Willow Elementary

Willow Elementary is a small Pre-K through 5th grade school in Willow, Alaska, serving about 127 students in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. With a low student-teacher ratio of 12.7 to 1 and per-student spending of about $18,751, the school offers a notably close-knit learning environment. About 66% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, yet the school recently earned a 4-star rating and ranked 31st out of 166 Alaska elementary schools — a dramatic jump from 86th place the year before.

Willow’s biggest academic strength is math. In 2025–2026, 68% of students scored proficient in math, far exceeding the district’s 42% and the state’s 32%. Third-grade math is especially impressive at 72.7% proficiency. Science is another bright spot, with 66.7% proficiency compared to 51% for the district and 37.8% for the state. These results put Willow ahead of several nearby schools, including Knik Elementary School, which posted 48.2% math proficiency, Big Lake Elementary at 34.2%, and Meadow Lakes Elementary at just 18.1%. Among comparable local schools, only Midnight Sun Family Learning Center ranks higher overall, and Willow actually surpasses it in both math and science.

What makes these results particularly noteworthy is that Willow serves a high-poverty population similar to Meadow Lakes Elementary — both have about 66% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. Yet Willow’s math proficiency is dramatically higher, and its state rank is 31st compared to Meadow Lakes’ 149th, suggesting school-level strengths are making a real difference. One caveat for parents: reading scores are less consistent. While overall ELA proficiency (48%) tops the state average, 3rd grade reading trails the district, and the school’s rankings have seesawed over the past decade — likely a reflection of its small size, where a single strong or weak cohort can shift results from year to year.