Pronghorn Elementary, Gillette WY

Original Research by School Decision on Pronghorn Elementary

Pronghorn Elementary sits on Oakcrest Drive in Gillette, Wyoming, serving kindergarten through sixth grade as part of Campbell County School District #1. It is a conventional public school, neither a charter nor a magnet, and its enrollment is modest for its grade band, with students spread fairly evenly across the seven grades it serves.

The school's state assessment results from the most recent year tell a clear and consistent story. In the younger tested grades, Pronghorn posts strong proficiency in both math and English language arts. Third and fourth graders perform well above typical state expectations, with math results particularly high in fourth grade and science results in fourth grade also standing out. Full participation across every tested group means these results reflect the entire cohort, not a self-selected subset. By the upper elementary grades, though, proficiency drops off noticeably. Fifth and sixth grade math proficiency falls to a more middling level, and English language arts results in those same grades dip below what most families would consider a strong result. The pattern is consistent across both subjects: a school that does well with its younger students and then sees a decline as children move toward middle school. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, asking what changes in instruction, staffing, or curriculum structure accompany the transition from lower to upper grades.

Demographically, Pronghorn serves a predominantly white student body, with a small Hispanic population and a handful of American Indian students and students of two or more races. The share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch is relatively low compared with many public schools, suggesting a community where most families are not facing acute economic pressure. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available, so those populations go unnamed here rather than guessed at.

Gillette itself is an energy-industry town, the county seat of Campbell County, and the third most populous city in Wyoming. Publicly reported sources describe it as the self-styled "Energy Capital of the Nation," sitting in the Powder River Basin amid coal, oil, and coalbed methane development. The city grew rapidly during the fossil-fuel boom years, annexing surrounding areas and adding housing stock. That trajectory has softened as coal use has declined nationally, and local officials have been working to attract other industries. The built environment is car-oriented and low-density, with a downtown anchored by the Campbell County Courthouse and a dispersed pattern of residential neighborhoods, retail corridors, and industrial operations. The CAM-PLEX event center just outside the city draws large gatherings, and Gillette College provides a two-year campus. Campbell County Health operates the regional hospital, and the school district itself is a substantial employer.

The housing market in the school's zip code reflects the broader economic shift. Home values sit near the state and national medians but have been declining year over year, even as Wyoming and the nation as a whole have seen modest gains. Renting is meaningfully cheaper than carrying a mortgage at current interest rates, which may matter to families weighing whether to buy or rent while settling into the area. The price-to-income ratio is near the national midpoint, and rents take a modest share of typical household income, so housing here is neither a bargain nor a stretch by national standards.

Pronghorn's position among its neighbors could not be assessed in the usual way. The comparison set for Campbell County districts was too small to produce a meaningful proficiency index, and because this is an elementary school, graduation rates do not apply. Chronic absenteeism data was also unavailable. So the academic picture rests entirely on the state assessment results described above.

For a family considering Pronghorn, the strongest signal is the solid early-grade performance, the full participation of tested students, and a community with stable, affordable housing. The clearest question is what happens in fifth and sixth grade, where results step down in both core subjects.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 382%

School 82% · District 56% · ▲ 26 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 493%

School 93% · District 63% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 52% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 657%

School 57% · District 56%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 375%

School 75% · District 50% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 476%

School 76% · District 49% · ▲ 27 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 53% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 58% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Science

Grade 484%

School 84% · District 55% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 36 pts above county median

This schoolCampbell County School District #1, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income60%Higher-income81%21 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income70%Higher-income77%7 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income50%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income14%Higher-income54%40 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income73%Higher-income85%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income69%19 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income36%Higher-income64%28 pp gap