The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in English language arts. The lowest is 31% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Whitesides School
Whitesides School is a primary school in Layton, Utah, serving students in prekindergarten through sixth grade. It is part of Davis District, the large public school system covering Davis County. The school operates as a traditional neighborhood elementary school with a substantial prekindergarten enrollment, drawing from the residential area in the southern part of Layton.
The student body is predominantly white, with a significant Hispanic population. More than two in five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a meaningful share of families are working with moderate incomes. The school is an attendance-area school, meaning its enrollment reflects the surrounding neighborhood's demographics rather than a specialized admissions process.
State assessment results are available for reading, math, and science. Across all three subjects, the share of students scoring proficient or above is below the midpoint when compared with other schools in Davis County. Reading proficiency was the strongest of the three subjects, though still below the county's median. Science and math proficiency rates were lower. A parent looking at these numbers may want to discuss with the school what specific supports are in place for students who are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks. Because the data is a single-year snapshot, it does not show whether these results are part of a longer trend or a single-year fluctuation.
The school serves only elementary grades, so there is no high school graduation rate to report. No data on chronic absenteeism or discipline was available. Information on staffing ratios, counselor access, and course offerings beyond the core subjects was also not present in the records. For a complete picture of enrichment programs, special education services, or English learner supports, a family would need to contact the school directly.
The school is located in a residential section of Layton, a car-oriented suburban city that also functions as a major employment hub. Hill Air Force Base, adjacent to the city's north side, is the dominant employer and the largest single-site employer in the state, drawing a workforce in defense, advanced manufacturing, and related technology. Layton itself is a mix of older neighborhoods and newer subdivisions, with substantial retail districts, a historic downtown area with civic institutions, and ongoing growth driven by base expansion. The FrontRunner commuter rail serves the area, giving parents a commuting option to Salt Lake City or Ogden about a half-hour south and north respectively.
Davis District publicly reported two recent changes relevant to families. The district opened Farmington High School in 2022 to relieve overcrowding, which shifted some high school boundaries in the northern part of the county. And Utah's statewide expansion of optional full-day kindergarten took effect in the district starting in the 2023-24 school year, so families at Whitesides now have access to free full-day kindergarten, which was previously more limited. The school itself is not new; it is an established neighborhood elementary school in a growing suburban district, serving a community that combines defense-sector employment with suburban residential life.
For a family weighing this school, the key factors are the moderate cost of entry for housing relative to the broader Utah market, the solid but not exceptional state test results that sit below the middle of the county's range, and the school's role as a feeder into a large district with multiple options for junior high and high school. It is a straightforward neighborhood school in a city whose economic anchor is a major military base, with all the stability and transience that implies. A parent whose priority is an elementary school with a strong neighborhood connection and a diverse student body may find it a good fit; a parent whose primary concern is top-quartile test scores may want to explore options elsewhere in the district.
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