The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in Math. The lowest is 14% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Townsend Elem.
Townsend Elementary sits in Florissant, a St. Louis County suburb, and serves students from prekindergarten through grade five as part of the Hazelwood School District. The surrounding housing market has been typical for the area, with home values and rents near the middle of the range for the broader region and a county-level inventory of homes for sale that has been moderate. For families deciding where to buy or rent, this is a well-established suburban corridor with many post-war and later single-family homes.
The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Enrollment is in the mid-range for an elementary building, drawing a student body that is overwhelmingly African American. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker that the school serves a community with concentrated economic need. State-reported special education and English learner counts were not provided in the data, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those programs and the level of support available.
Academically, Townsend Elementary’s results on the Missouri Assessment Program are well below the midpoint among districts in St. Louis County when measured by overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. In math, the share of students reaching proficiency was very low at each tested grade level, and it declined as students got older. In English language arts, proficiency was also low across grades three through five. In fifth-grade science, the share of students scoring proficient was similarly low. These are the most recent results available, and they paint a consistent picture: a large majority of Townsend students are not yet meeting state benchmarks in core subjects. A parent considering this school should look into what academic intervention and support programs are in place, how the school uses its resources to address these gaps, and what the trajectory looks like for students who need to catch up.
Because Townsend serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The school environment and access data, including discipline rates and attendance, were not available in the information provided, so there is no basis to describe those dimensions.
The Hazelwood district has made some recent moves that are publicly reported and relevant for families. The district adopted a multiyear strategic plan with five stated goals: improving student achievement, differentiating resources and services for students, enhancing professional growth, maintaining fiscal responsibility, and increasing parent and community involvement. This plan is the district’s current road map and will shape what happens at the building level. The district has also expanded pre-K programs to all elementary schools, meaning Townsend families with younger children can enroll in early childhood education on site rather than traveling to a separate center. And there is now a virtual elementary program, a permanent option for families who prefer online instruction for their children.
For a parent or resident reading this, the central fact is that Townsend Elementary is located in a district that has stated ambitions for improvement and has added some program flexibility, but the school’s own academic results show a high hurdle. Children who attend are likely to be in a high-poverty peer environment, and the data suggest that the school has not yet been able to move most students to proficiency. A family that wants strong academic outcomes on the standard state tests will need to look closely at whether the school’s intervention strategies, or the district’s larger plan, are producing changes. The school’s website or a direct conversation with the principal would be the logical next step for any family weighing this building.
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