Best Public Schools in Edgewater, CO

Edgewater, Colorado has three public schools in the Jefferson County School District No. R-1: Jefferson Junior/Senior High School (grades 7–12, 601 students), Lumberg Elementary School (PK–6, 526 students), and Edgewater Elementary School (PK–6, 335 students), totaling 1,462 students. While the district overall ranks 24th of 115 Colorado districts with a 4-star rating, all three Edgewater schools perform well below district and state averages, serving high-poverty populations with free/reduced lunch rates ranging from 63.88% to 85.36%.

Edgewater Elementary School is the strongest of the three, ranking 801st of 943 elementary schools with 1 star. It leads in ELA proficiency (26.7% vs. 8% at Lumberg and 13.2% at Jefferson), math proficiency (15.6% vs. 6.3% at Lumberg and 6% at Jefferson), and has the lowest chronic absenteeism at 40.1%. Lumberg Elementary School is the most urgent concern, ranking 942nd of 943 elementary schools with 0 stars—essentially last in the state. With 85.36% free/reduced lunch and 52.8% chronic absenteeism, only 8% of its students meet ELA standards and 6.3% meet math standards. Jefferson Junior/Senior High School ranks 335th of 338 high schools with 0 stars, with critically low math scores (4.8% in 7th grade, 4% on 11th grade SAT math) and a 77.5% graduation rate.

Chronic absenteeism is a systemic issue across all three schools, ranging from 40.1% at Edgewater Elementary to 58.7% at Jefferson, far above the state's 28.4%. The data suggest that even modest differences in poverty and attendance are associated with substantially better outcomes—Edgewater Elementary outperforms Lumberg significantly in every subject while serving a less impoverished student body. Math proficiency is catastrophically low everywhere, trailing state averages by 30 to 38 percentage points. The resilience of Jefferson's students is notable: despite severe academic challenges, 77.5% still graduate, and the dropout rate of 1.7% is barely above the state's 1.6%.