The top reported proficiency rate is 42% in English language arts. The lowest is 20% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Homestake Peak School
Homestake Peak School serves students in preschool through eighth grade in Avon, Colorado, as part of the Eagle County School District. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. The school operates as a single-campus K-8 feeder for students who will move on to one of the district’s high schools after eighth grade.
Avon sits in the Eagle River valley, a resort community that functions as the gateway to Beaver Creek and sits a short distance west of Vail. The town’s economy is deeply tied to hospitality, tourism, and the surrounding ski resorts. Major employers include the Westin Riverfront Resort, Walmart, and City Market. The built environment is car-oriented, stretching along I-70, though a free local bus system provides an alternative within town. Civic and recreational life centers on Nottingham Lake and Harry A. Nottingham Park, which host an annual art festival and summer concert series. Housing costs in the area are well above national medians, reflecting the resort-market premium. A substantial share of the town’s roughly six thousand full-time residents, plus a large number of part-time residents, work in the service and hospitality industries tied to seasonal tourism.
Homestake Peak enrolls students across preschool through eighth grade, with a total enrollment that is moderate for a school serving this grade band. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, and a significant majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a population with considerable economic need. White students make up roughly a quarter of the enrollment, with small numbers of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learner status was not available in the source materials, which is a gap a parent may want to follow up on with the school directly.
On the most recent Colorado state assessments, the school’s performance shows a notable gap between subjects. In English language arts across grades three through eight, a share of students scored at the proficient or advanced level that places in a modest range; the school’s participation rate was very high. In math across those same grades, the proficiency rate was about half that of ELA, a soft spot that warrants attention. Science results are reported separately by grade level. For fifth grade, the proficiency rate was suppressed in the data due to a small tested population, though the average scale score that was reported and a participation rate near one hundred percent are available. For eighth-grade science, a clear share of students reached proficiency, again with near-universal participation. The school’s chronic absenteeism rate and four-year graduation rate are not applicable here because the school does not serve high school grades.
The data available for placing Homestake Peak in context among its peers is limited. The comparison set considered was districts within Eagle County, but the cohort was too small to produce meaningful proficiency index comparisons for the school. No district-level parent-relevant changes were identified in publicly available information for Eagle County Re 50, so the district brief notes that a search found little of lasting impact to report.
A parent evaluating this school should weigh the solid participation rates and the modest proficiency in ELA against the notably lower math performance. The surrounding community is high-cost and resort-oriented, which shapes both the local housing market and the economic realities many families face. For families who work in the valley’s hospitality economy or who value a K-8 configuration that avoids a middle-school transition, Homestake Peak is the neighborhood school in that setting.
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