The top reported proficiency rate is 74% in Science. The lowest is 63% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Graham Elementary School
Graham Elementary School in Saint Paris, Ohio serves children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in a small rural-suburban village in Champaign County. The school is part of Graham Local School District, which has faced significant budget constraints that shape what families should expect when choosing this school.
The village itself is a blue-collar community with a compact downtown along Main and Springfield Streets, surrounded by farmland. Saint Paris is a stable but slowly growing place, with most residents owning their homes and a mix of small businesses, a hardware store, grocery, library, and restaurants clustered in the center. The area's largest employer is an automotive components manufacturer; the school district itself is another significant local employer. There is no public transportation for commuting, so families drive.
On academic performance, Graham Elementary's state testing results show moderate proficiency. In the most recent tested year, about seven out of ten students scored at proficient level or above in English language arts and math, with science slightly higher. These results place the school below the midpoint among the five comparable districts in Champaign County, according to the comparison of overall proficiency across tested subjects. The school does not have data from multiple recent years, so it is not possible to see whether performance is stable, improving, or declining. Science testing data comes from a smaller sample, as fewer students sit for that assessment at the elementary level.
The school serves a student body that is predominantly white and includes nearly half the students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, suggesting a working-class population. Enrollment is moderate for an elementary school across the grade band. The school is a regular public school with no special focus or charter designation.
A parent considering Graham Elementary should be aware of the district's substantial fiscal position. Graham Local voters have rejected three operating levies in succession (March 2024, November 2024, and May 2025) and have not passed a new operating levy for day-to-day expenses in years. In response, the district has made budget cuts exceeding a significant five-figure amount and cut over a dozen teaching positions within a short span. The district has discontinued the fifth-grade band program, reduced music offerings, and eliminated field trips and professional development funding. A Permanent Improvement Levy passed in 2023 continues to fund school buses and facility repair, so transportation and building maintenance remain supported, but classroom and support services have contracted.
These cuts affect class sizes, program breadth, and support services. A parent may want to look further into the district's current staffing levels, class size in specific grades at this school, and what enrichment and special services remain available. The housing market in the area is affordable relative to state and national medians, with home values moderately below the state benchmark, which may appeal to families stretching a budget, though the district's financial strain should factor into a family's long-term housing and education decisions for the child's entire K-12 pathway.
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