Summary:
Gilpin County School District No. Re-1 serves 392 students across two schools in a rural Colorado mountain community, with Gilpin County Elementary School serving grades PK–5 and Gilpin County Undivided High School serving grades 6–12 as a combined middle and high school. The district is rated 4 stars and ranks 21st out of 115 districts in Colorado, placing it in the 82nd percentile statewide.
The high school is clearly the district's standout performer, ranking 80th out of 338 Colorado high schools and climbing from 123rd the previous year. Its graduation rate of 97.3% far exceeds the state's 85.6%, and 11th graders shine in science and reading, with proficiency rates of 42.1% vs. 24.8% statewide in science and 78% vs. 60% in SAT Reading/Writing. However, math proficiency fell to 27.5% — nearly 10 points below the state average — and chronic absenteeism is a serious concern at 42.2%. By contrast, the elementary school sits near the middle of the pack, ranking 459th out of 943 elementary schools, and has been essentially flat for three years. It also faces more challenges than the high school: a higher poverty rate (47.9% vs. 38.0%) and a higher student-teacher ratio (16.7 vs. 11.7), despite nearly identical enrollment.
Both schools exceed the state's chronic absenteeism rate of 28.4%, creating a paradox at the high school where two in five students are chronically absent, yet graduation rates remain exceptional. Test scores at the high school are volatile year to year due to small cohorts — PSAT9 math jumped 20 points in a single year, and all-grades math dropped nearly 11 points. The elementary school's overall scores look close to state averages, but grade-level data reveals a slide between 4th and 5th grade, particularly in ELA, where proficiency drops from 52.2% to 38.1%. Ultimately, the district's strong ranking is driven by the high school, while the elementary school remains a solid but median performer with room to grow.
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