Alternative's free and reduced lunch rate is 57 percent compared to King (Thomas Starr) Elementary's 40 percent, a 17-point difference that reflects a meaningfully higher share of economically disadvantaged families at Lawton.

Grade span is a practical consideration: Lawton Alternative runs KG through 8th grade, covering the full elementary-to-middle-school stretch under one roof, while King (Thomas Starr) Elementary serves KG through 5th grade only, requiring a school transition at the start of middle school. Families weighing continuity and the appeal of keeping a child in the same community and building through 8th grade will find Lawton Alternative's configuration distinctly different. The two schools sit 4.9 miles apart within San Francisco, making geography a real factor for families without flexible transportation.