The top reported proficiency rate is 62% in Math. The lowest is 41% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lillian Parks Hussey School
Lillian Parks Hussey School sits on Gedney Street in Augusta, Maine's capital city, serving kindergarten through sixth grade as one of four neighborhood elementary schools in the Augusta Public Schools district. The school draws from a community where state government anchors the local economy, with the State House, state office buildings, and related agencies concentrated near the Kennebec River downtown. Health care, retail, and the University of Maine at Augusta round out the employment base. Residential life spreads across five distinct neighborhoods, including the historic west side north of the capitol complex and the east side across the river. The city is auto-oriented overall, with walkability largely limited to the immediate downtown core along the river.
Academic results from the most recent state assessments paint a solid picture in the core subjects. Math proficiency across grades three through eight landed well above the halfway mark, and English language arts performance was close behind. Participation was near universal in both subjects. Science results, drawn from a much smaller tested group, were lower, with fewer than half of tested students reaching proficiency. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly given the small number of students tested in science at this grade band. The school does not report average scale scores, so families looking for that layer of detail will not find it in the available data. No multi-year trend information was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability.
The student body is modest in size for a K-6 school, with enrollment distributed fairly evenly across the seven grade levels. A smaller portion of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals compared with what many public elementary schools see, suggesting a relatively working- and middle-class enrollment. The school is predominantly white, with small Hispanic, multiracial, Asian, Black, and American Indian or Alaska Native populations rounding out the roster. Data on individualized education programs and English learner status was not reported, so the available picture of special populations is incomplete. Because this is an elementary school serving no high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and that gap reflects the grade band rather than any missing performance.
The housing market around Hussey sits below both state and national benchmarks for typical home values, making the area relatively accessible for buyers compared with much of Maine. Rents have been rising modestly, while home values have dipped slightly year over year. The price-to-income ratio suggests that purchasing a home here is somewhat within reach for households earning near the area median, though current mortgage rates add pressure to monthly carrying costs. Augusta's growth trajectory is modest, with an aging population and limited rapid expansion. The city motto, "A Capital Opportunity," reflects its self-positioning more than any development boom.
A defining recent event for Augusta Public Schools was the 2024 consolidation referendum. Voters were asked three separate times to approve merging the district's four elementary schools into two buildings, and the question failed each time. For Hussey families, this means the current neighborhood school structure remains intact, preserving the community identity and assignment patterns that come with a standalone building. The district budget passed in the same cycle, keeping funding steady for ongoing operations.
What the data does not cover is also worth naming. No information was available on program offerings, staffing ratios, attendance patterns, discipline, course access, or Title I status. The locale and governance details were partially reported but thin. Civil rights data was absent. Families considering Hussey will want to supplement this profile with direct conversations at the school, especially around special education services, English learner support, and any enrichment or intervention programs that the available data does not capture.
See more original research from School Decision →