The top reported proficiency rate is 59% in English language arts. The lowest is 35% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Sustainability Academy at Lawrence Barnes
SustainabilityAcademy at Lawrence Barnes sits on North Street in Burlington, serving prekindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Burlington School District. The school's name signals its thematic focus, and its place in Vermont's largest city gives families access to a community that is unusually walkable, culturally active, and shaped by higher education. Burlington is a regional college town, home to the University of Vermont and Champlain College, with a downtown pedestrian mall, a revitalized Lake Champlain waterfront, and a year-round farmers' market. Corporate anchors like Burton Snowboards, Lake Champlain Chocolates, and Seventh Generation give the city an identity rooted in both outdoor industry and values-driven business. The housing market here is among the more expensive in the state. Typical home values in the school's zip code run well above both the state and national benchmarks, and rents sit at a level that absorbs roughly a third of a typical household's income. For families considering this neighborhood, the cost of living is real, and it reflects Burlington's desirability rather than any premium tied to the school itself.
The student body is modest in size for an elementary school, with roughly two hundred children spread across prekindergarten and kindergarten through fifth grade. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school squarely in the category of serving a working- and middle-class community. The racial and ethnic mix is more varied than many Vermont schools: white students make up less than half the enrollment, with Black, Asian, Hispanic, and multiracial students all represented in meaningful proportions. This is a school where children grow up alongside peers from many backgrounds, which some families will see as a genuine asset of city living.
On state assessments, the picture is mixed and worth reading carefully. English language arts results are a clear strength. Across third, fourth, and fifth grades, a majority of students reach proficiency, with third grade standing out as especially strong. Reading and writing are clearly working well here. Mathematics tells a different story. Proficiency rates in math across all three tested grades hover around two-fifths of students, meaning more than half are not yet meeting the state's proficiency bar. Fifth-grade science results sit in a similar range. These are not unusual patterns for an urban elementary school serving a high-needs population, but they are honest numbers that a parent may want to look into further with the school, asking how math instruction is structured and what interventions support students who are behind.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. State assessment data does not exist for prekindergarten, kindergarten, first, or second grade because those grades are not tested. The school's IEP and English learner counts were not available in the data provided, and civil rights data such as discipline or access figures were not reported. We looked for chronic absenteeism data but found none. The comparison set for Chittenden County districts could not generate a proficiency index for this school because the comparable cohort was too small. These gaps reflect the nature of an elementary school sitting outside some of the metrics that apply to secondary schools and larger systems.
The Burlington School District has been investing in facilities and practices that shape the trajectory students will enter after fifth grade. A new high school and technical center is under construction along North Avenue and is on schedule to open in fall 2026. The district also opened a new aviation, automotive, and design engineering center at Burlington International Airport in October 2025, and completed a renovation of the Integrated Arts Academy with new kindergarten classrooms and geothermal heating. The district has implemented a Restorative Code of Conduct aimed at reducing suspensions and has reported eliminating racial disparities in suspension rates for the first time.
What families get at Sustainability Academy is a small, diverse elementary school in a vibrant, expensive city, with strong literacy outcomes and math results that need attention. The sustainability theme and the urban setting give children a particular kind of childhood, one connected to community gardens, waterfront parks, and a downtown that is alive year-round. Whether that fits depends on what a family wants from the early grades and how much weight it places on walking-distance culture versus test-score proficiency.
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