Summary:
ZIP code 85546 has four elementary schools: three serve PK/K–6 in the Safford Unified District, while Triumphant Learning Center serves K–8. The three district schools average 43% in ELA and 34% in math, slightly above state results of 41% and 33%; including Triumphant brings the four-school averages to 40% in ELA and 30% in math. The central finding is that results vary meaningfully by school, especially in math, rather than reflecting one shared level of performance across the area.
Ruth Powell Elementary School leads all-grades ELA at 48%, 7 percentage points above the state and 11 points above the other schools’ average. Dorothy Stinson School leads math at 40%, also 7 points above the state and 13 points above the other schools’ average. The leaders differ by subject: Ruth’s math result is 29%, while Dorothy’s ELA result is 45%. Triumphant has the lowest all-grades results, with 30% in ELA and 19% in math—11 and 14 points below state results, respectively. Its results are also below the other schools’ averages by 13 points in ELA and 15 in math.
SchoolDigger’s recent statewide ranking percentiles rose for all three district schools from 2023–24 to 2025–26: Ruth Powell gained 4 points to the 48th percentile, Dorothy Stinson gained 9 to the 55th, and Lafe Nelson School gained 7 to the 40th. Fifth-grade math stands out as a shared concern: the three district schools averaged 30%, about 8 points below the 38% state result. Fifth-grade science was also below the state’s 34% at all three schools, ranging from 25% to 31%. Enrollment and student-teacher ratios do not show a simple pattern with results: Dorothy has 539 students and a 19.2 ratio, Ruth 575 and 20.5, and Lafe Nelson 471 and 22.4. Triumphant is much smaller, with 101 students and an 8.4 ratio; it also has the lowest all-grades scores. Comparisons across all four schools have limits because Triumphant serves a different grade span.
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