The top reported proficiency rate is 44% in Math. The lowest is 38% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Zitzman Elem.
Zitzman Elementary serves kindergarten through fourth grade in Pacific, a small city that straddles Franklin and St. Louis counties about a half-hour drive southwest of St. Louis. The town sits along Historic Route 66 with Interstate 44 cutting through its northern side, and has a mix of residential neighborhoods and commercial activity oriented around the Osage Street corridor. Railroads run through the community, reflecting its origins as a railroad stop. The Meramec River runs along the south side of the city, and St. Peter Sandstone bluffs line the north. The Missouri Eastern Correctional Center, a state prison, sits just east of the city limits.
Zitzman Elementary is part of the Meramec Valley R-III School District, which serves Pacific and the surrounding communities of Catawissa, Robertsville, Gray Summit, and Villa Ridge. The school building itself occupies a former Nike Base barracks that the district repurposed for an elementary school. In April 2024, voters approved a general obligation bond for capital improvements across the district, with funding for safety and security upgrades, roof repairs, HVAC work, classroom and lab renovations, and athletic facility improvements. The bond was structured to not increase the property tax rate, so families within the district will see facility upgrades without a tax increase.
The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. It serves roughly three hundred students, making it a modest-sized elementary school. About nine out of ten students are white, which is not unusual for this part of Franklin County. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the support structures in place for those populations.
On the Missouri Assessment Program, results are mixed. In third-grade math, about two-fifths of students scored proficient or above. Fourth-grade math came in higher, with roughly half of students reaching that benchmark. English language arts results were lower. In third grade, two-fifths of students scored proficient or above, and in fourth grade, just over a third did. Science results from the 2018-19 school year, before a cut-score change, showed about two-fifths of fifth graders at proficiency, though the state now tests science in fifth grade and this school goes only through fourth, so that data is from an older configuration and may not reflect current curriculum. Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places Zitzman below the midpoint among the districts in Franklin County. A parent looking for a school with strong state test results may want to look into this further with the school and understand what academic supports are in place.
Because Zitzman serves only kindergarten through fourth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. The school does not serve high school students, so measures like college readiness, dual credit, and AP course access are not applicable at this level. No data was available on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, staffing ratios, or course access beyond what is typical for an elementary school. A parent may want to ask about class sizes and enrichment offerings such as art, music, and physical education, which are common in primary grades but are not detailed in the available data.
The housing market in the area shows home values near the national median, with modest year-over-year appreciation. Unemployment has remained stable at modest levels. The area has seen modest population growth in recent years. Families moving to Pacific for the school should know the district's other elementary schools feed into middle and high schools in the Meramec Valley system, so the K-12 pathway continues beyond Zitzman. The town itself is automobile-oriented, with Interstate 44 as the primary highway artery and state highways connecting to surrounding communities. Walkability details for the school's immediate neighborhood were not available.
For a parent considering Zitzman Elementary, the picture is of a small, predominantly white school in a commuter-oriented town near the Ozarks, with district-wide facility improvements on the way. The academic results on state tests are uneven, and the school sits below the midpoint on overall proficiency compared to other districts in Franklin County. A family that values a tight-knit elementary setting and a district investing in its buildings may find it a good fit. A family prioritizing high state test scores may want to ask more questions about curriculum and intervention strategies.
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