The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in English language arts. The lowest is 23% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Concord Graded/middle School
Concord Graded/Middle School sits on School Street in Concord, a small rural town in Essex County, Vermont, serving prekindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the Kingdom East Unified Union School District. The town itself is dispersed across several settlements—Concord Village, North Concord, Miles Pond, East Concord, and Concord Corner—with no single concentrated center and very low population density. US Route 2 is the main corridor, and there is no traditional Main Street commercial district. The motto "Four Seasons Playground" captures the outdoor-oriented character, with Moore Reservoir, Miles Pond, and Shadow Lake serving as recreational anchors. Civic life centers on the town offices and library in Concord Village.
The school is small, with an enrollment that reflects the town's modest population. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is overwhelmingly white, with only a handful of students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. Information on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available in the data provided.
State assessment results for the most recent year show a mixed and concerning pattern, particularly in the upper elementary and middle grades. In math, proficiency rates decline steadily from sixth grade through eighth grade, with the eighth-grade math result standing at a very low level. English language arts follows a similar trajectory, with sixth-grade results comparatively stronger but dropping by seventh and eighth grade. Science results show a moderate fifth-grade proficiency rate that falls sharply by eighth grade. Results for grades three through five in math and ELA were suppressed by the state, which often reflects very small tested cohorts and should not be read as a weak result. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is hard to say whether these patterns are persistent or a one-year snapshot. The small number of students in each tested grade means a few children moving above or below the proficiency line can shift a rate considerably, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how the school supports students through the middle-grade transition.
Because Concord Graded/Middle School does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. Publicly reported sources note that the town's high school closed some years ago, and high school students presumably attend schools in neighboring communities through the district arrangement. We looked for the district's recent strategic priorities or program changes and found little of lasting impact, so we left that out rather than guess.
The neighbor comparison set, drawn relative to districts in Essex County, could not produce a proficiency index or other comparative metrics because the cohort was too small. This means we cannot position the school's academic results against its immediate neighbors with the available data. The comparison universe itself is modest—nine districts in the county—so comparative benchmarks here are inherently limited.
On the housing side, the area is affordable relative to both state and national benchmarks. The typical home value in the Concord zip code sits well below the Vermont state benchmark and below the national benchmark, and recent year-over-year value change was slightly negative. Estimated monthly mortgage costs are manageable for a household earning near the national median income, with the price-to-income ratio sitting below what many buyers face elsewhere. No rental market data was available for this location. The broader economic context shows a national unemployment rate holding steady, and mortgage rates in the mid-six percent range.
Concord has been experiencing population decline rather than growth, and no major new housing developments surfaced in the available research. The town has recently updated its Municipal Plan and Zoning Bylaw, suggesting active civic management even as the population contracts. No specific major employers were identified; the local economy appears limited to town government, the school, and small local businesses.
For a family considering this school, the picture is one of a small, community-rooted rural school in an affordable, outdoor-oriented town where the peer group is tight-knit and the setting is quiet. The academic data raises questions about the middle-grade trajectory, and the suppression of lower-grade results limits what a parent can see from the outside. The transition to high school involves neighboring districts, so families should also understand where their children will go after eighth grade and how that handoff works.
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