Best Public Schools in Peyton, CO

The city of Peyton, Colorado, is served by 7 schools — two elementary schools, two middle schools, two high schools, and one alternative online academy — enrolling a combined 3,010 students across two districts: El Paso County Colorado School District 49 and Peyton School District No. 23. About 80% of students attend the three D49 schools — Falcon High School, Falcon Middle School, and Bennett Ranch Elementary School — while the remaining 20% attend Peyton Elementary School, Peyton Senior High School, Peyton Junior High School, and Peyton Online Academy in Peyton School District No. 23.

Among the standout schools, Peyton Senior High School leads on engagement with a 97.9% graduation rate, a 0.9% dropout rate, and the lowest high school chronic absenteeism at 12.9%. Peyton Elementary School posts the strongest elementary academics, with 49.7% ELA proficiency and exceptional 6th grade ELA at 65.1%, well above the state's 41.6%. Falcon High School delivers strong reading and writing scores — 69% SAT Reading/Writing proficiency versus 60% statewide — and a 93.4% graduation rate, but its 56.6% chronic absenteeism rate is double the state rate and far above every other school. Peyton Online Academy shows the most concerning metrics, with 47.4% chronic absenteeism and a 2.6% dropout rate, both above state averages.

Mathematics is the most consistent weakness across the area: every school with reported test scores falls below the state average in math, including Falcon High (24% SAT Math), Falcon Middle (24.6%), Bennett Ranch (26.3%), and Peyton Elementary (34.7% versus 37.3% statewide). Bennett Ranch's 4th grade math proficiency of 16.1% is the lowest single-subject score in the dataset, a roughly 23-point gap from the state rate of 39.0%. Falcon High outperforms its own district's 63.5% graduation rate by a wide margin. Notably, the smaller Peyton School District No. 23 schools have more favorable student-teacher ratios (14.0–14.8) than D49 schools (16.8–19.8), which may contribute to lower absenteeism and stronger completion rates, though recent test data are missing for Peyton Senior High, Peyton Junior High, and Peyton Online Academy.