The top reported proficiency rate is 49% in Science. The lowest is 35% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Clyde F Brown
Clyde F Brown is the public elementary school for Millis, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and sits in a town that describes itself as primarily suburban residential with rural pockets on its outskirts. Once an industrial town, Millis has transitioned into a commuter community where daily life revolves around the intersection of the two main routes and where residents often access rail transit to Boston from neighboring towns. The school shares the educational landscape with a combined middle and high school elsewhere in town.
Academically, the most recent state testing data places Clyde F Brown in a challenging position relative to other districts in Norfolk County. On a composite measure of proficiency across math, English language arts, and science, the school sits below the midpoint when stacked against the county’s districts. Math test results show that a substantial minority of students met the state’s proficient or above benchmark. In English language arts, the share reaching that threshold was smaller. Science, which is tested in a single elementary grade, showed a somewhat larger portion of students scoring proficient or above. The school had full participation in testing, so the results reflect nearly all enrolled students.
Looking back over a longer arc, proficiency rates in both math and ELA have moved downward from higher levels in the years before the pandemic. In math, the share of students scoring proficient was higher in the late 2010s than it has been more recently. The decline has been more pronounced in ELA, where the proficient share has dropped noticeably from pre-pandemic levels. The trend line in both subjects has drifted lower over the past several years, and families considering the school may want to discuss with school leadership what strategies are in place to support academic recovery and growth, particularly in reading and writing.
The student body is enrolled across seven grades, from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, and the total number of students places it as a mid-sized elementary school for its grade span. Racially and ethnically, the school is predominantly white. Hispanic students make up the next largest group, followed by smaller numbers of students who are Asian, two or more races, Black, and American Indian or Alaska Native. Data on economic disadvantage—how many students qualify for free or reduced-price meals—was not available, nor was the share of students with disabilities or English learners. That information is often released separately, and a parent might want to ask the school directly about the level of support services offered, especially if their child has special needs.
Millis itself appears to be a place of steady suburban growth. Publicly reported information indicates the population has risen over recent decades, and a very large share of housing is owner-occupied. The median home value in the town’s ZIP code is high, and the broader Norfolk County market shows homes spending about a month on the market, a sign of continued demand. The town’s civic anchors include the public library and the Charles River, and local employers include a sand and gravel company and a supermarket. No recent district-level changes—such as budget shifts, boundary adjustments, or program additions—were found in a search, so it appears the elementary school operates in a stable district environment.
For a family, Clyde F Brown offers a traditional elementary school experience in a suburban setting with a student body that is not economically diverse by many measures, though the absence of specific poverty data makes that hard to confirm. The academic picture is one of declining proficiency over time, and the school is below average for its county, a signal that the academic program may be under strain. Families who place a high priority on strong test performance in the early grades will want to dig deeper into what interventions or curriculum changes are underway. Others may find the school’s small-community feel and the Millis context—quiet, residential, with access to Boston by car or nearby rail—a good fit regardless of the current metrics. The school’s staff and administration would be the natural next stop for any family weighing enrollment.
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