The top reported proficiency rate is 42% in English language arts. The lowest is 25% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Troy Elementary School
Troy Elementary School sits in a small, rural New Hampshire town at the base of Mount Monadnock, serving children from kindergarten through sixth grade. It is a regular public school and one of the member schools of the Monadnock Regional School District, a cooperative district spanning seven towns. After sixth grade, students move on to Monadnock Regional Middle-High School in the neighboring town of Swanzey. The school itself is small, with roughly a dozen or so students per grade level, which means children learn in intimate cohorts where staff can know every child by name.
The town of Troy is quiet and self-contained. A traditional New England village common along Route 12 forms its civic heart, with the historic town hall and the Gay-Kimball Public Library nearby. The former Troy Mills complex, once the economic backbone of the community, closed years ago and is now being renovated into affordable apartments. Local employers are few, and many residents commute to Keene for work and services, including the nearest hospital. The town has seen very slow population growth over decades, and the housing market, while more affordable than the state as a whole, has been climbing. Home values sit below the New Hampshire benchmark but have risen at a brisk pace recently, and mortgage costs reflect the prevailing rate environment. For a family considering a move here, housing is relatively accessible by New Hampshire standards, though options are limited in a town this size.
Academically, the most recent state assessment results paint a mixed picture. English language arts results are the stronger area, with a meaningful share of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders reaching proficiency. Math results are lower across the tested grades, with fewer students demonstrating proficiency, and the pattern is consistent from fourth through sixth grade. Science, tested only in fifth grade, landed in a similar range to math. Participation was strong on nearly every assessment. Grade three results were suppressed, reflecting the very small number of tested students in that grade, which is common in schools with cohorts this small and should not be read as a missing or weak result.
A parent looking at these scores may want to ask the school how it supports math instruction and what interventions are in place for students who are not yet proficient. The school's size means each cohort is tiny, so results can swing from year to year based on just a few children. This is the nature of a small school, not a defect, but it does make year-to-year comparisons less stable than they would be in a larger building.
The student body is predominantly white, with a small number of children from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Nearly half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which points to a working-class community with real economic needs. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available, so those populations could not be characterized here. The school does not have a charter or magnet designation, and no Title I status was reported in the data provided.
The broader district context is relevant for any family thinking about long-term stability. Monadnock Regional has been growing its budget, with voter-approved increases that affect property taxes across all member towns, including Troy. The district recently adopted a three-year strategic plan centered on proficiency-based learning, social-emotional wellbeing, STEAM integration, facilities improvements, and community engagement. Proficiency-based learning is changing how students are assessed, moving away from traditional grading toward competency demonstration. At the same time, Troy voters have at times rejected teachers' contracts that other member towns approved, and because the cooperative agreement requires all towns to sign off, this has created uncertainty around staff compensation and retention. That tension is worth watching, as it could affect the quality and continuity of teaching staff over time.
For a family drawn to a small-town setting with outdoor recreation nearby, a close-knit school environment, and housing that is more attainable than much of New Hampshire, Troy Elementary offers a quiet, community-rooted starting point. The academic results suggest real attention is needed in math, and the district's budget and labor dynamics are something to monitor. But the small cohorts, the rural character, and the village-centered community are genuine qualities that some families will find appealing.
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