Summary:
JBER, Alaska is served by three small elementary schools — Orion Elementary School, Aurora Elementary, and Ursa Minor Elementary — all part of the Anchorage School District, serving grades PK–6 with a combined enrollment of 1,076 students, and no middle or high schools in the immediate area.
If you are choosing among these three, Orion Elementary School is the current academic leader. In 2025–26, Orion ranked 21st out of 166 Alaska elementary schools (87th percentile, 4 stars) and posted the highest proficiency rates in every subject: 79.59% in science, 58.39% in English language arts, and 57.72% in math. Orion also improved dramatically from the prior year, especially in science (+28.7 points). Meanwhile, Aurora Elementary, which had been JBER’s top-ranked school for two straight years, slipped to 60th in the state. Aurora still has the lowest student-teacher ratio (16.6) and highest per-student spending ($15,919), but its test scores declined across all subjects. Ursa Minor Elementary is the smallest and serves the largest share of low-income students (37.76% free/reduced lunch) but still improved in ELA and math, and remains the lowest-ranked of the three.
Every JBER school outperformed both the district and state averages in every subject, with the largest advantage in science: JBER’s average of 59.38% proficient is about 20 points above the district and 21.5 points above the state. Grade-level data shows meaningful swings, likely due to small cohorts — for example, Aurora’s 4th grade math proficiency drops to just 26%, while Orion’s 5th graders shine at 80% math and 72% ELA proficiency. Because there are no middle or high schools in JBER itself, these elementary schools form the entire local educational foundation, making their strong results especially important for families.
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