The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in English language arts. The lowest is 32% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Westminster Schools
Westminster Schools sits on School Street in the rural town of Westminster, Vermont, serving prekindergarten through sixth grade. The town spreads across three village areas—Westminster Village, North Westminster, and Westminster West—separated by rolling hills, farms, and forests. It is a low-density, car-dependent community with no walkable downtown commercial district, and the school stands on its own campus rather than clustering with civic life. Interstate 91 cuts through town, and Amtrak's Vermonter line passes through without stopping; the nearest rail stations are in Bellows Falls to the north and Brattleboro to the south. The Westminster Village Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, provides a historic anchor, but the built environment is defined by state and U.S. routes connecting dispersed residences. Employment appears to be spread among small businesses, agriculture, town government, and nearby centers like Bellows Falls and Brattleboro. Publicly reported sources note no major residential subdivisions or commercial development projects, so the town reads as slow-growth and stable.
The school itself is small, with an enrollment that fits its rural setting. The student body is predominantly white, with small Hispanic and multiracial populations. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the town's modest economic profile. Data on individualized education programs and English-learner status was not available, so those dimensions of student support cannot be characterized here.
On Vermont's Comprehensive Assessment Program for the 2023-24 school year, most grade-level results were suppressed, likely because the tested cohorts were too small to report. The only reported figures come from fifth grade. In math, roughly a third of fifth graders reached proficiency. In English language arts, a slightly higher share did. These are modest results, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly how instruction and intervention are structured in the earlier grades where no results were available. Science proficiency for fifth grade was also suppressed. No trend data across multiple years was available, so there is no way to characterize whether performance is improving or declining. Because the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The neighbor comparison set, drawn from districts in Windham County, could not produce a proficiency index for this school because the comparable cohort was too small, and graduation and chronic-absenteeism comparisons were not applicable for the same reason.
The housing market in Westminster is relatively affordable compared with both the Vermont statewide benchmark and the national one. Typical home values sit well below the state figure, and the price-to-income ratio is moderate. Rent data was not available. Mortgage rates used for the affordability calculation reflect current market conditions, which remain elevated. For a family considering buying, Westminster offers a lower-cost entry point than much of Vermont, though the rural, dispersed layout means a car is essential for nearly every errand and commute.
A point of governance context that may matter to parents: Westminster recently reestablished its own independent school district after the Vermont Board of Education had mandated a merger with Grafton and Athens under Act 46. The state board approved Westminster's withdrawal plan, restoring community-level governance while the town remains part of the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union. Westminster students still attend Bellows Falls Union High School after sixth grade, so families looking at Westminster Schools should understand that the secondary pathway leads to Bellows Falls.
What this school offers is a small, community-rooted elementary experience in a genuinely rural Vermont town, with local governance recently restored and a clear pathway to a regional high school. The academic picture is thin because most testing data was suppressed, and the one grade with reported results shows room for growth. A family drawn to rural Windham County life and affordable housing, and comfortable with a small school where every cohort is tiny, may find it a good fit, with the caveat that the academic data deserves a direct conversation with the school.
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