Photo above: Aerial view of the Contra Costa College campus in San Pablo, California, September 2022, where Middle College High is located. Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
San Pablo’s public schools belong to West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD), and the school a home is assigned to depends on its exact street address, not the city name on the listing. Type the address into the district’s School Locator, then call WCCUSD to verify it before you write an offer.
Below: the public schools that list a San Pablo address, what the state’s 2025 numbers say about each one, and what the district is changing.
Which district runs the public schools in San Pablo?
WCCUSD. The district office is at 1108 Bissell Avenue in Richmond, and the main line is (510) 231-1100 (WCCUSD website, checked September 24, 2026). On the 2025 California School Dashboard the district lists 25,244 students for 2025 to 2026.
How do I look up the school for one San Pablo home?
Three steps, about ten minutes:
- Open WCCUSD’s School Locator at schoolsitelocator.com/apps/westcontracosta and enter the full street address (checked September 24, 2026). It shows the assigned elementary, middle and high school.
- Screenshot the result with the date on it.
- Call the district at (510) 231-1100 and confirm. Assignments can move when the district merges or reconfigures schools, and it is doing that right now.
Why bother? A San Pablo mailing address does not always mean the home is inside city limits, and neither one decides the school. The district boundary does.
Which public schools have a San Pablo address?
Eight WCCUSD schools list a San Pablo address on the 2025 Dashboard (California School Dashboard, 2025, checked September 24, 2026):
- Bayview Elementary, 3001 16th St.
- Dover Elementary, 1870 19th St.
- Edward M. Downer Elementary, 1231 18th St.
- Lake Elementary, 2700 Eleventh St.
- Helms Middle, 2500 Road 20.
- Middle College High, 2600 Mission Bell Dr., on the Contra Costa College campus.
- Montalvin Manor Elementary, 300 Christine Dr. The district’s plan page calls it Montalvin K-8.
- Tara Hills Elementary, 2300 Dolan Way.
Montalvin and Tara Hills carry San Pablo mailing addresses. We could not confirm from an official map whether their campuses sit inside the city limits, so treat them as nearby schools, not proof of anything about a given street.
The district also runs Vista Independent Study out of a San Pablo address on Barnard Road. Ask WCCUSD how enrollment works for it and for Middle College High before you assume either one comes with a particular address.
What do the 2025 state numbers show for each school?
These are the state’s own figures, copied as reported. The California Department of Education runs the Dashboard, and the 2025 edition uses 2024 to 2025 school year data (CDE news release, November 13, 2025).
Two terms to know. Distance from standard is how far the average state test score sits above or below the “Standard Met” line, in points. Chronic absenteeism is the share of students who missed at least 10% of school days; the Dashboard reports it for kindergarten through 8th grade.
| School | English | Math | Chronic absenteeism |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bayview Elementary | 107.6 below | 130.5 below | 48.0% |
| Dover Elementary | 89.4 below | 107.6 below | 28.0% |
| Edward M. Downer Elementary | 114.2 below | 110.7 below | 32.0% |
| Lake Elementary | 89.1 below | 95.5 below | 31.5% |
| Helms Middle | 134.8 below | 151.2 below | 25.3% |
| Montalvin Manor Elementary | 40.6 below | 60.6 below | 26.7% |
| Tara Hills Elementary | 71.7 below | 96.0 below | 36.4% |
| Middle College High | 103.0 above | 14.7 above | not reported |
| WCCUSD, all schools | 52.4 below | 77.9 below | 27.0% |
| California, all schools | 8.1 below | 42.4 below | 17.1% |
Source for the whole table: California School Dashboard, 2025 reports for each school, the district and the state, checked September 24, 2026.
For high school outcomes, Middle College High shows a 100.0% graduation rate and 100.0% of graduates counted as “Prepared” on the College/Career measure. WCCUSD overall shows 85.3% and 41.0%, and California shows 87.8% and 51.7% (same source).
Are any of these numbers moving?
Some are, in both directions. Compared with the year before, Lake Elementary’s English score rose 16.8 points and its math score rose 14.4. Helms Middle’s math score rose 11.5 points. Downer Elementary’s English score fell 17.4 points, and Bayview’s math score fell 10.6 (California School Dashboard, 2025, checked September 24, 2026).
One year can swing on a small group of test takers. Open each school’s Dashboard page and look back three or four years before you draw a line through it.
What is WCCUSD changing for 2026 to 2028?
The district’s Fiscal Solvency Plan moves 7th and 8th graders out of five K-8 schools, Montalvin among them, and back to their comprehensive middle school of residence. The district’s FAQ says students from Peres and Verde have historically gone on to Helms, and it calls that transition “not a new process” for those communities (WCCUSD, Fiscal Solvency Plan 2026-28 page, checked September 24, 2026).
What that means for you: if a home’s locator result shows Montalvin, ask the district which middle school covers grades 7 and 8 for that address now. If it shows Helms, ask whether enrollment there is growing and what that changes.
Should I use GreatSchools or Niche?
You can, but know what you are reading. Those are private sites with their own scoring formulas. We quote only the state’s Dashboard numbers here, and we don’t rank schools. If you look at a private rating, put it next to the Dashboard report and read how each one was built.
Questions people also ask
What school district is San Pablo, CA in?
West Contra Costa Unified School District. Its office is at 1108 Bissell Avenue in Richmond, and the main line is (510) 231-1100, per the district website checked September 24, 2026. Your assigned school depends on the exact street address, so run it through the WCCUSD School Locator and verify the result with a call to the district.
What middle school serves San Pablo?
Helms Middle, at 2500 Road 20, is the WCCUSD middle school with a San Pablo address on the 2025 Dashboard. Under the district’s 2026 to 2028 plan, 7th and 8th graders at some K-8 schools, including Montalvin, move to their middle school of residence. Confirm which middle school covers your address with the district before you buy.
Where do I find official test scores for San Pablo schools?
Go to caschooldashboard.org and search the school name. Each report shows English and math distance from standard, chronic absenteeism and suspensions, plus graduation and college and career data for high schools. The 2025 Dashboard uses 2024 to 2025 data, per the California Department of Education. Compare several years before you decide anything.
Is Middle College High a neighborhood school?
It sits on the Contra Costa College campus at 2600 Mission Bell Drive and posted a 100.0% graduation rate on the 2025 Dashboard. Don’t assume a nearby address gets you a seat. Ask WCCUSD directly how students enroll there and what the timeline is for applying.
Your next step
Got a San Pablo address you are serious about? Send it to us. We’ll run the district locator, pull the Dashboard page for each assigned school, and hand you both before you make an offer. Ask a San Pablo agent on our team or call (510) 949-5525.
More on San Pablo: Living in San Pablo, CA · San Pablo market update · Search homes for sale · What’s my home worth?
By Bill Davis, DRE #01880656, The Davis Team at eXp Realty, San Pablo, CA. Updated September 24, 2026.
Sources
- California School Dashboard, 2025 (2024 to 2025 data), reports for Bayview Elementary, Dover Elementary, Edward M. Downer Elementary, Lake Elementary, Helms Middle, Montalvin Manor Elementary, Tara Hills Elementary, Middle College High, 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, website and Fiscal Solvency Plan 2026-28 page: wccusd.net (checked September 24, 2026)
- WCCUSD School Locator: schoolsitelocator.com/apps/westcontracosta (checked September 24, 2026)