The top reported proficiency rate is 33% in English language arts. The lowest is 24% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Sturgeon Cromer Elementary School
Sturgeon Cromer Elementary School serves students from preschool through sixth grade in the eastern part of Flagstaff. It is a regular public school within the Flagstaff Unified District, not a charter or magnet school.
The school’s enrollment is modest for its grade band. The student body reflects the broader Flagstaff area: the largest single group is White students, followed by a substantial Hispanic population and a significant American Indian or Alaska Native presence. A smaller share of students identify with two or more races, and the school also serves a small number of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and Asian students. The school recorded no Black students in the available enrollment data. Information on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are English learners was not provided in the source data, so a parent looking to understand school-wide support for those populations would need to follow up directly with the school or district.
On state assessments, proficiency rates for Sturgeon Cromer sit below the midpoint among elementary schools in Coconino County when averaged across tested subjects and grades. In math, proficiency rates in third, fourth, and fifth grades clustered below one-third of students meeting the bar. In English language arts, the picture was mixed: fourth graders posted a stronger result, with a share reaching proficiency that was noticeably higher than in third or fifth grade. In fifth-grade science, the share of students scoring proficient was similar to the lower end of the school’s math results. These are state-reported figures from a single school year, and the available data shows only a single point in time for each subject and grade, so there is no multi-year trend to indicate whether these patterns are stable, improving, or declining.
Because Sturgeon Cromer serves only elementary grades, there is no high school graduation rate to report, and no chronic absenteeism data was provided in the source materials. A parent evaluating this school would want to consider how these proficiency rates compare to their own expectations for early academic foundation.
The school is part of the Flagstaff Unified District, which has made notable investments in expanding family choice within the district. The district operates magnet elementary schools with bilingual and arts-and-science themes, as well as middle and high school academies focused on advanced placement, technology, engineering, and expeditionary learning. High school students also have access to dual-enrollment courses for college credit and career and technical education programs. A family at Sturgeon Cromer would have district-run options to consider for later grades. The district has also sought voter approval for bond and override measures to support facilities and operations, a pattern common to Arizona school districts that rely heavily on local property tax revenue.
Flagstaff itself is a city built around a historic downtown, Northern Arizona University, tourism, and federal science installations. The school’s location in the eastern part of the city places it in a residential area of a community that mixes a walkable downtown core with more suburban, car-dependent neighborhoods. Housing in the Flagstaff area carries a price premium relative to the state median, and rents are elevated, which is a practical consideration for any family moving into the zone. The city’s economy is anchored by the university, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Naval Observatory, distribution centers, and a strong tourism sector drawing visitors to the Grand Canyon and other regional attractions.
For a family considering this school, the core decision points are whether the current proficiency levels match their academic expectations and whether the school’s support for specific student populations meets their child’s needs. The district’s range of magnet and academy programs offers pathways for later grades, but the elementary experience at Sturgeon Cromer, based on available data, shows a student body that is racially and ethnically diverse and test results that are below the county midpoint.
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