The top reported proficiency rate is 25% in English language arts. The lowest is 16% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Winsor Hill School
Winsor Hill School sits on Theresa Street in Johnston, a suburban Providence County town where residential subdivisions and commercial strips stretch along arterial roads like Hartford Avenue and Plainfield Pike. The school serves grades one through five and is one of four elementary schools in the Johnston district. With an enrollment in the upper three hundreds, it is a mid-sized elementary building for its grade band. Just over half of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which points to a working-class to middle-class community mix. The racial and ethnic composition leans white, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller Black and Asian groups rounding out the student body. The school's data did not include counts for students with individualized education programs or English learners, so those figures are absent from this account rather than implying they are unimportant.
On Rhode Island's state assessments, the RICAS, Winsor Hill's results were low across all three tested subjects in the most recent year. Math proficiency fell well below what the state would consider middle-of-the-pack, with roughly a quarter of tested students reaching proficiency in English language arts and a smaller share clearing that bar in math. Fifth-grade science proficiency, measured by the NGSA, was lower still. Participation was essentially universal across all subjects, which means the results reflect nearly the entire student body rather than a skewed subset. Only a single year of assessment data was available, so there is no trend line to show whether these numbers are improving, holding steady, or declining. A parent considering this school may want to ask the administration directly about how instruction is responding to these results and what supports are in place for students working below grade level.
Because Winsor Hill is an elementary school serving grades one through five, there is no graduation rate, no AP or dual-credit coursework, and no career-pathway data to report. Those measures simply do not apply to this grade band. The school's profile did not include information about specialized programs, extracurricular offerings, arts or music instruction, or before- and after-school care. It also did not include discipline data, attendance figures, or staffing ratios. Title I status was not reported in the available data. These gaps mean the picture here is built from academics, demographics, and community context alone.
Johnston as a town has a distinct identity. Publicly reported sources describe a strong Italian American heritage, one of the highest concentrations of any U.S. municipality at the time it was documented. The town has drawn major employers in recent years, including a Citizens Bank corporate campus on Hartford Avenue and an Amazon Fulfillment Center, both cited by local officials as anchors of private investment. Johnston also hosts Rhode Island's only landfill, an institutional presence that shapes the town's economy and, for some residents, its perception. There is no traditional walkable downtown. Civic life centers on Town Hall along Hartford Avenue and Johnston War Memorial Park. The town has seen steady, modest population growth over recent decades.
Housing in the school's ZIP code is more affordable than the Rhode Island statewide benchmark, with typical home values sitting below the state median and rents offering a modest cost advantage compared with carrying a mortgage at current interest rates. For a family weighing whether to buy or rent in this attendance zone, the monthly cost of renting comes in below the estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home, which may factor into housing decisions for families with young children entering the elementary years.
What the available data paints is a conventional neighborhood elementary school in a working-class suburban town that has attracted significant commercial investment but whose state test results sit in the lower range. Families for whom proximity to extended family, a specific neighborhood, or Johnston's particular community character matters may find Winsor Hill a familiar and convenient fit. Those prioritizing measured academic outcomes at the elementary level will want to look closely at the proficiency numbers and ask the school directly what is being done to move them.
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