The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in English language arts. The lowest is 32% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Cache La Poudre Elementary School
Cache La Poudre Elementary School serves the early grades in the small, unincorporated community of Laporte, a rural pocket along the Cache la Poudre River northwest of Fort Collins. The school is part of Poudre School District R-1, and its setting is a defining feature of the experience there. Laporte has a quiet, semi-rural character; its low-density residential pattern and scattered businesses along the highway corridor mean that nearly every trip requires a car. The community has seen a slow population decline over recent decades, and the county’s area plan for Laporte aims to preserve that rural character while guiding limited development. For families who choose this school, the setting itself is a major part of the draw.
The school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, with an enrollment that is moderate for an elementary school of this grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population making up a substantial share. A notable portion of students come from lower-income households, as reflected in the share qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on special education and English learner populations were not available in the source materials, so a family with a child who has an Individualized Education Program or is learning English would want to ask the school directly about how those needs are served.
On state assessments, the school’s performance presents a mixed picture. In English language arts, just under half of students in grades three through five scored at the proficient level or above. Math proficiency was lower, and science proficiency, tested only in grade five, was lower still. When placed against other schools in Larimer County, Cache La Poudre’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades landed above the midpoint among the county’s districts that report this data. That positions it as a mid-range performer relative to its neighbors, not a standout on either end. The school’s participation rates on state tests were strong, a sign that students largely sat for the assessments.
Because Cache La Poudre serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, which is a feature of its grade band rather than a gap. Similarly, the data did not include information on chronic absenteeism or course access, and no specific program offerings such as gifted and talented, arts, or STEM tracks were listed in the source material. A parent looking at this school should treat those as open questions to investigate.
The district itself, Poudre School District R-1, did not have recent parent-relevant changes such as bond measures or curriculum shifts that surfaced in the available research. That does not mean none exist, only that public records of lasting, four-year-impact changes were not found at the time of this review.
What Cache La Poudre Elementary offers is a seat in a small, rural-feeling school within a larger district. The character of Laporte, with its river access and highway connection to Fort Collins, gives the school a place-based identity. For families who value a smaller community environment and are comfortable with the car-dependent setting, the school may be a natural fit. The academic results are not among the highest in Larimer County, but they are passable for many. A family considering this school should weigh the match between their expectations around academics and the more modest proficiency rates, and should seek details on programming and support services that were not captured in the data reviewed here.
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