The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in Math. The lowest is 33% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Fairwood Elementary School
Fairwood Elementary School is a public school serving prekindergarten through sixth grade in Hamilton, Ohio. The school has an enrollment spread across eight grades, with roughly balanced cohorts in the upper elementary years.
The student body is diverse. White and Hispanic students each represent a substantial share of enrollment, with smaller populations of Black students, students of two or more races, Asian students, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. Free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility data was not available, so a parent cannot assess economic need from that metric using this data alone.
On Ohio's State Tests in 2024-25, Fairwood's performance in tested grades (3 through 8) shows proficiency rates in the range of the lower-to-mid forties across math and English language arts, with science proficiency slightly lower. All students participated in the assessments. Science was tested for a smaller subset of the grade band. On a proficiency index that averages across all tested subjects and grades, Fairwood ranks in the bottom quartile relative to the other districts in Butler County. A parent may want to look into the school's instructional approaches, any recent changes in staffing or resources, and what support services are available for students below proficiency level. Social studies data from 2016-17 showed performance in the low-to-mid forties for fourth grade and substantially lower for sixth grade; those results are now several years old and do not reflect current instruction.
The housing market in the 45011 zip code is stable and modest. Home values are close to the state benchmark and slightly above the national median, with year-over-year appreciation in the low single digits. Rental costs have risen modestly as well. Mortgage payments and rental payments both represent reasonable shares of household income for families in the area, suggesting accessible housing for working families.
Hamilton itself is a historic manufacturing city along the Great Miami River, organized around a walkable downtown core with loft apartments, restaurants, and shops concentrated on High Street and in German Village, plus neighborhood areas spreading outward. The city is in an active revitalization phase, with downtown investment supporting adaptive reuse of former industrial buildings into apartments and mixed-use spaces. Major employers range from manufacturing (ThyssenKrupp Bilstein) to healthcare and customer service centers, and public transit connects to Cincinnati. Daily life centers around downtown amenities, the river, and the Lane Public Library.
A significant change is coming to the district. Hamilton City Schools has announced that Fairwood Elementary will close, effective in coming months, as part of a broader restructuring driven by a multi-year fiscal crisis. The district is eliminating a substantial number of positions, consolidating the high school's freshman campus with the main high school building, outsourcing preschool services, and outsourcing nursing. These changes reflect a structural budget shortfall tied to Ohio's recent state funding formula changes and property tax reforms; the district has not passed a new operating levy in more than three decades and does not plan to seek one now. For families, this means Fairwood students will be reassigned to another elementary building, and the district's service offerings and class sizes will shift. A parent considering this school should confirm current enrollment status and planned closure timelines directly with the district and should factor in the larger district context when making school decisions.
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