The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in Science. The lowest is 42% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Syracuse School
Syracuse School serves students from preschool through sixth grade in the Davis District, a school system that sits in the fast-growing suburban corridor north of Salt Lake City. The school is a traditional neighborhood elementary, not a charter or magnet, and the grade range means there is no graduation rate or high-school-level data to report here because the school simply does not serve those grades.
The student body is predominantly white, with a modest share of Hispanic students and smaller numbers of students who are Asian, Black, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, or of two or more races. About one in eight students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that places the school on the lower end of economic need compared to many schools statewide. Data on students with Individualized Education Programs and English learners was not available, so a parent may want to follow up with the school directly on those supports.
On state assessments, Syracuse School’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint among elementary schools in Davis County. That is a solid placement but not at the top of the county. In English language arts, roughly half of students scored proficient on the RISE assessment in the most recent reported year. In math, that figure was lower, with about two in five students reaching proficiency. Science results were stronger, with more than half of students scoring proficient. A parent looking at these numbers might want to ask the school how it supports students who are not yet meeting benchmarks in math, since that subject shows the widest gap between the school’s performance and the most successful schools in the county.
The discipline, staffing, and attendance data that often helps families understand school climate was missing from the available records, so there is no picture of chronic absenteeism or teacher-to-student ratios here. That gap is worth noting—if school culture and stability are priorities, a conversation with the principal or a visit during school hours could fill in what the numbers do not show.
The community around Syracuse School is a rapidly developing suburb that has grown dramatically since the 1990s, transforming from an agricultural and salt-production area into a residential bedroom community. The city has a planned Town Center area and design guidelines that signal an effort to create a more walkable core, but the built environment today remains typical of auto-oriented suburban sprawl. Housing values are high, above state and national benchmarks, and rents are substantial enough that the estimated monthly rent is lower than a mortgage payment on a median-priced home, which reflects the area’s desirability and the pressures of growth. The city sits near Hill Air Force Base, a major federal employer in the region, and Antelope Island State Park is the most prominent civic and recreational anchor nearby.
The school itself does not offer programs such as Advanced Placement or career and technical education pathways because it is an elementary school; the district does offer optional full-day kindergarten, which expanded across Davis elementary schools in recent years and is now a standard option for families. Davis District also opened a new comprehensive high school in Farmington in 2022, which reshaped feeder patterns in the area, but that change affects families once their children reach ninth grade and does not directly alter the elementary experience at Syracuse School.
For a family considering this school, the picture is of a mid-performing elementary in a growing, high-cost suburban area where most students are from middle-income or higher-income households. The school’s academic results are respectable countywide but leave room for improvement, especially in math. The lack of data on key climate and staffing measures means a prospective parent should invest time in on-the-ground research. The school’s feeder pattern feeds into Davis District secondary schools, which are generally well-regarded regionally, but the elementary years themselves appear to be a solid, unremarkable public school experience in a community that is still being built out.
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