Cottonwood Community School, Cottonwood AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Cottonwood Community School

Cottonwood Community School serves kindergarten through eighth grade within the Cottonwood-Oak Creek Elementary District in the city of Cottonwood, located in the Verde Valley of central Arizona. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Because it serves only elementary and middle grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and family looking at this as a feeder school would consider where students go for high school separately, as that is outside this school's scope.

Cottonwood itself functions as the retail and services center for the Verde Valley, with Old Town offering a walkable historic core of wine tasting rooms, restaurants, and shops. The community has seen steady growth driven by mild climate, natural amenities, and wine tourism. Residential development includes established neighborhoods and newer projects. The city operates its own public transit and sits near Dead Horse Ranch State Park along the Verde River. Housing values in the area are roughly in line with the national average. A parent considering this school is looking at a community that has been building out steadily and draws visitors regionally.

The student population at Cottonwood Community School is diverse. A substantial share of the student body is Hispanic, with white students comprising the next largest group, and smaller numbers of students from other racial backgrounds. Data on free or reduced-price meal eligibility was not available, and information on special education and English learner enrollment was also absent from the data provided.

On state assessments, the school's proficiency rates in math and English language arts were below the midpoint when compared with other districts in Yavapai County, according to a proficiency index that averages results across tested subjects and grades. Looking across individual grades, math proficiency rates varied by grade. In third grade, a notable share of students met the bar, while in fifth, sixth, and seventh grades the share was lower. Fourth and seventh grade math results were suppressed from public reporting due to small group sizes. In English language arts, proficiency rates fell within a similar band across the grades, with sixth grade showing the strongest result and seventh grade the weakest. Science results were available only for eighth grade, where roughly a quarter of students reached proficiency; fifth grade science results were suppressed. Multi-year trend data showed limited movement across the two most recent years, with math and reading proficiency rates generally holding in a similar range. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how the school approaches its areas of weaker performance.

The school offers no high school grades, so there is no data on Advanced Placement or dual-enrollment offerings, career and technical education pathways, or college readiness metrics. Information on course access, staffing ratios, discipline, and attendance were missing from the data, so it is not possible to describe the school environment on those fronts from the evidence available. The district brief turned up little of lasting impact in terms of recent changes or strategic priorities that would shape a family's decision.

For a family weighing Cottonwood Community School, the central facts are a mid-sized elementary and middle school in a growing small city that serves as a regional hub, a diverse student body, and state assessment results that fall below the midpoint among districts in Yavapai County. The missing data on support programs, course offerings, and student environment means that families would want to visit the school, speak with staff, and ask directly about academic support, enrichment, and how the school addresses the academic areas where its proficiency numbers are softer.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 28% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 22% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 620%

School 20% · District 23% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 836%

School 36% · District 29% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 334%

School 34% · District 32% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 41% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 638%

School 38% · District 36% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 729%

School 29% · District 33% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 41% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Science

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 32% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

This schoolCottonwood-Oak Creek Elementary District (4487), same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.