Pinole’s public schools are run by West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD), and six of its schools sit inside the city: four elementary schools, Pinole Middle and Pinole Valley High. Which one a home feeds into depends on the exact street address, so look it up with the district before you write an offer.

One more thing. The district is in the middle of a big reshuffle for 2026 to 2028, and it touches Pinole Middle and Stewart directly. Read that section before you count on anything.

Which school district covers Pinole?

WCCUSD. The City of Pinole’s School Locations page lists West Contra Costa Unified, 1108 Bissell Avenue in Richmond, (510) 620-2245, as the district for the Pinole area (City of Pinole, School Locations page, checked September 24, 2026).

That page is a little out of date, though. It still lists Crespi Middle in El Sobrante. The WCCUSD board renamed that school Betty Reid Soskin Middle in June 2021 (Local News Matters, June 28, 2021). Small thing, but it tells you to go to the district for the current picture, not a city list.

Which public schools are in Pinole?

Six neighborhood schools. Grade spans and enrollment below come from each school’s 2025 California School Dashboard profile. Addresses are from the same profiles and match the City’s list (California School Dashboard and City of Pinole, checked September 24, 2026).

  • Collins Elementary, grades K to 6, 311 students, 1224 Pinole Valley Rd.
  • Ellerhorst Elementary, grades K to 6, 319 students, 3501 Pinole Valley Rd.
  • Shannon Elementary, grades K to 6, 355 students, 685 Marlesta Rd.
  • Stewart Elementary, grades K to 8, 379 students, 2040 Hoke Dr.
  • Pinole Middle, grades 7 to 8, 381 students, 1575 Mann Dr.
  • Pinole Valley High, grades 9 to 12, 1,245 students, 2900 Pinole Valley Rd.

Notice the split. Pinole’s elementary schools run through 6th grade, and Pinole Middle covers 7th and 8th. That is different from a lot of Bay Area towns, so ask when you tour.

The Dashboard also lists West County Mandarin, a K to 8 WCCUSD school with 528 students, at the same 1575 Mann Dr. address as Pinole Middle. The district’s plan moves it to the Betty Reid Soskin campus in El Sobrante (WCCUSD, Fiscal Solvency Plan 2026-28 page, checked September 24, 2026). Ask the district how enrollment for it works.

How do I find the school for one address?

Use the district’s own lookup, then call to confirm. WCCUSD’s School Locator at schoolsitelocator.com/apps/westcontracosta lets you type a street address and see the assigned schools and boundary maps (checked September 24, 2026).

Do it in this order before you get attached to a house:

  1. Type the full street address into the WCCUSD School Locator.
  2. Write down the elementary, middle and high school it shows.
  3. Call WCCUSD at (510) 620-2245 and verify. Boundaries and grade setups can change, and in Pinole they are changing now.

A listing sheet is not a boundary. The district is.

What do the state numbers say about each Pinole school?

Here are the official numbers, with nothing added. The California School Dashboard is run by the California Department of Education. The 2025 Dashboard uses 2024 to 2025 school year data (CDE news release, November 13, 2025).

How to read them. English and math are “distance from standard”: how many points the average score sits above (+) or below the “Standard Met” line on state tests. Chronic absenteeism is the share of students who missed 10% or more of school days. The Dashboard reports it for kindergarten through 8th grade only, so there is none for Pinole Valley High.

  • Collins Elementary: English 28.9 points below standard, math 44.3 below, chronic absenteeism 29.9%.
  • Ellerhorst Elementary: English 15.3 below, math 27.7 below, chronic absenteeism 18.7%.
  • Shannon Elementary: English 39.8 below, math 49.7 below, chronic absenteeism 27.1%.
  • Stewart Elementary: English 17.2 below, math 46.7 below, chronic absenteeism 20.9%.
  • Pinole Middle: English 45.6 below, math 94.4 below, chronic absenteeism 31.3%.
  • Pinole Valley High: English 31.1 below, math 104.8 below.
  • WCCUSD, whole district: English 52.4 below, math 77.9 below, chronic absenteeism 27.0%.
  • California, all students: English 8.1 below, math 42.4 below, chronic absenteeism 17.1%.

Source for every number in this list: California School Dashboard, 2025 (2024 to 2025 data), each school’s report, checked September 24, 2026.

At Pinole Valley High, the 2025 Dashboard graduation rate is 87.3%, and 44.1% of the graduating class counted as “Prepared” on the College/Career measure. District-wide the figures are 85.3% and 41.0%. Statewide they are 87.8% and 51.7% (California School Dashboard, 2025, checked September 24, 2026).

