Burlington Public School District No. Re-6j

Burlington Public School District No. Re-6j serves roughly 742 students across three schools in a rural Colorado area: Burlington Elementary School (PK–4), Burlington Middle School (5–8), and Burlington High School (9–12). The district ranks in the 17th percentile statewide, but the three schools tell very different stories.

Burlington Elementary School is the clear bright spot. It is the district’s only 2-star school, ranked in the 38th percentile, and it outperforms the district by 6.5 points in ELA and 12.4 points in math. Its chronic absenteeism is just 17.2% — far below the district average of 30.5% — and it is the only school with a grade-level subject above the state average: 3rd-grade math hits 50% proficiency vs. 41.5% statewide. However, that success drops off sharply by 4th grade, where math proficiency falls to 17.9%. The middle school struggles much more. Burlington Middle School ranks in the 20th percentile, with only 13.2% of students proficient in math overall, and 5th-grade math is just 6.1% compared to the state’s 39.3%. Even its best grade, 8th, reaches only 31.6% proficiency. ELA is stronger but still low at 21.8%.

Burlington High School faces the district’s most extreme challenge: 52.4% chronic absenteeism, nearly double the state rate. SAT math proficiency is just 5% (vs. 32% statewide), and PSAT 10 math sits at 9%. Reading is stronger — PSAT 9 reading is 55% — but still below state averages. Despite these academic struggles, the high school graduates 84.8% of students, close to the state’s 85.6%. Poverty is high across all three schools, with free/reduced lunch rates ranging from 57.2% at the elementary to 65.1% at the middle school. The pattern is clear: elementary students show promise, math collapses in middle school, and high school attendance is a critical barrier. Prioritizing early math intervention and addressing chronic absenteeism at the high school would benefit the entire district.