The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in Science. The lowest is 25% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Avery/parsons Elementary School
Avery/Parsons Elementary School serves the Buena Vista area as the single elementary school within the Buena Vista School District No. R-31, covering kindergarten through fifth grade. The school is a regular public school, not a charter, and it operates as a standard neighborhood elementary school for this small mountain community.
Buena Vista itself, where the school sits on East Main Street, is a town with a dual character. By official description, it is a quiet mountain community that also functions as a vital tourist town, with the Buena Vista Correctional Complex as the largest single employer and most other businesses employing fewer than ten people. The town is compact, its downtown centered on a historic Main Street lined with late-1800s buildings. Tourism drives summer activity, bringing seasonal residents and employees, and the area between Buena Vista and Salida is known as the Banana Belt for its relatively mild winters. The whitewater park on the Arkansas River, the longest in Colorado, and a new river walk are recent civic additions, and the regional airport is being improved for new business. Modest growth and development are underway, and high-speed internet has become available. This is a setting where the economy is a blend of state correctional employment, small local businesses, and tourism, not a bedroom community for a larger city.
The school’s student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic student population that is present but not the majority, and small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds, including those who identify as two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of economic need that families should be aware of. The school is of modest size for an elementary school serving six grades.
The most concrete picture of academic performance comes from Colorado’s state assessments. In reading and English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above falls notably below the state average. In mathematics, the proficiency rate is lower still. The overall proficiency index, which combines all tested subjects and grades, places the school above the midpoint when compared to other districts within Chaffee County. That comparison set is small—there are only a few districts in the county—so the position should be read in that narrow context. Science results at fifth grade, the only grade tested in that subject, are higher than the school’s performance in math and reading, though still not at a strong level.
What is not available matters. The data does not include information on chronic absenteeism, so a parent cannot gauge how consistently students are in class. There are no program offerings listed, such as gifted and talented, specials, or enrichment, that would help a family understand what is available beyond the core curriculum. Discipline records are not present. Staffing information, such as class sizes or teacher experience and turnover, is absent. The district brief turned up little of lasting impact in terms of recent strategic changes or initiatives, so a parent may want to ask the district or school directly about any new academic programs or support services.
This is a school with a significant gap between current student performance and state proficiency benchmarks. A family considering Avery/Parsons should look into what academic supports and interventions are available, particularly in reading and math. The town’s economy and housing market, with home values that run high relative to a national median, also factor into the decision; the housing market in this area is not affordable on a typical income. The school serves the town’s children, and the town itself is a specific place—not a generic suburb, but a mountain community with a correctional facility as the top employer, a tourist economy, and a compact, walkable downtown core. That context shapes what this school is, for better or worse, and a parent should weigh it alongside the academic numbers.
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