The top reported proficiency rate is 66% in Math. The lowest is 57% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Parkside Elementary
Parkside Elementary sits in Powell, a small town in northwest Wyoming's Park County that blends residential life with agriculture and education. Powell describes itself as having a diverse economy built on commercial, industrial, educational, and agricultural foundations. Irrigated farming of beans, barley, sugar beets, corn, and alfalfa, along with cattle ranching, remains a driving economic force. Northwest College, a public two-year residential institution, sits in the northern part of town and adds to the community's character. Downtown Powell centers on Clark Street, with local shops, restaurants, and City Hall, while residential neighborhoods radiate outward from a traditional small-town core. The chamber of commerce highlights walkable streets and minimal traffic. Public K-12 education is run by Park County School District No. 1, which operates four K-5 elementary schools, Powell Middle School, Powell High School, and the Shoshone Learning Center alternative high school.
Parkside serves kindergarten through fifth grade and is one of those elementary schools. Its enrollment is small, with roughly even class sizes across the six grade levels. The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic or Latino share that represents the next largest group. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on individualized education programs and English learner services was not available.
On state assessments, Parkside's results paint a generally positive picture with some variation across grades and subjects. Math proficiency across third, fourth, and fifth grade sits in a range that most families would regard as solid, with fourth grade the strongest performer and third grade the softest. English language arts shows a similar spread, with fifth grade standing out as particularly strong and the lower grades more middling. Science was tested only in fourth grade, where a majority of students reached proficiency. Participation was full across all tested grades. When measured against the proficiency index for districts in Park County, Parkside lands below the midpoint, meaning neighboring districts in the county post higher average proficiency overall. A parent weighing this may want to ask the school how it supports students in the earlier tested grades, where results were softer relative to the stronger upper-grade performance.
Because Parkside is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to report, and that gap simply reflects the grade band served. Chronic absenteeism data was also not available. No civil-rights data on discipline, course access, or staffing was provided, so those dimensions could not be assessed.
At the district level, several changes are relevant to families with children at Parkside. Park County School District No. 1 adopted a structured literacy curriculum in the 2022-2023 school year, aligned with Wyoming's Read307 initiative, emphasizing explicit phonics instruction and evidence-based reading strategies. This represents a deliberate shift in how reading is taught in the elementary grades and is the kind of change that can shape a child's early literacy experience. The district also launched a one-to-one technology initiative in 2021-2022, giving every student a personal device, and that program continues. Voters approved a capital facilities sales tax in November 2022 to fund school infrastructure improvements across all seven campuses, including roof replacements, HVAC upgrades, and security enhancements. Families will see the benefit of those upgrades while also contributing through sales tax over the collection period.
Housing in the Powell zip code carries a typical home value above both the Wyoming state benchmark and the national benchmark, reflecting a somewhat more expensive market than the state as a whole. The estimated monthly mortgage cost sits well above typical rent, which may factor into family decisions about buying versus renting. Home values have seen a modest year-over-year decline. Rent data was not available for this location. Powell has experienced slow, steady population growth over recent census cycles, and the town was designated an All-America City. No specific new housing developments or commercial construction projects were identified in the available research.
Parkside Elementary fits a family looking for a small, community-rooted school in an agricultural town with a college presence and a traditional downtown. Its academic results are respectable with room to grow in the earlier tested grades, and the district has invested in literacy instruction and technology in ways that directly touch elementary classrooms. Families wanting a closer look at how the school supports its lower-grade learners and what specialized services are available would do well to ask the school directly.
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