The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in Science. The lowest is 42% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Simla Elementary School
Simla Elementary School is a regular public school in the Big Sandy School District No. 100J, serving preschool through fifth grade in the small town of Simla, Colorado. The school sits in a rural stretch of Elbert County on the high plains, roughly an hour’s drive east of Colorado Springs. This is a community that has seen a modest population decline in recent decades, and the town’s character is that of a small high-plains railroad and highway settlement rather than a fast-growing suburb. Housing values in the area are below the state average, making it a comparatively affordable part of Colorado’s Front Range region.
The student body is small, reflecting the size of the community it serves. The enrollment composition is predominantly white, with a Hispanic share of roughly one in every eight students, along with a very small number of Asian students and students of two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker that the school serves a population with above-average economic need for the region.
On state assessments, Simla Elementary’s results present an uneven picture. In math and English language arts, proficiency rates among tested students in grades three through five land at a level that a parent may want to look into further with the school. The rates are below what many families would consider strong performance relative to state expectations. In science, the single grade tested, fifth grade, shows a higher proficiency rate. The school’s overall proficiency index across tested subjects, a combined measure, places it in the top quartile relative to the other districts in Elbert County. That means that when compared with its immediate rural neighbors, the school performs well, even though the raw numbers may give a parent outside the county pause.
Because Simla Elementary serves only primary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and no chronic absenteeism data was available. The school posted a complete participation rate on the state tests, so the results reflect nearly all enrolled students in the tested grades.
The school is not a charter or magnet school, and data on whether it receives Title I funding was not provided. Information on course offerings, staffing ratios, and discipline was also absent from the available records, so a parent looking for details on class size or enrichment programs would need to reach out to the school directly.
The district that operates the school, Big Sandy School District No. 100J, did not show evidence of recent significant changes such as curriculum overhauls, boundary shifts, or tax referendums. The district profile is stable, with no parent-facing developments flagged in public records.
Simla Elementary is a school that fits a family seeking a small, rural elementary experience in a town that is affordable and quiet, with a peer group drawn from the local community. The academic performance on state tests is mixed, with stronger results in science and a relative standing that is strong within the county but modest against broader state benchmarks. A parent considering this school would want to understand what supports are in place for students who are not yet meeting proficiency in reading and math, and what enrichment is available given the small size of the building. The school’s role as a civic anchor in a town that has not seen growth pressure means it offers a stable, familiar setting rather than one defined by change or expansion.
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