The top reported proficiency rate is 80% in Science. The lowest is 70% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Westside Elementary
Westside Elementary sits in Powell, a small town in northwest Wyoming's Park County that blends agricultural roots with a college-town feel. Powell is home to Northwest College, a public two-year residential institution in the northern part of town, while the downtown core around Clark Street offers walkable streets, local shops, and what the chamber of commerce calls a place to "slow down and stay awhile." Irrigated farming of beans, barley, sugar beets, corn, and alfalfa, along with cattle ranching, remains a driving economic force. Nearly half of Park County is public land, and outdoor recreation shapes daily life here. The town has grown slowly and steadily over the decades and carries an All-America City designation.
The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade and is part of Park County School District No. 1, which operates four elementary schools, a middle school, a high school, and an alternative learning center. Westside's enrollment is moderate for an elementary building, and the student body is predominantly white, with a smaller Hispanic presence and very few students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. Just over a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Information on individualized education programs and English learner services was not reported, and the school's Title I status was not available, so families wanting detail on those supports would want to ask the district directly.
On state assessments, Westside shows a pattern that parents can feel good about. Proficiency climbs steeply from third grade into fifth grade across both math and English language arts. Third-grade results are moderate, with a little over half of tested students reaching proficiency in math and somewhat more in reading. By fourth grade, the share of proficient students rises sharply, and by fifth grade, the large majority of students are proficient in both subjects. Fourth-grade science results are also strong. Every tested grade had full participation. The school's overall proficiency places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Park County, and its proficiency index sits above the range of the county's district-level figures. Trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent sustained growth or a single-year snapshot, but the within-grade trajectory from third to fifth grade is encouraging on its face.
Because Westside is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to report, and chronic absenteeism data was not provided for this school.
Park County School District No. 1 has made several changes that touch elementary families directly. In the fall of 2022, the district adopted a structured literacy curriculum aligned with Wyoming's Read307 initiative, emphasizing explicit phonics instruction and evidence-based reading strategies across elementary grades. A 1:1 technology initiative launched the year before gives every student access to a personal device. Voters in the district also approved a capital facilities sales tax to fund infrastructure improvements across all seven campuses, including roof replacements, HVAC upgrades, and security enhancements. These are publicly reported projects that families will see materialize over the coming years.
Housing in Powell runs above both the state and national benchmarks for typical home values, and values have dipped slightly over the past year. Rent data was not available for this area, so a full cost comparison between buying and renting is not possible here. The broader economic picture includes a national unemployment rate holding steady and mortgage rates that have fluctuated in a narrow band, which together shape what families can afford when moving into the area.
Westside Elementary presents as a small-town school with strong academic results that build across the grade levels, situated in a community where agriculture, education, and outdoor access define the setting. Families looking for a walkable town with a college presence and a school that performs well above its county peers will find a lot to like here. The gaps in reported special-population and attendance data are worth raising with the school directly if those supports matter to your family.
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