Best Public Schools in Bayfield, CO

Bayfield, Colorado is served by the Bayfield School District No. 10Jt-R, which operates four public schools spanning grades PK-12 with a total enrollment of 1,183 students. The district is ranked 72nd out of 115 Colorado districts, earning a 2-star rating and placing it in the 37th percentile statewide. The feeder system includes Bayfield Primary School (grades PK-2, 222 students), Bayfield Intermediate School (grades 3-5, 274 students), Bayfield Middle School (grades 6-8, 283 students), and Bayfield High School (grades 9-12, 404 students).

Bayfield Intermediate School is the strongest academic bright spot. It is the only school in the district to have recently earned a 3-star rating, and its 5th grade English Language Arts proficiency (51.9%) exceeds the state average (49.9%). Bayfield Primary School stands out for attendance, with a chronic absenteeism rate of 23.6% — the only school in the district below the state average of 28.4% — despite having the highest poverty rate at 42.8%. Bayfield High School shows a sharp split: it outperforms the state in 9th and 10th grade PSAT reading/writing (69% and 73% vs. 66% and 65%), but only 13% of 11th graders are proficient in SAT math versus 32% statewide. Bayfield Middle School is the most academically challenged, with all-grade ELA proficiency at 30.5% and math at 24.1%, both well below state averages.

The most urgent issue districtwide is chronic absenteeism, which climbs from 23.6% at the primary school to 51.1% at the high school — the district rate of 38.5% is 10 points above the state. Notably, the relationship between poverty and absenteeism is inverted: the primary school has the highest poverty but lowest absenteeism, while the high school has the lowest poverty but highest absenteeism. Student-teacher ratios are favorable at 11.1 to 12.4 across all schools, yet that resource advantage is not translating into stronger math and science outcomes. The high school's graduation rate of 85.3% is just below the state's 85.6%, and the dropout rate matches the state average.