The top reported proficiency rate is 87% in Math. The lowest is 65% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Clayton Ridge Elementary School
Clayton Ridge Elementary School is a regular public school in the small rural town of Garnavillo, Iowa, serving students from preschool through fifth grade. The school sits within the Clayton Ridge Community School District, a district formed years ago by the merger of the Guttenberg and Garnavillo school districts, meaning the elementary school is part of a multi-town governance structure.
Garnavillo itself is a very small incorporated town set on the Garnavillo Prairie, historically rich farmland in Clayton County. Its population has been essentially flat in recent years, and no major new housing developments or commercial expansion projects have been publicly reported. The local economy rests on a handful of employers, including an injection molding company, a feed mill, a sand mining company headquartered in town, and a dairy bar cafe. The town’s civic anchors are the public library and a historical society museum complex featuring a vintage brick church, a pioneer log cabin, and an old Lodge Hall. For a town of this size, distances between destinations are short, though no specific walkability scores were found. Housing values in the area sit near the state benchmark, and the 30-year fixed mortgage rate was trending around the national average at the time of this profile.
The elementary school enrolls roughly 300 students, with a student body that is predominantly white. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports.
State testing results for the most recent year show strong proficiency rates in both math and English language arts, with a large majority of students meeting the state’s proficiency criteria. Science proficiency is solid, though lower than the other two subjects, which is a pattern a parent may want to discuss with the school to understand how the science curriculum aligns with state expectations. Measured across tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency places it above the midpoint among the three districts in Clayton County for which this metric was available. Because this is a single year of data and no prior trend is yet available, these results should be taken as an initial snapshot rather than a directional trend.
No information was found on recent district-level changes, staffing ratios, discipline rates, chronic absenteeism, or course access. These gaps are common in smaller, rural districts and do not necessarily indicate a problem, but a parent looking for a fuller picture may wish to inquire directly. The school serves only elementary grades, so there is no graduation rate to report.
Who this school fits: families seeking a small, rural elementary setting within a stable, slow-growth town, where state test results are strong compared to nearby districts. Parents who want a close-knit school community and are comfortable with the limited local employment base and absence of major development may find this a good match. Those looking for extensive extracurricular programming or data on specialized student services should follow up with the school to see if those offerings meet their needs.
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