The top reported proficiency rate is 91% in Social studies. The lowest is 85% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Kirtland Elementary School
Kirtland Elementary School is a small, primarily white school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade in a residential community roughly 25 miles east of downtown Cleveland. The school enrolls a modest number of students spread across seven grade bands, with a low share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the broader character of Kirtland as an established, affluent suburb with large wooded lots and a median home value well above state and national benchmarks.
The school's academic performance is solid across the board. In the most recent state testing year, proficiency rates in math and English language arts both exceeded four-fifths of students, while science proficiency stood somewhat lower but still above four-fifths. When compared against the 13 districts in Lake County, Kirtland Elementary ranks in the top quartile for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades, a meaningful position among its county peers.
Kirtland sits in a community that has invested steadily in its schools. In 2023, district voters renewed a property tax levy, signaling sustained community support for school funding through the early 2030s. A second, emergency operating levy came up for renewal in 2024. The district is classified by Ohio as "high-wealth," which means it receives less state per-pupil funding than the statewide average, making these local renewals essential to sustaining the current scope of programs, staffing, and services—classroom instruction, nurses, counselors, media specialists, extracurriculars, safety, security, and transportation.
The school's student body is predominantly white, with very small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Data on special education enrollment and English learner status were not available. The school serves grades PK–5, so state testing applies only to grades three through five; science testing applies to a smaller portion of that range, which explains why the science sample size is noticeably smaller than math and English language arts.
Kirtland itself is a slow-growing, car-dependent community anchored by parks, forest preserves, and historic sites rather than a commercial downtown. Lakeland Community College occupies a large campus on the city's northern edge. Most residents commute to employment centers in surrounding Lake County or Cleveland. The town is beginning limited new residential development in the form of a mixed-use town center project, but growth remains constrained by the community's established character and limited commercial footprint. For families considering a move, the combination of strong test results, low free-and-reduced-lunch rates, a property-tax-supported operating model, and a leafy, estate-oriented residential setting defines this school and district.
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