Santa Barbara English Learners Outpace State Gains

Students learning English in Santa Barbara Unified are progressing faster than the statewide average under the district's new multilingual plan.

Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Language Learning

Santa Barbara English Learners Outpace State Gains

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Santa Barbara Unified moved from orange to green on the California School Dashboard for English learner progress, with 49.9% of its English learners making progress, above the statewide rate of 47.4%. The gain matters for the district's roughly English-learner student population and reflects the state's own modest improvement.

Why it matters

The English Learner Progress Indicator tracks whether English learners are advancing toward English proficiency or holding at the highest assessment level, which shapes how well students can keep up in core classes later on. The district credits a new Emergent Multilingual Learner Master Plan adopted last school year, showing how a local program change can move a statewide measure.

Santa Barbara Unified's progress rate reached 49.9%, up 5.3 percentage points, against a statewide rate of 47.4%. Franklin Elementary rose 27.9 percentage points to 57.4% and earned a blue rating, while Dos Pueblos High rose 1.9 percentage points to 62.2%, classified as maintained.

The players

Santa Barbara Unified School District

A public school district on California's South Coast serving a large population of English learners, whose progress is tracked on the state Dashboard.

California School Dashboard

The California Department of Education's accountability tool that rates districts and schools on academic and English learner progress measures.

Franklin Elementary School

An elementary school in the Santa Barbara Unified district that posted the district's largest English learner progress gain.

The details

The district has focused on strengthening integrated English Language Development, which teaches English skills while students learn academic subjects rather than separating them. The Dashboard measures the share of English learners who are progressing toward English proficiency or maintaining the highest assessment level, so gains reflect classroom-level instruction results. Ten schools in the district reported progress rates above the statewide figure. The district's 2025-26 goal is 57%, meaning it still has room to grow beyond its current 49.9% rate.

Last school year: the district adopted its new Emergent Multilingual Learner Master Plan.
2025: the district held an orange rating on the English learner progress Dashboard.
2025-26: the district set its LCAP goal of 57% for English learner progress.
This year: the district moved to a green rating on the Dashboard.

Education Landscape

California's English Learner Progress Indicator is one of several Dashboard measures that rate schools by how students change over time rather than by a single test score. The statewide rate rose only 1 percentage point, so Santa Barbara Unified's 5.3-point gain stands out against a slow-moving baseline.

Families of English learners in Santa Barbara Unified can ask their school how the Emergent Multilingual Learner Master Plan and integrated English Language Development work in their child's classes. Parents and students curious about progress toward the district's 57% goal can request a conversation with the school's English learner coordinator.

The takeaway

The biggest signal here is that a targeted instructional plan can lift English learner progress faster than the statewide trend. Families can ask their school district whether the EML Master Plan is in place for their child and what progress looks like on the Dashboard.