Schools in Zip Code 96161

ZIP code 96161 has seven schools—three elementary, one middle, two high schools and one alternative school—with options from elementary through high school; six are in Tahoe-Truckee Unified, and Sierra Expeditionary Learning District is separate. The clearest difference among schools serving similar elementary grades is that Glenshire Elementary is substantially ahead of Truckee Elementary across their shared tested grades.

In 2025–26, Glenshire had the strongest all-grades results among schools reporting all three subjects: 77% in ELA, 71% in math and 65% in science, compared with Truckee’s 45%, 42% and 34%—gaps of 32, 29 and 31 percentage points. The advantage was especially pronounced in grade 5, where Glenshire led Truckee by 44 points in ELA. Alder Creek Middle also stood out, exceeding state results by 18 points in ELA, 15 in math and 23 in science. Tahoe Truckee High was 25 points above the state in ELA and had a 97% graduation rate, compared with 88% statewide. At the other end, Sierra High (Continuation) scored 7% in science, 29 points below the state; its ELA and math results were suppressed. Its reported chronic absenteeism was 96%, while Cold Stream Alternative reported 63%.

Recent results are mixed: across the four schools with results in both years, average ELA rose by about 1 point and math fell by about 1 point; science rose by about 5 points among the three with results in both years. SchoolDigger ranked Glenshire at the 92nd statewide percentile in both 2024–25 and 2025–26, while Truckee was at the 56th percentile in 2025–26. Their student–teacher ratios were 23.9 at Glenshire and 21.3 at Truckee, despite similar enrollment. The 2024–25 free/reduced lunch eligible measure ranged from 15% at Glenshire to 49% at Truckee; these are school-level observations, not explanations for score differences. Sierra Expeditionary Learning had strong 2024–25 results—14 points above state ELA, 21 above in math and 28 above in science—but no 2025–26 results were supplied.