The top reported proficiency rate is 83% in Science. The lowest is 65% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Anne T. Dunphy School
Anne T. Dunphy School is a small regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in Williamsburg, a rural town in the western Massachusetts foothills. The school is the only elementary school in the Williamsburg district, meaning the town’s elementary-age children learn together in a single, tight-knit setting. The district itself has a strong accountability standing, classified as not requiring assistance or intervention and meeting or exceeding targets, with the school earning a high accountability percentile.
State test results from the most recent year show the school performs well. On the NextGen MCAS, a large majority of students scored proficient or above in mathematics, and an even larger share did so in science. In English language arts, about two-thirds of students were proficient. By a combined measure of proficiency across subjects, the school lands in the top quartile relative to other districts in Hampshire County. A parent looking at the trend lines over the years would see that math proficiency has risen noticeably from a lower baseline, while ELA proficiency has also climbed from past levels, settled for a few years, and then ticked up again most recently. The school is not a high school, so it has no graduation rate to report.
The student body is predominantly white, with a small number of Hispanic students and a single Asian student enrolled. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, on special education classification, and on English learner status were not available. The absence of this economic and special-population context means a parent who cares about those dynamics would need to ask the school directly for more detail. The school is not a charter, and its Title I status is not reported.
Williamsburg sits along Route 9 about a short drive southeast of Northampton. It is a quiet, low-density town with two small historic village centers, Williamsburg and Haydenville, where you find a general store, a market, a library, and the post office clustered together. The built environment features Greek Revival architecture, and both village centers are listed historic districts. The town’s population grew very slowly over the last decade and has since leveled off, suggesting a stable, slow-growth residential trajectory. No major new housing developments were identified in available records. Housing values in the area are well below the statewide benchmark but sit above the national median, and the typical home would require a substantial mortgage relative to income at current interest rates. Residential and commercial tax rates are the same, and the average single-family tax bill was publicly reported in the town’s fiscal data. The town functions as a bedroom community with limited employment on site; no major employers were identified in searches.
For support services and civic life, Meekins Library is open several days a week, and the town runs a transfer station and the standard municipal departments. Williamsburg is part of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, and its own website is the hub for town information.
A parent considering Anne T. Dunphy School is looking at a high-performing small elementary school in a stable, slow-growing rural town with a historic center. The school’s size means a child will likely know most classmates by name through the years. The strong test results and top-quartile county standing are a clear draw. At the same time, the lack of available data on economic diversity, special education, and English learner enrollment means you would want to talk with the school to understand how it serves a range of student needs. The district has no identified recent programmatic changes or curriculum shifts, so what you see now is likely what you would get for the next several years. For a family that values a well-regarded, small-town public elementary school with consistent academic performance, this is a credible match.
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