The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in English language arts. The lowest is 40% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Brownville Elementary School
Brownville Elementary School sits on Main Road in the small town of Brownville, in Piscataquis County. It is part of RSU 41/MSAD 41 and serves only two grades, third and fourth, making it a narrow slice of the elementary pipeline rather than a full pre-K-through-five building. Families here are sending their children into a small, early-grade setting where the school's whole focus is those transitional years between primary and upper elementary.
The school is very small, with roughly equal numbers of students in each of its two grades. Its student body is almost entirely white, and an overwhelming share of children qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The economic picture is consistent with what the surrounding community looks like. Brownville sits in one of the more affordable corners of Maine. Home values in the school's zip code run well below both the state and national benchmarks, and the price-to-income ratio sits in a range that makes ownership comparatively attainable for working households. Rental data was not available, so a fuller picture of the local rental market is not possible from what was provided.
On the Maine Through Year Assessment, the school's results land in a middling range. In English language arts, roughly half the tested students reached proficiency, which is a stronger showing than the school's math results, where a smaller portion cleared that bar. Participation was strong, with nearly all eligible students sitting for the assessment. The data source reports results across grades three through eight at the school level, but since Brownville only serves grades three and four, these results reflect just those two cohorts. No multi-year trend data was available, so there is no way to compare this year's performance against prior years or judge whether the school is moving in a particular direction.
Several pieces of information that parents often look for were missing from the available data. There were no reported figures for special education enrollment or English learner counts. No staffing data was provided, so class sizes, teacher experience, and specialist availability are not visible here. No civil rights or discipline data was included. Program offerings, course access, and attendance information were also absent. A parent considering this school would want to ask the district directly about those areas.
No locale brief was available for Brownville itself, so there is little to draw on regarding the town's character, nearby amenities, or broader community context beyond the housing data. The district brief turned up little of lasting impact in recent searches for RSU 41/MSAD 41, so there are no major strategic shifts or building changes to flag.
What the data does convey is a small, two-grade rural school serving an economically disadvantaged population in an affordable housing market. Its ELA results are the relative bright spot, with math sitting further back. For families in the Brownville area, the school's narrow grade band means a child will spend a short window here before moving on to another building in the district for fifth grade and beyond. Understanding how that transition works, and what the next school in RSU 41 looks like, would be a natural next step for any parent weighing this option.
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