Ridgway School District No. R-2

Ridgway School District No. R-2 is a small, high-performing Colorado district serving approximately 320 students across three schools: Ridgway Elementary School (PK–5), Ridgway Middle School (6–8), and Ridgway High School (9–12). The district ranks #2 out of 115 Colorado districts, placing it in the 98th percentile with a 5-star rating, an impressive feat for such a small district.

All three schools are top performers in their respective categories. Ridgway Elementary School ranks 108th out of 943 Colorado elementary schools (89th percentile) and has improved steadily over the past three years, with exceptional science proficiency (68.8% vs. 36.1% statewide) and low chronic absenteeism at 9.3%. Ridgway Middle School ranks 67th out of 469 middle schools (86th percentile) and posted the strongest science results in the district, with 75% of 8th graders proficient. Ridgway High School ranks 53rd out of 338 high schools (84th percentile) and has shown major improvement, jumping from 93rd to 53rd over three years, with 95% of students proficient in PSAT reading/writing. However, the high school has a serious red flag: 47.4% chronic absenteeism, which is about five times the rate at the elementary and middle schools and far above the state rate of 28.4%.

Math is the district's clearest relative weakness across all grade levels, particularly at the high school where SAT math proficiency (39%) trails reading/writing (74%) significantly. Science is a major strength at every school, with all three roughly doubling or nearly doubling the state proficiency rate. Student-teacher ratios are exceptionally low across all three schools, ranging from 7.9:1 at the high school to 13.2:1 at the elementary school, which likely supports strong outcomes. It is also worth noting that with only 74–149 students per school, proficiency percentages can swing significantly from year to year, so these figures should be interpreted with some caution.