Original Research by School Decision on Lt Eleazer Davis
Lt Eleazer Davis is one of two primary-level schools in the Bedford public school system, serving children from pre-kindergarten through second grade. This grade configuration means the school is the entry point for most families in town, and it shapes what a parent can expect here. There are no state test results to examine, because children in these early grades do not take the state assessments. That is not a gap in performance data; it is simply a function of the school’s grade band. A parent looking for academic metrics will not find them at this level.
The student body is a diverse mix that reflects Bedford’s broader population. White students make up just over half of the enrollment. Asian students represent the second largest group, at more than a fifth of the school. Black and Hispanic students each account for a modest share, and about one in ten students are of two or more races. The school has just over five hundred children enrolled, which is a sizable early elementary population for a single building. Enrollment by grade is fairly even across kindergarten through second grade, with a smaller pre-kindergarten program that serves around forty children.
What is not in the data is important to note. The school does not report its count of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, nor does it report the share of students with an individualized education plan or those who are English learners. Without these figures, a parent cannot see the school’s economic diversity or the intensity of its special education and language support needs from the available information. That may be worth following up on with the district.
The school sits in Bedford, a suburban town about fifteen miles northwest of Boston. The community blends residential neighborhoods with a significant technology and defense-oriented commercial sector. Major employers include Hanscom Air Force Base, the MITRE Corporation, Raytheon, and a U.S. Veterans Affairs hospital. The town has a strong business community with a chamber of commerce that draws from both local firms and global corporate headquarters. Conservation lands, rivers, and historic sites give the town a semi-rural New England texture despite its proximity to major highways.
Bedford’s housing market is expensive, consistent with its location in the Boston suburbs. Home values are well above the national benchmark. Rents are also high. The local market shows strong demand, with homes spending a short time on the market before going under contract. The school’s ZIP code reflects this high-cost environment. For a family considering a move to Bedford, the housing market is a central factor: the town’s schools are a draw, but the cost of entry is steep.
The town’s public schools are spread across separate campuses rather than clustered in a downtown. Lt Eleazer Davis sits on its own grounds, distinct from the upper elementary school for grades three through five, the middle school, and the high school. This distributed layout is typical for a suburban district. The town center contains the library, town hall, and historic sites, but school and civic life are not physically concentrated in one place.
Because Lt Eleazer Davis serves only the earliest elementary grades, a parent making decisions about this school is really making a decision about the start of a child’s pathway through the Bedford system. The school itself sets the foundation, but the full academic picture for the district only emerges in later grades where testing and graduation rates become available. For a family with a young child, the immediate environment is a school that brings together a racially diverse student body in a high-cost suburban town with a strong local economy. The missing data on economic status and special populations means a parent may want to ask the district directly about the school’s support resources and the socioeconomic range of its families.
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