The top reported proficiency rate is 90% in English language arts. The lowest is 82% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Poder Academy
PODER Academy is a public charter school in Cheyenne, Wyoming, serving kindergarten through sixth grade. It sits within Laramie County School District #1 but operates as its own charter entity, giving it a degree of independence from the district's standard programming. The school is small for its grade band, with roughly two dozen students per grade, which creates a setting where children are likely known by name and where class cohorts stay tight from year to year. The student body is majority white, with a substantial Hispanic representation and small shares of students identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native, Black, Asian, or two or more races. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a moderate level that suggests a mix of working-class and middle-class families rather than a concentrated poverty profile.
On state assessments, PODER Academy posts results that stand out sharply. Across mathematics and English language arts in grades three through six, proficiency rates are consistently very high, with most grades landing in the upper range and several reaching near-universal proficiency. Science results for the one tested grade follow the same pattern. When measured against other districts in Laramie County, the school's overall proficiency sits in the top quartile, well above the county median. Participation rates are full across every tested grade and subject. These are strong academic results by any standard, and they point to a school where instruction is delivering. The testing cohorts are small, so a few students in either direction can move the numbers, but the consistency across subjects and grades makes the pattern hard to dismiss.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, and the state does not test kindergarten through second grade, which explains why results begin at grade three. Data on individualized education programs and English learner status was not available, so it is not possible to characterize how the school serves students with disabilities or those acquiring English. A parent whose child falls into either category would want to ask the school directly about support services and staffing in those areas. We looked for information on discipline practices, course offerings, staffing ratios, and attendance but found none reported, so those dimensions cannot be assessed here.
Cheyenne itself is Wyoming's capital and largest city, a place shaped by government work, the Union Pacific Railroad, and Francis E. Warren Air Force Base on the city's west side. The economy has been broadening into data centers and renewable energy, and the downtown core holds the State Capitol, the Cheyenne Depot Museum, and a grid of historic buildings from the city's railroad-town origins. The city is spread out and largely automobile-oriented outside the downtown core, with low density typical of Western capital cities. Cultural life includes the Wyoming State Museum and the annual Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo, a major event held each July. The broader Laramie County metropolitan area has been growing steadily.
Housing in the school's zip code sits below both the state and national benchmarks for typical home values, which may appeal to families looking to buy, though current mortgage rates make monthly ownership costs considerably higher than renting. Rents are modest relative to income, and the gap between estimated mortgage payments and rent is wide enough that many families may find renting the more practical option in the near term. Home values have been appreciating, so the market is not stagnant, but affordability relative to national norms remains better than many places.
No program offerings, extracurriculars, or pedagogical model details were available in the data, so families would need to visit the school or its website to understand what makes PODER's approach distinctive beyond its test results. The district brief for Laramie County School District #1 turned up little of lasting change to report. What the data does show is a small charter elementary school with a diverse but modest-income student body producing some of the strongest proficiency results in the county. For a parent weighing academic outcomes as a primary factor, that is the core of the picture. The gaps in special-population data, staffing, and program detail are real, and they are worth filling in conversation with the school before making a decision.
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