The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in Math. The lowest is 32% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Stratton Elementary School
Stratton Elementary School serves the youngest students in the small, tightly knit agricultural community of Stratton on Colorado’s eastern plains. The town itself is a quiet farming and ranching hub where the local CO-OP operates several businesses, the school district is a major employer, and civic life clusters around a park, a pool, an activity building, and several churches. The elementary school, part of Stratton School District R-4, sits integrated within the town’s compact footprint rather than on a separate campus. For a family considering this community, the school is the academic starting point for children from prekindergarten through fifth grade before they move on to the district’s middle and high school.
The school is small, and its student body is predominantly white, with a sizable Hispanic population. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic reality of the rural plains. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent with a child who has an individual education plan or is learning English would want to ask the school directly what supports are in place.
Academically, state testing results from the Colorado Measures of Academic Success place overall proficiency across math and English language arts at a level that, while below statewide averages, ranks in the top quartile relative to other districts in Kit Carson County. In math, roughly a third of students scored at the proficient or advanced level. In English language arts, the share was similar. Science results for fifth graders were not reported, likely due to a small testing cohort that triggered data suppression, so no picture of science performance is available from this testing cycle. The school’s overall proficiency index sits at the higher end of the small set of county districts, though the county itself is rural with modest attainment levels overall. A parent should recognize that these scores describe performance relative to a narrow local comparison, not against the state as a whole.
No data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, or course access was available for this school. Those are gaps a prospective parent may want to fill by visiting or speaking with the principal. The district appears stable, with no major recent changes documented in publicly available sources. The superintendent and board may be reachable for questions about class sizes, enrichment offerings, or any new initiatives.
Housing in Stratton is affordable by Colorado standards. The typical home value is well below the state median, and the national price-to-income ratio suggests that homeownership is within reach for many households. That makes the town an option for families who want a lower-cost base in a rural setting, though the trade-off is distance from larger job centers and amenities. Burlington, about a short drive east, offers more services and employment.
This school fits a family looking for a small, community-rooted elementary experience in a quiet agricultural town where the school is one of the central institutions. The academic results are modest but are among the stronger ones in the immediate county, and the setting offers a close-knit environment where the same children will move together through the district’s secondary schools. For a family weighing a move to eastern Colorado, Stratton Elementary is worth a visit to see if its scale and rural character match what they want.
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