Best Public Schools in Sterling, CO

Sterling, Colorado is served by four traditional public schools within School District No. Re-1 Valley: Ayres Elementary School (K–2), Campbell Elementary School (3–5), Sterling Middle School (6–8), and Sterling High School (9–12), with a combined enrollment of about 1,550 students. The district holds a 2-star rating and ranks 73rd of 115 Colorado districts (37th percentile). The elementary grades are split into two schools, with Ayres feeding into Campbell, which then feeds into Sterling Middle and ultimately Sterling High.

Ayres Elementary School stands out for the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the district (21.7%) and the smallest class sizes (13.8 students per teacher), making it a solid early-grade environment. Campbell Elementary School is the academic bright spot, outperforming the district in both ELA (33.4% vs. 29.2%) and math (22.9% vs. 21.3%) on CMAS, despite having the highest poverty rate (65.4% free/reduced lunch) and largest class sizes (17.7 student-teacher ratio). Sterling High School excels at keeping students on track, with a 93.8% graduation rate and just a 0.8% dropout rate, though its 9th-grade PSAT scores trail the state. Sterling Middle School is the area of concern, posting the lowest test proficiency (23.3% ELA, 18.9% math) and seeing its ranking slip from the 57th to the 31st percentile since 2018–2019.

Math is a consistent weakness across all three tested schools, with proficiency rates roughly 10–18 points below state averages. Every school with ranking history has declined in percentiles over recent years, suggesting a systemic issue rather than a single school problem. On a positive note, chronic absenteeism at every school is below the state average of 28.4%, and the district's strong graduation and low dropout record indicates that students stay in school. The key challenge ahead is raising academic proficiency, especially in math, while preserving the supportive school culture that keeps attendance and graduation rates relatively strong.