The top reported proficiency rate is 100% in Social studies. The lowest is 86% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Kalida Elementary School
Kalida Elementary School serves kindergarten through fourth grade in a small, tight-knit village in rural northwestern Ohio. The school sits one block from downtown on North Fourth Street, woven into the same civic cluster as the district office, high school, library, and village parks, giving it a deeply local character.
The school is small, with an enrollment spread across the five grade bands. The student body is predominantly white, with a very low free-or-reduced-price lunch rate, reflecting a community of homeowners with stable blue-collar and professional employment, centered on local agricultural equipment manufacturing, school operations, and small retail. The locality itself shows essentially flat population growth; what development occurs tends to be infill and modest new construction rather than rapid expansion.
On state testing, Kalida Elementary's most recent results from the 2024-25 school year show solid performance. In English language arts, students achieved proficiency at a rate well above the midpoint among Putnam County districts, placing the school in the top quartile. Mathematics proficiency was somewhat lower but still respectable. Science testing data is older, from 2015-16, but showed high proficiency. Social studies results from 2016-17 were perfect. Across tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile of county districts.
State testing results capture only grades three through four at the elementary level; kindergarten through second grade are not tested, so readers see no data for those grades. This reflects state policy, not a gap in the school's offerings.
The school participates fully in state assessments, with near-universal participation rates, and all students tested received regular, standard assessments rather than alternative formats. No data was available on the school's special education population, English learner enrollment, chronic absenteeism, or discipline patterns, so a parent seeking that detail would want to contact the school directly.
The broader district made a concrete financial move in early 2024, paying off the elementary school building bond years ahead of schedule. This decision produced a property tax reduction for residents beginning in 2025, lowering the operating cost of homeownership in the district. In November 2024, the district asked voters to renew its operating levy, continuing the ongoing source of funding for day-to-day school operations; understanding the tax environment matters if you are considering a move to the area.
Homes in the village and district are more affordable than the state and national benchmarks, with housing values modestly above state average. Mortgage affordability relative to local income sits at a reasonable ratio. The area's economic context shows a stable labor market, though housing costs relative to income suggest that families will feel a mortgage payment proportionally but are not priced out of the market. The district has been stable and well-managed, with no recent operational upheaval in the public record.
Kalida Elementary is a small-town elementary school serving a close-knit, economically stable, predominantly white community where most families own their homes. It performs solidly on the tests the state measures. It offers the standard elementary curriculum in a setting integrated into village life rather than isolated on a separate campus. What it provides is a local, familiar foundation for early grades, consistent with the village's character as a place where school, home, and civic life overlap. Parents seeking a large school with diverse enrollment or specialized magnet programs would look elsewhere; those comfortable in a village setting where schools and community are interwoven, and who value strong proficiency and low operating costs, may find this a good fit.
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