The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Cler-mont Elem.
Clermont Elementary serves kindergarten through fourth grade in Independence, part of the Fort Osage R-I district. As a regular public school, it does not have a charter or magnet designation. The school is located on US 24 Highway on the eastern side of the city, where the urban fabric of Independence begins to give way to a more rural landscape. Independence itself is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro, a sprawling city of roughly 78 square miles that mixes historic homes near its downtown core with newer subdivisions and commercial strips. The Fort Osage district, while overlapping with parts of Independence, operates as its own entity.
Clermont’s enrollment is modest for a primary school, serving children in kindergarten through fourth grade. The student body reflects a community where a little over half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Racially, the school is predominantly white, with a notable share of Hispanic students and smaller numbers of Black, multiracial, and other groups. Because the school does not serve tested grades beyond fourth, the most recent state assessment results cover only third and fourth graders in math and English language arts. In both subjects and both grade levels, the portion of students scoring proficient or advanced was below the midpoint of the overall range when compared against all tested schools in the county. Third-grade math and English proficiency rates were in the low 30th percentile range, while fourth-grade rates were somewhat higher, reaching the 40th percentile in both subjects. The school’s overall proficiency index across all tested grades and subjects sits above the median for districts in Jackson County, placing it in the middle of the pack among the 32 districts in the county for which data was available. That comparison set, the county’s districts, is the relevant benchmark here.
A parent considering Clermont should note what is not available. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, and staffing ratios was not reported in the available records. The district’s own recent history, as captured in a brief review, shows no major referendums, boundary changes, or curriculum shifts of lasting parent impact in the last several years, though this kind of information can sometimes be lightly reported at the district level. Without information on the share of students receiving special education services or English learner support, it is not possible to assess how the school serves those populations, a gap a parent may want to investigate directly with the school.
The housing market in the school’s ZIP code shows values that are below the state average, consistent with this part of the Kansas City metro where home prices are more attainable than in many closer-in suburbs. Rents are also below state norms. For a family, this means that moving into the Clermont attendance zone may offer more affordable entry into the region than other parts of Jackson County. The school itself, as a small-to-mid-sized elementary, provides a setting where children stay through fourth grade before moving on to a different campus. Independence’s parks system, historic downtown, and proximity to Kansas City’s job centers and amenities are part of the broader living context, though the school’s location on the city’s eastern edge means a car is likely necessary for most errands and activities.
In sum, Clermont Elementary is a regular public primary school serving a moderately low-income population in a sprawling suburban city east of Kansas City. Academic proficiency, based on the most recent testing, is around the middle of the pack among Jackson County districts, with fourth-grade results somewhat stronger than third-grade ones. The school does not serve grades that produce a graduation rate, and several common data points about discipline, attendance, and staffing were absent from the available record. For a family looking at this area, the school presents a typical neighborhood option where the broader housing market offers relatively moderate costs compared to the region, and where an inquiry about student support services and school climate would be a reasonable next step before deciding.
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