Searles Elementary

Searles Elementary School is at 33629 15th Street, Union City, CA 94587, in the city's central residential corridor. It serves kindergarten through fifth grade as a public non-charter campus within New Haven Unified School District. With 712 students, Searles is the largest elementary school in the district by enrollment. The student-teacher ratio is 26:1, in line with the NHUSD average. The student body is 51% male and 49% female, the most even split among NHUSD's elementary schools. State testing shows 19% of students reached math proficiency and 30% reached reading proficiency, both below district and state averages. Searles runs a Spanish Two-Way Dual Immersion program from TK through fifth grade, making it the only NHUSD elementary offering Spanish bilingual instruction, a program continuing into 6th grade at Cesar Chavez Middle School beginning 2026-27. Students are assigned to Searles through residential attendance zones, with the Dual Immersion program open to district-wide applicants. Homes surrounding the campus commonly list near $1.2 million. For Spanish-speaking families seeking dual immersion public elementary options in Alameda County, Searles is one of the recognized choices among the best elementary schools in California.

Searles Elementary's Spanish Two-Way Dual Immersion program made district news in late 2025 when NHUSD confirmed it would continue into 6th grade at Cesar Chavez Middle School for 2026-27, joining the Mandarin program from Emanuele. For families currently in the dual immersion track at Searles, this removes the uncertainty that had been hanging over what happens after 5th grade. The school's bilingual Dolphin News newsletter has been covering this development in recent monthly issues, accessible at searles.mynhusd.org.

Q1. How does the Spanish Dual Immersion program at Searles Elementary work?

Ans. Searles Elementary runs a Spanish Two-Way Dual Immersion program from TK through 5th grade, designed for both Spanish-dominant and English-dominant students to develop bilingual fluency side by side.

Q2. Do families need to live in Searles' attendance zone to join the Dual Immersion program?

Ans. The Spanish Dual Immersion program at Searles Elementary accepts applications from any NHUSD family regardless of home address. Standard neighborhood enrollment follows NHUSD attendance boundaries, but the immersion strand is open district-wide. Families should contact NHUSD enrollment directly for the current application timeline.

Q3. What is the school mascot and community culture at Searles Elementary?

Ans. Searles Elementary's mascot is the Dolphin. The school publishes a bilingual monthly newsletter called the "Dolphin News" in both English and Spanish, which reflects the dual immersion culture of the campus. Past issues are publicly accessible at searles.mynhusd.org.

Q4. What after-school care does Searles Elementary offer?

Ans. Searles Elementary is served by the Boys and Girls Club of San Leandro for after-school programming. The coordinator for Searles is Anu Sharma at (510) 410-5045. Separate from this, Beyond the Bell waitlist forms are available through NHUSD for any remaining spots in district programming.

Q5. What middle school do Searles Elementary students attend?

Ans. Searles Elementary students continue to Cesar Chavez Middle School, where the Spanish Dual Immersion program will also extend into 6th grade starting 2026-27. Students then move on to James Logan High School. Families who've been in the dual immersion track from TK through 5th grade will have a continuous bilingual pathway all the way through middle school.