Two more things from the same reports. Pinole Middle’s English score rose 24.5 points and its math score rose 22.3 points from the year before. Pinole Valley High’s math score rose 35.1 points. One year is not a trend, so open each school’s Dashboard page and look at several years before you decide anything.

What is changing at Pinole schools?

A lot, starting with the 2026 to 2027 school year. On February 11, 2026, the WCCUSD board approved $42.4 million in budget cuts, including school mergers and staff cuts (Richmondside, February 12, 2026; Local News Matters, February 16, 2026). The district’s plan page lists what that means here (WCCUSD, Fiscal Solvency Plan 2026-28 page, checked September 24, 2026):

  • Pinole Middle absorbs Betty Reid Soskin Middle. Students from Betty Reid Soskin move to the Pinole Middle campus on Mann Drive.
  • Stewart is one of five K to 8 schools whose 7th and 8th graders move to their neighborhood middle school.
  • West County Mandarin moves from 1575 Mann Dr. to the Betty Reid Soskin campus.
  • Pinole Valley High loses its International Baccalaureate (IB) program as part of about $2 million in program cuts.

The plan did not name Collins, Ellerhorst or Shannon for changes. Still, ask the district what applies to your address this school year and next. Plans like this get adjusted.

What about GreatSchools or Niche scores?

Those are private websites with their own formulas. We don’t repeat their ratings as fact. If you use them, read how each one scores a school and compare it with the state’s own Dashboard numbers above.

Questions people also ask

What school district is Pinole, CA in?

West Contra Costa Unified School District. The City of Pinole lists WCCUSD, at 1108 Bissell Avenue in Richmond, as the district for the Pinole area, per the City’s School Locations page, checked September 24, 2026. School assignment inside the district depends on the street address, so verify it with the district’s School Locator and a call to (510) 620-2245.

What high school do Pinole students go to?

The public high school inside the city is Pinole Valley High, 2900 Pinole Valley Road, grades 9 to 12, with 1,245 students on its 2025 Dashboard profile. Its 2025 graduation rate was 87.3%. WCCUSD’s 2026 to 2028 plan cuts its IB program. Confirm the assignment for any address with the district before you buy.

Is Pinole Middle School merging with Betty Reid Soskin?

Yes, under the plan the WCCUSD board approved in February 2026. The district’s Fiscal Solvency Plan page says Betty Reid Soskin Middle merges into Pinole Middle, with its students moving to the Pinole Middle campus on Mann Drive. Seventh and eighth graders at Stewart also move to middle school. Check with the district for how it looks this year.

Where can I see official test scores for Pinole schools?

Go to caschooldashboard.org and search the school’s name. Each report shows English and math results, chronic absenteeism and suspensions, plus graduation and college/career data for high schools. The 2025 Dashboard, released by the California Department of Education in November 2025, uses 2024 to 2025 school year data. Compare several years, not one.

Your next step

Found a Pinole home you like? Send us the address. We’ll pull the district’s school lookup and the Dashboard pages for each assigned school, so you can check them before you make an offer. Ask a Pinole agent on our team or call (510) 949-5525.

More on Pinole: Living in Pinole, CA · Pinole market update · Search homes for sale · What’s my home worth?

By Bill Davis, DRE #01880656, The Davis Team at eXp Realty, Pinole, CA. Updated September 24, 2026.

Sources

  • City of Pinole, School Locations: pinole.gov/our-community/school-locations (checked September 24, 2026)
  • California School Dashboard, 2025 (2024 to 2025 data), reports for Collins Elementary, Ellerhorst Elementary, Shannon Elementary, Stewart Elementary, Pinole Middle, Pinole Valley High, West County Mandarin, West Contra Costa Unified and the state: caschooldashboard.org (checked September 24, 2026)
  • California Department of Education, “2025 Dashboard Shows Gains for California Students,” news release, November 13, 2025: cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr25/yr25rel49.asp
  • West Contra Costa Unified School District, Fiscal Solvency Plan 2026-28: wccusd.net/about-us/fiscal-solvency-plan-2026-28 (checked September 24, 2026)
  • WCCUSD School Locator: schoolsitelocator.com/apps/westcontracosta (checked September 24, 2026)
  • Richmondside, WCCUSD school board approves $42.4 million budget cut, February 12, 2026: richmondside.org
  • Local News Matters, “West Contra Costa school board pares $42M from budget, plans mergers and staff cuts,” February 16, 2026
  • Local News Matters, “El Sobrante middle school renamed to honor parks ranger Betty Reid Soskin,” June 28, 2021