The top reported proficiency rate is 63% in Science. The lowest is 36% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Ouray Elementary School
Ouray Elementary School serves preschool through fourth grade in the town of Ouray, a small historic mountain community in southwestern Colorado. The school is part of the Ouray School District No. R-1. With the town’s economy overwhelmingly driven by tourism, the school sits in a setting where Main Street is a National Historic District and civic life is compact and walkable, shaped by a small year-round population and a steady flow of visitors. The school’s enrollment is small, and a modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
The elementary school’s academic results on Colorado’s state assessments show a mixed picture. In English language arts, half of tested students scored at or above the proficient level, a rate that suggests about half the class is meeting grade-level expectations in reading and writing. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was notably lower, falling below that same benchmark. When placed relative to other districts in Ouray County, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects lands in the bottom quartile of the small set of comparison districts. That comparison set includes only a few other districts, so the spread is narrow, but it still signals that academic performance measured by these tests is on the lower side locally. A parent may want to discuss with the school what supports are in place for students who are not yet meeting benchmarks, particularly in math.
Science testing data is from several years ago, before the pandemic, and showed a stronger result, but it is not current enough to inform a picture of the school today. Because the school only goes through fourth grade, there is no graduation rate to report here. Students move on to other schools in the district for upper grades.
The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller share of Hispanic students and very small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so it is unclear what share of the population receives special education or language support services. Nothing in the records indicates whether the school operates a Title I program. Charter and magnet status both do not apply; this is a regular public school.
The housing context in Ouray is expensive relative to national averages. Home values are well above the state median, which itself is higher than the national figure. This reflects the town’s appeal as a mountain recreation destination and its constrained geography. The town is physically enclosed on nearly all sides by steep mountains, and there is no evidence of significant new housing development. Growth is oriented toward maintaining tourism infrastructure rather than expanding the residential base. For families considering a move to the area, the housing market is tight and costly.
The district itself has no recently reported major changes such as referenda, boundary shifts, or curriculum overhauls, based on available public records. That stability may appeal to families looking for continuity, though it also means there is no recent headline about new programs or investments to note.
For a family considering this school, the main takeaway is that it is a very small elementary school in a picturesque but expensive mountain town, where academic proficiency in math is an area that bears asking about directly, while English language arts results are nearer to the middle of the pack. The school’s size means class groups are small, and the setting offers the kind of tight-knit, outdoor-oriented community that defines Ouray itself. The academic picture is not strong across the board, and the comparison to other Ouray County districts puts it at the lower end, but the numbers come from a very small school with a small testing cohort, which can make year-to-year results swing more than they would at a larger school.
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