Van Ness Avenue Elementary vs Vernon City Elementary

Van Ness Avenue Elementary ranks #294 of 9,533 California schools while Vernon City Elementary ranks #44 of 9,533 — a gap that puts Vernon City in the top 0.5% of the state. Vernon City Elementary also edges out Van Ness Avenue Elementary on overall rating, 9.4 to 8.9, a 0.5-point difference that understates the state-rank separation between the two schools. Both are strong performers in Los Angeles, but Vernon City operates at a demonstrably higher tier by statewide measure.

Academically, Vernon City Elementary scores 9.1 out of 10 against Van Ness Avenue Elementary's 8.2 — a 0.9-point delta that signals meaningfully stronger tested outcomes. The growth gap is sharper still: Vernon City Elementary posts a 9.8 growth score versus Van Ness Avenue Elementary's 9.1, meaning students at Vernon City are advancing faster relative to their starting points even after accounting for their already-higher academic baseline. Together these two numbers suggest Vernon City is not just performing well but accelerating.

The schools serve different economic populations and differ in size and classroom density. Van Ness Avenue Elementary enrolls 198 students with 82% qualifying for free or reduced lunch and maintains a student-teacher ratio of 16.5:1. Vernon City Elementary is smaller at 135 students, carries a 96% free or reduced lunch rate — 14 percentage points higher — and has a denser ratio of 19.3:1. Parents who prioritize tighter class sizes will find that at Van Ness, while Vernon City's stronger outcome scores suggest that ratio has not held back achievement for its higher-need population.

One structural difference affects families with older elementary-age children: Vernon City Elementary serves grades KG through 6, while Van Ness Avenue Elementary tops out at grade 5. Families with a rising sixth grader would face an earlier transition out of Van Ness, whereas Vernon City keeps students through the end of traditional elementary. The two campuses sit 7.2 miles apart within Los Angeles, making geography a real factor for most families choosing between them.