The top reported proficiency rate is 62% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Longfellow Elementary School
Longfellow Elementary School serves kindergarten through fourth grade in Salida, Colorado, and is part of the Salida School District No. R-32. As a regular public school with an enrollment that is sizable for an early-elementary campus, it provides the foundational years for children in the community. The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population representing a notable share and very small numbers of Asian and multiracial students. Just over a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure that places the school in a middle range for economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a family with a child who has an individualized education program or is learning English would want to ask the school directly about those supports and services.
The school sits in Salida, a compact, walkable town that serves as the county seat and the commercial hub of the Upper Arkansas Valley. The downtown historic district, the largest in Colorado, is dense with galleries, restaurants, breweries, and shops, and the Arkansas River runs through the center of town. The local economy is driven by tourism, outdoor recreation, healthcare, and government employment. Housing in the area is expensive, with home values well above national and state benchmarks, and rents are also high relative to incomes. The district itself recently earned an “Accredited with Distinction” rating from the Colorado Department of Education, an improvement from the previous year that reflects a meaningful uptick in overall academic performance across its schools.
State testing results are available for Longfellow, since Colorado administers assessments in grades three and four. The school’s proficiency rates in both math and English language arts were strong, placing it above most other schools in Chaffee County when compared across tested subjects and grades. The participation rate on these tests was high, which adds confidence to the results. Because Longfellow serves only grades kindergarten through four, there is no graduation rate to report, and no chronic absenteeism data was available for comparison.
What this adds up to is an early-elementary school in a town that has cultivated a distinctive identity around the arts, the outdoors, and historic preservation. A parent looking at Longfellow is looking at a school where academic performance in the primary grades, as measured by state tests, is solidly above the local norm. The school has no charter or magnet designation, no special theme or program focus emerged from the available data. The district’s improved accreditation rating is a recent signal that may matter to families who value system-wide accountability. The housing market in Salida is expensive, so a family relocating for the school should plan for high entry costs. The town itself offers a walkable downtown, river access, and a steady flow of visitors and seasonal residents, giving it a livelier feel than many small mountain communities. For a family looking for a straightforward, academically solid elementary school in a town with a strong sense of place, Longfellow fits that description.
See more original research from School Decision →