Original Research by School Decision on Burlington High School
Burlington High School is a regular public high school serving grades nine through twelve in the small rural agricultural town of Burlington, the county seat of Kit Carson County on Colorado’s eastern High Plains. The school sits at the town’s I-70 interchange, about a dozen miles from Kansas, and is part of the Burlington Public School District No. RE-6J. The district operates one elementary, one middle, and one high school, all located within the town itself alongside civic buildings and a regional center of Morgan Community College.
The high school’s enrollment is sized for a small rural community. Its student body is roughly split between Hispanic and White students, with a modest share of Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and multiracial students. More than two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that reflects the broader economic base of the area, where agriculture, accommodation and food services, and health care and social assistance are the largest employment sectors. The town’s economy is anchored by corn and wheat production, and median home values have risen in recent years, though population projections show a slight decline. Housing sits well below state and national medians, making homeownership more attainable here than in many Colorado communities, though commuting is nearly universal by car and the town is car-dependent.
No state assessment results or graduation rate were available for Burlington High School in the source data for this report. Because the school serves a tested grade band and is a regular high school, that absence is not explained by the school’s type. A parent or resident should follow up directly with the school or district to understand student performance at this level. Similarly, information on chronic absenteeism, course access, discipline, and staffing was not provided in the data reviewed.
The district brief found no recent parent-relevant changes such as referendums, curriculum shifts, or property-tax changes, so that dimension is also a gap.
Burlington High School’s peer environment is shaped by its rural setting and the agricultural and service-sector character of the town. For families considering the school, the practical baseline is that the school is modest in size, serves a majority low-income population, and operates in a community with a stable but slowly shrinking population. The absence of widely reported academic indicators means a family would need to obtain those directly from the school to judge whether the academic pathway and student support fit their priorities. The school’s location within town, alongside an elementary and middle school, means that all levels of public schooling are close at hand and that the civic and recreational infrastructure of the county seat—parks, a pool, trails, a fairgrounds, a historic carousel—are within reach. The broader context of I-70 connectivity and eastern Plains agriculture defines the community’s growth outlook.
See more original research from School Decision →