Benicia addresses are served by Benicia Unified School District (BUSD), and your elementary school is set by your street address. Look the street up on the district’s own street list, then call the district to verify, because BUSD says a spot at your neighborhood school is not promised.
Here’s how to check a specific home before you write an offer.
How do I find the assigned school for one address?
Use the district’s list, then call. BUSD says a student’s Benicia (94510) home address sets the school of residence, and its “What School Will My Child Attend” page links to a street list that names the elementary school for each street (BUSD, checked September 24, 2026).
Some streets are split by house number. For example, the list assigns 1st Street numbers 0 to 1199 to Mary Farmar Elementary and numbers 2228 to 2257 to Robert Semple Elementary (BUSD street list, checked September 24, 2026). So check the exact number, not just the street name.
Then verify it. BUSD’s district office is at 350 East K Street, (707) 747-8300 (BUSD website, checked September 24, 2026). A listing, a map site or anyone’s word is not a boundary. The district is.
Will my student get into the neighborhood school?
Usually, but not always. BUSD says it has only four elementary schools, so there is no promise a student attends the assigned one, and early enrollment in February helps (BUSD, What School Will My Child Attend page, checked September 24, 2026).
When a grade is full, the district places the student at another BUSD school with space. It calls this overflow, and the student returns to the resident school when space opens, under rules in Board Policy 5116.1. You can also ask for a different elementary school through open enrollment, which ran January 1 to January 31 for the 2026 to 2027 school year, and is granted only if space exists (BUSD, Intradistrict Open Enrollment and Overflow page, checked September 24, 2026).
If a specific school matters to you, ask the district about space in that grade before you remove contingencies.
Which public schools are in Benicia?
Seven, per the district and each school’s website (checked September 24, 2026):
- Benicia High School, 1101 Military West
- Liberty High School, 351 East J Street
- Benicia Middle School, 1100 Southampton Road
- Joe Henderson Elementary, 650 Hastings Drive
- Mary Farmar Elementary, 901 Military West
- Matthew Turner Elementary, 540 Rose Drive
- Robert Semple Elementary, 2015 East 3rd Street
What do the state numbers say about Benicia schools?
These are the official 2025 California School Dashboard results, which use 2024 to 2025 school year data. “Points above or below standard” is how far the average student score sits from the “Standard Met” line on the state’s English and math tests. The Dashboard also gives each result a color, from Red (lowest) through Orange, Yellow and Green to Blue (highest).
| School | English | Math | Chronic absenteeism |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Henderson Elementary | 12.6 above (Green) | 18.7 above (Green) | 12.5% (Orange) |
| Mary Farmar Elementary | 1.2 below (Yellow) | 14.8 above (Green) | 12.7% (Orange) |
| Matthew Turner Elementary | 56.0 above (Blue) | 36.5 above (Blue) | 6.2% (Green) |
| Robert Semple Elementary | 10.0 above (Green) | 1.5 below (Yellow) | 10.1% (Yellow) |
| Benicia Middle | 3.0 below (Green) | 1.4 below (Green) | 12.1% (Yellow) |
| Benicia High | 21.3 above (Yellow) | 44.7 below (Yellow) | not reported for high schools |
Benicia High’s graduation rate was 96.8% (Blue). The Dashboard data shows no colors for Liberty High, and its counts are small (17 students tested, 28 in the graduation count), so we don’t list its scores here. Look it up on the Dashboard if it matters to you.
Source for every number above: California School Dashboard, 2025, from the California Department of Education’s Dashboard data files, checked September 24, 2026. Chronic absenteeism is the share of students in kindergarten through grade 8 who missed 10% or more of school days.
How does Benicia Unified compare with the state?
Better than the state on all four of these measures in 2025. Same source:
- Benicia Unified, whole district: English 8.7 points above standard (Green), math 2.4 below (Yellow), graduation rate 95.6% (Blue), chronic absenteeism 11.1% (Yellow).
- California, all students: English 8.1 below, math 42.4 below, graduation rate 87.8%, chronic absenteeism 17.1%.
One year of numbers can swing, and small schools swing more. Open each school’s page at caschooldashboard.org to see the trend and the results by student group before you decide what the numbers mean to you.
What about GreatSchools or Niche ratings?
Those are private websites with their own formulas. We don’t repeat their scores as fact. If you use them, read how each builds its rating and compare it with the state’s Dashboard numbers.
Is anything changing at Benicia Unified?
Check the board agendas. The district’s preview of its September 17, 2026 board meeting lists no item on closing a school or redrawing boundaries (BUSD, posted September 11, 2026). That’s one meeting, not a promise about the future. BUSD’s policy says boundaries are set by the board and reviewed from time to time. Agendas are posted at beniciaunified.org, and the next regular meeting is October 1, 2026.
Questions people also ask
What school district is Benicia, CA in?
Benicia is served by Benicia Unified School District, with its office at 350 East K Street, (707) 747-8300. The district runs four elementary schools, Benicia Middle School, Benicia High School and Liberty High School. Your elementary school is set by your street address. Check the district’s street list, then verify with the district, per the BUSD website checked September 24, 2026.
How do I know which elementary school my Benicia address is zoned for?
Go to the “What School Will My Child Attend” page on beniciaunified.org and open the district’s street list. It names the elementary school for each street, and some streets are split by house number. Then call the district at (707) 747-8300 to confirm. A full grade can mean a temporary placement at another BUSD school.
Which Benicia school has the highest test scores?
On the 2025 California School Dashboard, Matthew Turner Elementary had the highest results of Benicia’s schools, 56.0 points above standard in English and 36.5 above in math, both Blue. Every school’s page on caschooldashboard.org shows its full results. One year can swing, so look at the trend too.
Does Benicia High School have a good graduation rate?
Benicia High’s graduation rate was 96.8% on the 2025 California School Dashboard, rated Blue, the top color. The state rate for all students was 87.8%. The district as a whole was 95.6%. Those numbers come from the California Department of Education’s 2025 Dashboard data, checked September 24, 2026.
Your next step
Found a Benicia home you like? Send us the address. We’ll pull the district street list and the Dashboard pages for the assigned schools so you can check them before you make an offer. Ask a Benicia agent on our team or call (510) 949-5525.
More on Benicia: Is Benicia a good place to live? · How much does a house cost in Benicia right now? · Search Benicia homes · What’s my home worth?
By Bill Davis, DRE #01880656, The Davis Team at eXp Realty, Benicia, CA. Updated September 24, 2026.
Sources
- Benicia Unified School District: home page, “What School Will My Child Attend” page and linked BUSD street list, Intradistrict Open Enrollment and Overflow page, and September 17, 2026 board meeting summary: beniciaunified.org (checked September 24, 2026)
- School websites for addresses: bhs, lhs, bms, jhe, mfe, mte and rse.beniciaunified.org (checked September 24, 2026)
- California Department of Education, 2025 California School Dashboard data files (English, math, graduation rate, chronic absenteeism), for Benicia Unified, each Benicia school and the state: www3.cde.ca.gov/researchfiles/cadashboard (checked September 24, 2026)
- California School Dashboard: caschooldashboard.org