Indian Valley Elementary

Indian Valley School is situated in Walnut Creek, overlooking the pathways of open space leading to the top of Mt. Diablo. The California Distinguished School is the community’s focal point, enrolling a diverse student body of around 400 students from fifth grade through transitional kindergarten.

Through the efforts of the staff and with the help of parents, we are committed to providing a stimulating, supportive atmosphere for all children that fosters mental, academic, social and personal development. To engage, encourage and empower all learners, we aspire to uphold the WCSD mission statement.

Since 2015, Milissa Banister has been the Indian Valley head of state. When she attended Iowa State University, she started her educational journey and in 2000 she received a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education. She began teaching in the Moreland School District while also earning a Master of Arts in Educational Administration at the University of Santa Clara (2006). Her teaching career took her to the East Bay where she taught for six years in the Brentwood Union School District before moving on to school administration. Milissa served as principal of the summer school and vice principal of the elementary school before heading a school as director of the location. She was a primary school teacher in the Antioch Unified and South San Francisco Unified school districts before moving to Indian Valley. Milissa feels fortunate to have the teaching and leadership of such diverse perspectives in different communities including her time teaching students in Caracas, Venezuela. She is married and has three teenage kids, one who is about to go off to college. They live in the East Bay on a small piece of property, where they enjoy getting their dogs, cats, ducks and chickens. She believes in the value of encouraging children to enjoy the outdoors and all the beauty and nature that the Indian Valley campus has to offer.

Indian Valley Elementary School serves seven Grade 6 students.

For the 2016-17 academic year, the number of students attaining Math skills is < 50 percent (which is higher than the California state average of 38 per cent). For the 2016-17 academic year, the number of students who gain Reading / Language Arts skills is < 50 percent (which is higher than the California state average of 48 percent).

Indian Valley Elementary School has put overall test scores in the top 50 percent of all schools in California (math ability is top 30 percent, and reading ability is top 50 percent) for the school year 2016-17.