The top reported proficiency rate is 61% in English language arts. The lowest is 45% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Sherwood Heights Elementary Sch
Sherwood Heights Elementary sits on Sherwood Drive in Auburn, one of the elementary schools in the Auburn Public Schools district. It serves pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, a span that gives families a single building for most of a child's early and elementary years. The enrollment is moderate for an elementary school in this part of Maine, with relatively even distribution across the grades and a small pre-kindergarten cohort.
The student body is predominantly white, with smaller groups of Black, Hispanic, multiracial, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places Sherwood Heights among the schools in the region serving a higher share of economically disadvantaged families. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not reported, so those figures are not available here. A parent wanting to understand special-population services may want to ask the school directly.
On state assessments, Sherwood Heights shows a clear split between reading and math. In English language arts, a solid majority of tested students in grades three through eight reached proficiency, a result that stands as a genuine strength. Math proficiency was lower, with fewer than half of tested students meeting the state bar. Every tested student participated, so the results reflect the full eligible cohort rather than a partial sample. Science results were suppressed, likely because the tested group in the grades where science is assessed was small enough that the state withheld the figure to protect student privacy; this is common for elementary schools and should not be read as a missing or weak result. Average scale scores were not available for any subject. No multi-year trend data was provided, so it is not possible to say from this data whether proficiency is rising or falling.
Auburn itself is a mid-sized city and the county seat of Androscoggin County, paired with Lewiston across the Androscoggin River to form the Lewiston-Auburn metro area. The city mixes residential neighborhoods, commercial strips around the Auburn Mall, and institutional anchors such as Central Maine Community College and the Good Shepherd Food Bank's main warehouse. Its history as a shoe-manufacturing mill town is well documented; the largest factories closed over the latter decades of the twentieth century, and the local economy has diversified since. Neighborhoods including Danville, East Auburn, New Auburn, North Auburn, Stevens Mill, Littlefield Corner, and Marston Corner give the city a spread-out, varied feel. A portion of households include children under eighteen, so the school system serves a family population that is present but not dominant.
Housing in the school's zip code is relatively affordable compared with state and national benchmarks. The typical home value sits below the Maine statewide figure and below the national figure, and rents are similarly modest. With current mortgage rates, the estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home runs somewhat higher than typical rent, which means renting may remain the more accessible option for many families in this attendance area. Home values have been rising only slightly year over year, and rents have crept up at a comparable pace.
The broader district context matters for any family considering Sherwood Heights. In November 2024, Auburn voters approved two school bond measures, one covering a new boiler system plus security and accessibility upgrades across district buildings, and another to renovate the transition program building at Edward Little High School. These are lasting infrastructure investments that will affect school conditions district-wide for years. The school committee also approved a budget for the 2024-25 year that represented an increase over the prior year, shaping staffing and class sizes across the district's schools. District officials have publicly discussed the possibility of consolidating elementary schools as part of long-term facilities planning, a conversation that could eventually reshape school assignments and feeder patterns. For a family choosing Sherwood Heights today, that consolidation discussion is worth watching, since it could affect which building a child attends in coming years.
Taken together, Sherwood Heights is a mid-sized elementary school serving an economically diverse student population in an affordable, mid-sized Maine city. Its reading results are a strength. Its math results are a soft spot that a parent may want to look into further with the school, asking what interventions or curricular supports are in place. The pre-kindergarten-through-sixth-grade span is a practical draw for families who want continuity, and the district's recent infrastructure investments suggest attention to building conditions across Auburn.
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