Original Research by School Decision on Dubois High School
Dubois High School sits in one of Wyoming's most distinctive small towns. Dubois is a Wind River Valley community that blends residential life with a tourism-based economy, sitting on US Route 26 roughly an hour east of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The town's identity is tied to outdoor recreation, dude ranches, and a surprisingly large community of writers, artists, and musicians drawn to the remote mountain setting. The Wind River runs through town, and the surrounding Shoshone National Forest and Fitzpatrick Wilderness define the landscape. In summer the population nearly doubles with part-time residents, and weekly Friday Night rodeos, a farmers market at the Dubois Museum, and square dances bring the community together. Outside of summer, life is quieter. The National Museum of Military Vehicles, a major privately funded institution that opened in 2020 southeast of town, has added another civic anchor. Publicly reported sources describe the town as compact, with most businesses concentrated along the main street corridor.
The school itself is very small for a high school, serving grades nine through twelve with an enrollment that fits comfortably in a single building. A school of this size means students are known individually and class sizes are inherently low. The student body is predominantly white, with small representation from several other racial and ethnic backgrounds. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, pointing to a mix of economic backgrounds within the community. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not reported, so those populations cannot be characterized here.
Academic performance data was not available in the provided records. State assessment results, multi-year academic trends, and a four-year graduation rate were all missing. This means there is no basis to describe how students perform on standardized tests or how the school's graduation outcomes compare to others in Fremont County. The comparison set, drawn relative to districts in Fremont County, could not place Dubois High School on proficiency, graduation, or chronic absenteeism because those values were absent. A parent considering this school would want to ask the school directly about its recent test results and graduation outcomes, since the public data shown here does not answer those questions.
Program offerings, course access, staffing details, discipline data, and attendance figures were also not available. For a high school this small, the range of advanced courses, electives, and extracurriculars is a practical question worth raising with the school. Rural high schools in communities of this size sometimes partner with community colleges or use distance learning to expand options, but no such arrangements were listed in the data. The district brief for Fremont County School District #2 returned no recent policy, curriculum, referendum, or tax changes of lasting parent impact, so there is nothing to report on that front.
The housing market in Dubois carries a typical home value above both the Wyoming state benchmark and the national benchmark. Homes here cost more than in much of the state, reflecting the area's desirability as a gateway to the national parks and its appeal to part-time residents and retirees. The price-to-income ratio sits above five, meaning a household earning the national median income would find the local market a stretch. Home values have dipped slightly in the past year, and rental data was not available. For families moving to the area, housing affordability is a real factor to weigh alongside school considerations.
What the data does convey clearly is the character of the place. Dubois High School is a small-town high school in a community defined by its natural setting, its seasonal rhythms, and its creative population. The summer influx of visitors and part-time residents shapes the local economy and culture in ways that a family would feel. The town's remote location limits large-scale development, and the school's small size means the educational experience is intimate and personal. What the data does not convey is how well the school performs academically, what courses it offers, or how its students fare after graduation. Those gaps are sizable, and a parent would want to fill them through direct conversation with the school before making a decision.
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