The top reported proficiency rate is 54% in Science. The lowest is 43% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Hawthorn Academy
Hawthorn Academy is a Utah school district that serves kindergarten through ninth grade, operating two campuses: Hawthorn Academy West Jordan and Hawthorn Academy South Jordan. Because it covers only through ninth grade, the district does not have a high school graduation rate, and state testing data reflects the grades tested under Utah’s RISE assessments. The district’s enrollment is in the moderate range for a Salt Lake County district, and while ethnicity data is reported, information on economic disadvantage—such as free or reduced-price lunch eligibility—is not available. That gap means a parent or resident cannot easily gauge the proportion of students facing poverty-related challenges from the data here.
Academically, Hawthorn Academy’s performance sits somewhat above the middle of Salt Lake County’s districts when looking at overall proficiency across tested subjects. On individual state assessments, a little under half of students met proficiency in math and English language arts, while a bit over half did so in science. These results come from different testing years—the math and science figures are from the most recent year, the English language arts figure from the prior year—so direct comparisons across subjects should be made cautiously. Overall, the district’s proficiency index places it above the median among the county’s forty-seven districts, which is a solid relative position.
One area that warrants attention is chronic absenteeism. Hawthorn Academy’s rate is higher than the county midpoint. Chronic absenteeism can have many causes—health, transportation, family circumstances—and a rate above the typical county level is something a family may want to discuss with the school to understand what supports are in place. Per-pupil current spending falls in the lower range of the county, which is not unusual for a charter-style district that may operate with a leaner administrative structure. The spending figure does not directly signal quality, but it does indicate how resources are allocated relative to neighboring districts.
The student body is majority white, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller groups of Asian, Black, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and multiracial students. Enrollment is spread across kindergarten through ninth grade, with the largest numbers in the early elementary grades and tapering through middle school to a smaller ninth-grade class. The district’s two schools share a single administration, and the district website and publicly available materials did not show any recent major changes such as bond measures, curriculum overhauls, or boundary shifts. In the absence of such news, the district appears to be in a steady operational phase.
For a family considering Hawthorn Academy, the key takeaway is a district that serves elementary and middle school students through ninth grade—meaning families will need to plan for high school elsewhere, either in a traditional district or through other options. Academically, it performs a bit above the typical Salt Lake County district, though with room for improvement in math and reading. The higher chronic absenteeism rate is a signal worth exploring, and the lower per-pupil spending may reflect an efficient model or tighter resources depending on one’s perspective. Without data on special education or English learner populations, those areas are unknowns that a parent should ask about directly. Overall, Hawthorn Academy offers a coherent pre-high school pathway in two Salt Lake County locations, with academic results that are respectable relative to the county but not at the top tier.
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