The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in Science. The lowest is 46% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Douglas Upper Elementary School
Douglas Upper Elementary School sits in the heart of Douglas, the Converse County seat, a small Wyoming city that grew up around the railroad and still serves as a regional commercial and civic hub for surrounding ranch country. The town has a traditional downtown grid along Center Street, anchored by the county courthouse and the historic railroad depot that houses the Chamber of Commerce. Car-oriented like most small Wyoming cities, Douglas spreads along Interstate 25 and several state highways. Each August, the Wyoming State Fair brings a surge of visitors to the fairgrounds on the edge of town. The city has been growing slowly, with steady residential expansion at its edges, and the housing market runs below both state and national benchmarks, making it relatively accessible for families looking to buy.
The school itself serves only fourth and fifth graders, a narrow two-year band that sits between Douglas Intermediate School for grades two and three and Douglas Middle School for grades six through eight. This structure means families move through several distinct campuses as children progress, each with its own building and culture. Enrollment at Douglas Upper Elementary is modest, fitting comfortably within the grade band, and the student body is predominantly white, with small numbers of Hispanic students and students of two or more races. A meaningful but not dominant share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and its Title I status was not reported in the data we received.
On state assessments through the WY-TOPP, the school posted mixed results in the most recent testing cycle. Fourth graders performed at or near the midpoint in math, English language arts, and science, with science standing out as the strongest showing. Fifth grade results dipped in both math and English language arts, falling below the fourth-grade marks. Full participation was achieved across every tested subject and grade, which is a positive sign of engagement. When positioned relative to districts in Converse County, the school's overall proficiency lands in the bottom quartile, though the comparison set is small, limited to just two districts in the county. A parent may want to look into how the school supports the transition between fourth and fifth grade and what targeted interventions are in place, particularly in math where fifth-grade proficiency was weakest.
Several data points we expected to find were absent. Special education and English learner enrollment figures were not reported for this school, so we cannot describe those populations or the supports built around them. No multi-year trend data was available, which means we cannot say whether these proficiency rates represent an improvement, a decline, or a stable pattern. Discipline, staffing, course access, and attendance details were also missing from the available data. Because the school serves only fourth and fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and that gap reflects the grade band rather than any shortcoming.
At the district level, we searched for parent-relevant changes in Converse County School District #1, things like recent referendums, curriculum shifts, or property-tax adjustments, but found nothing specific to confirm from available sources. The district operates multiple campuses across Douglas, from primary through high school, and also hosts a branch campus of Eastern Wyoming College in town, which gives the community a local higher-education presence.
For a family considering Douglas, the housing market offers a price-to-income ratio below the national average, and the town provides the civic infrastructure of a county seat: a public library, government services, healthcare, and retail along its main corridors. The nearest commercial airport is about an hour west in Casper. The economy draws on government, healthcare, retail, education, and the transportation sector tied to the Union Pacific rail line, with the broader energy industry shaping the region. Outdoor access is close at hand, with Medicine Bow National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grassland nearby. What Douglas Upper Elementary offers in this setting is a focused two-year academic experience in a community where schools sit on separate campuses and where the latest test results suggest solid foundations in fourth grade with some slippage by fifth. A parent weighing this school would benefit from asking the administration about fifth-grade academic support and how the school plans to close that gap.
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