Rsu 63/msad 63, ME - District Data

Original Research by School Decision on Rsu 63/msad 63

RSU 63, also known as MSAD 63, is a small rural district in Penobscot County, Maine, serving pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade across three schools: Eddington School, Holbrook School, and Holden School. The district draws from the communities of Eddington and Holden, and its total enrollment is small for a district covering the full PK-to-12 span. The student body is predominantly white, with only a handful of students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data, special education rates, and English learner counts were not reported in the available data, so it is difficult to characterize the district's socioeconomic profile or the share of students receiving specialized support. A parent wanting that picture would need to ask the district directly.

On the most recent state assessments, RSU 63's results in grades three through eight are a genuine strength in English language arts. The district's ELA proficiency rate sits well above what most Maine districts post, and a large majority of tested students met or exceeded the state standard. Math proficiency is also solid, with the majority of students scoring proficient or above. Science lands closer to the middle of the road, with about half of tested students reaching proficiency. These are grade-band results for the elementary and middle grades only; the data set does not include a separate high school proficiency picture, and no multi-year trend was available, so there is no way to tell from the provided information whether these numbers represent improvement, decline, or stability. Average scale scores and participation rates were also not reported.

The district went through a structural change beginning in the 2023-2024 school year that a parent should know about. RSU 63 reconfigured its elementary schools so that Eddington School became a pre-kindergarten and kindergarten center, while Holden School became the first-through-fourth-grade building. The district has publicly reported that this was done to balance class sizes and streamline curriculum delivery across the two communities. For families with young children, this means the school a child attends in the early years depends on grade level rather than on which town they live in. Holbrook School rounds out the district's buildings, though the available data does not specify which grades it serves.

The high school grades show very small class sizes, with the senior class among the smallest in the district. This is characteristic of a small rural district where the upper grades can feel intimate, but it also means fewer course offerings and peer groups than a larger high school would provide. No Advanced Placement, dual-enrollment, career-pathway, or specialized program data was available for this district, so the narrative cannot speak to those options. A family with a high-school-aged student would want to ask directly about what is offered and whether students travel or access coursework remotely.

Housing in the district is affordable relative to both the state and national picture. The weighted typical home value across the two district zip codes sits below the Maine state benchmark and well below the national one, though the two communities differ from each other. Holden's housing values run noticeably higher than Eddington's, reflecting differences in housing stock and demand between the two areas. The broader Penobscot County market has seen an increase in active and new listings recently, while pending sales have slowed, suggesting the market is cooling somewhat from the buyer's perspective. Median listing prices in the county have edged down modestly year over year. Mortgage rates remain in the mid-six-percent range, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment on a typical district home is manageable compared with many parts of the country.

The district's budget has grown over recent years, with voter-approved increases that affect local property tax obligations. The publicly reported budget trajectory shows steady escalation, and voters validated the most recent budget by referendum. That context matters for residents weighing tax burden against school investment, but the data does not provide enough detail to assess how those dollars translate into staffing, programs, or outcomes.

What the data paints is a small, predominantly white rural district with strong early-grade literacy results, solid math performance, and a recent reconfiguration aimed at making its elementary delivery more efficient. The gaps are real: no free-or-reduced-price lunch figures, no special population counts, no course-access or program information, no civil-rights data, and no multi-year academic trend. A parent considering RSU 63 would get a promising academic signal from the elementary test results but would need to go to the district for the rest of the picture, especially at the high school level, where the small scale shapes what is possible.

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District Context

Officially reported figures, 2024-25.

Enrollment

539

Grades

PK–12

Schools

Student body

Hispanic 2%

Black 1%

White 94%

Asian 0%

Two+ 2%

Am. Indian / AK Native 0%

By economic status

Percent proficient by grade, as reported

Economically disadvantaged

Not disadvantaged

ELA

Gr 4

60%

67%

Gr 8

64%

70%

Gr 38

70%

78%

Math

Gr 3

72%

75%

Gr 4

44%

59%

Gr 5

50%

77%

Gr 6

50%

58%

Gr 8

43%

45%

Gr 38

49%

64%

Science

Gr 5

32%

42%

Gr 8

57%

67%

Gr 38

42%

56%

Schools in this District

3 schools are officially reported under this district.

Eddington School

Holbrook School

Holden School

Academic Performance

Percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards, by grade.

Mathematics

1 grade reported

59%

Grades 3-8

English Language Arts

1 grade reported

75%

Grades 3-8

Science

1 grade reported

51%

Grades 3-8

Housing & Real Estate

Data as of April 2026 | District-weighted from constituent ZIP codes

Home Values

Typical home value$301,575

Year-over-year change+0.6%

Range across 2 ZIP codes$276K to $350K

vs. state typical0.73x

vs. national typical0.82x

Home value trend (12 months)

ZIP code home values (2 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Value	YoY	Weight
04428	Eddington	$276K	-0.3%	65.5%
04429	Holden	$350K	+2.4%	34.5%

Affordability

Est. monthly mortgage (20% down at 6.48%)$1,522/mo

Home price / national median income3.6x

Market Activity: Penobscot County

Median listing price$314,000

Median listing price YoY-3.4%

Median price per sq ft$191

Median price per sq ft YoY-3.0%

Median days on market68.0 days

Median days on market YoY+15.7%

Active listings474

Active listings YoY+38.2%

New listings268

New listings YoY+13.6%

Pending listings92

Pending listings YoY-26.4%

Hotness: median listing price$314,675

Hotness: median listing price YoY-1.6%

Supply score17.9

Supply score YoY-38.4%

Demand score79.5

Demand score YoY-8.2%

Median listing price (12 months)

Median price per sq ft (12 months)

Median days on market (12 months)

Active listings (12 months)

New listings (12 months)

Pending listings (12 months)

Hotness: median listing price (12 months)

Supply score (12 months)

Demand score (12 months)

Comparison

State typical home value$412,608 (+0.7% YoY)

National typical home value$368,198 (+0.6% YoY)

State ZHVI trend (12 months)

National ZHVI trend (12 months)

Economic Context

30-year fixed mortgage rate6.48%

National unemployment rate4.3%

National median household income$83,730

CPI: Rent of shelter (index)447.05

30-year fixed mortgage rate (12 months)

National unemployment rate (12 months)

National median household income (12 months)

CPI: Rent of shelter (index) (12 months)

Sources: Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index (Zillow Group), Realtor.com via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED)

Data Currently Unavailable

Civil Rights Data (CRDC)

This profile is derived exclusively from publicly available federal and state datasets. It may not reflect the most current information available. We encourage parents and families to supplement this data with information published directly on the school’s website, which may include more recent figures, additional programs, or updated enrollment data.