The top reported proficiency rate is 19% in English language arts. The lowest is 13% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lake County Intermediate School
Lake County Intermediate School serves grades three through six in the Leadville public school system, a regular public school that sits within a small, historic mountain town built on silver mining and now anchored by tourism, outdoor recreation, and the reopened Climax Molybdenum Mine. The school is one of the district’s elementary-level buildings, and it draws its students from Leadville itself and the surrounding valley.
State testing results for the most recent school year show that proficiency rates across math, English language arts, and science are low. Fewer than one in five students met the state’s proficient or above benchmark in any subject, and science results were the weakest of the three. The school participates fully in the Colorado Measures of Academic Success assessments, with participation rates above ninety-eight percent, so the results reflect nearly the entire tested student body. A parent considering this school will want to look into the kinds of academic support and intervention that are available, as the data point to a student population that is far from meeting state expectations on these annual measures. No multi-year trend data were available, so it is not clear whether performance is improving, holding steady, or declining.
The student body, which is moderate in size for a school covering four grade levels, is majority Hispanic, with a substantial share of white students and a small number of students who identify as two or more races. More than half of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a signal that economic disadvantage touches many of the families served here. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not reported in the available records, so the school’s special-population profile is unclear; a family with a child who has an individualized education plan or is learning English would want to ask the school directly about those programs and services.
Because Lake County Intermediate School serves only grades three through six, there is no graduation rate to consider, and no high-school-level offerings such as Advanced Placement or career and technical pathways. The district as a whole, Lake County School District No. R-1, covers the entire county and includes a single high school, a middle school, and an elementary school. No recent changes in district leadership, boundaries, programming, or facilities were confirmed in the research, so the district appears stable, though that also means there is no publicly reported innovation or expansion to note.
The setting is Leadville, a statutory city and county seat with a compact downtown of nineteenth-century brick buildings along Harrison Avenue. The school is integrated into the town’s grid, not separated onto a distant campus. The local economy has shifted from mining to tourism, endurance events like the Leadville Race Series, and the Colorado Mountain College campus. Housing values in the area are moderate compared to national benchmarks, and the rental market is relatively affordable relative to incomes, though the town sits at high elevation with a harsh alpine climate that limits street life in winter. The population has stabilized after a long decline from the boom years, and the reopening of the Climax Mine has provided an economic floor.
In summary, Lake County Intermediate School is a neighborhood school in a tight-knit, economically mixed, mountain community. Its state test results are low, and the student body faces significant economic challenges. A parent looking at this school should investigate what academic interventions, tutoring, or enrichment are in place, and should also consider the broader context of a small district where resources may be limited but where the community itself is close-knit and outdoors-oriented.
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