Original Research by School Decision on Silverton Elementary School
Silverton Elementary School is the sole public elementary school in Silverton, a tiny former mining town tucked into the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado. The school serves prekindergarten through fifth grade and sits within the Silverton School District No. 1, which covers the entire county. The town itself is a National Historic Landmark District, with a downtown core of preserved Victorian-era buildings, no chain stores or fast-food outlets, and an economy that shifts sharply with the seasons. Summer brings crowds of tourists via the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and the Million Dollar Highway; winter is quieter, drawing backcountry skiers to Silverton Mountain. The year-round residential community is small and includes outdoor enthusiasts and remote workers, and the town has been actively working to attract families.
Enrollment at Silverton Elementary is very small for a public elementary school. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population and a very small number of Native American and multiracial students. More than half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a significant share of families face economic pressures despite the town’s picturesque setting.
State testing results for the most recent year are not available. Colorado’s standardized assessments in math, English language arts, and science were administered, but the number of students tested was so low that the state suppressed all proficiency rates to protect individual privacy. Participation rates were also low — a modest share of enrolled students took the tests — so even if the data were reported, it would not represent the full grade level. This is a common situation in very small schools, but a parent considering this school may want to ask the principal or district for local classroom-level information about academic progress. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate.
We looked for program offerings such as special education services, English learner supports, or enrichment activities, but that information was not provided. Civil rights data, including discipline rates and access to courses, was also absent from the available records.
Housing in the Silverton area is expensive relative to national norms, with home values that have risen in recent years. Rents are also high. The town became the first jurisdiction in Colorado to meet state affordable housing goals under a recent ballot measure, and a new townhome project broke ground in recent years. Still, developable land is extremely limited, and housing availability remains a concern for families.
The district itself has not reported any recent major changes, such as boundary shifts, leadership turnover, or new academic initiatives, that would be directly relevant to a parent. The school’s setting within a compact town means that civic institutions, including the school, are within walking distance of the downtown grid for those living in town.
Silverton Elementary fits a family looking for an exceptionally small, community-focused school in a remote mountain town with a strong outdoor-recreation identity. The suppressed testing data and low participation rates mean that state-level academic comparisons are not possible; a parent would need to rely on direct conversations with staff and their own sense of the school’s day-to-day instructional environment. The combination of a high-cost housing market, a seasonal tourist economy, and a very small student population make this a distinctive choice that is not comparable to most other elementary schools in the state.
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