Riverview Elementary School

Riverview Elementary School is a PK–5 elementary school in Durango, CO, serving 374 students within the Durango School District No. 9-R, a highly rated district ranked 28th out of 115 in Colorado. Riverview holds a 4-star SchoolDigger rating and ranks 231st out of 943 Colorado elementary schools, placing it in the 76th percentile statewide. Among nearby schools, only Park Elementary ranks higher, while Needham Elementary, The Juniper School, Animas Valley Elementary, and Florida Mesa Elementary all trail behind. The school has also shown strong recent momentum, climbing from the 50th percentile in 2020–21 to the 76th–81st percentile range over the past two school years.

Academically, Riverview is the clear reading leader in the area. Its English Language Arts proficiency rate of 62.7% is the highest among all nearby elementary schools, topping Park Elementary (61.9%), Needham Elementary (57.9%), and The Juniper School (45.3%), while far exceeding the state average of 44.7%. Reading performance stays consistently strong across 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. In math, Riverview posts a solid 49.4% proficiency rate—well above the state average of 37.3%—but with an important pattern: 3rd graders hit an impressive 69.1% proficiency, yet by 5th grade the rate drops to 38.9%. Science performance is also strong, with 5th graders reaching 50.7% proficiency versus 36.1% statewide, trailing only Park Elementary and Needham Elementary locally.

A key competitive advantage is attendance. Riverview's chronic absenteeism rate of 20.3% is well below the district average of 29.3% and the state average of 28.4%, and less than half the rate at Florida Mesa Elementary (42.6%). The school also serves its students well across subgroups: low-income students jumped from the 48th to 69th percentile in a single year, and gifted students rank in the 77th percentile statewide. Notably, this success has continued even as the student population has become more economically diverse—the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch rose from 18.2% to 30.5% between 2022–23 and 2024–25 while academic performance still improved. Overall, Riverview stands out as one of the most effective elementary schools in southwestern Colorado, with its main area for growth being upper-elementary math.