Best Public Schools in Hudson, CO

Hudson, Colorado is a small community served entirely by the Weld County School District Re-3J, providing just two schools: Hudson Elementary School, a traditional PK-5 elementary school with 303 students, and Weld Re-3J Online Innovations, an alternative K-12 online program with 110 students. Because there are no traditional middle or high schools within city limits, families seeking those grade levels must look outside Hudson unless they choose the online option. The district overall earns 3 out of 5 stars and ranks in the 58th percentile statewide, placing it in the average-to-slightly-above-average range for Colorado.

Hudson Elementary School is clearly the stronger academic performer and is a bright spot within its district. In 2025-2026, it posted 36.1% ELA proficiency and 37.9% math proficiency, comfortably outpacing the district averages of 33.7% and 29.0%, respectively. Its math proficiency even edged slightly above the state average of 37.3%. This is especially noteworthy given that 65% of its students qualify for free or reduced lunch, yet the school maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 13.3. The one significant weakness is 5th-grade science, where just 9.7% of students are proficient, compared to 27.6% for the district and 39.0% statewide — a dramatic gap that suggests science instruction needs attention.

Weld Re-3J Online Innovations presents a more complicated picture. Its graduation rate of 85.1% matches the state average, and its dropout rate of 0.6% is far lower than the state's 1.6%. However, it has a striking 60% chronic absenteeism rate, more than double the district and state averages, and its 11th-grade SAT Reading/Writing proficiency collapsed from 44% to 17% in just one year. The school's student-teacher ratio of 27.5 is also much higher than the elementary school's, though this is less meaningful for an online program. When comparing the two schools, Hudson Elementary is the more reliable choice for younger students, while the online program offers flexibility for older students but carries significant concerns around attendance and declining test performance.