Best Public Schools in Zip Code 80483

Zip code 80483 is served by a single school: South Routt Elementary School, a K-5 elementary school in Yampa, CO, within the South Routt School District No. Re 3. With just 130 students, this small rural school offers a favorable 11.8:1 student-teacher ratio. About one-third of students (33.85%) qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and roughly one in four students (25.0%) were chronically absent in 2024-25, which is better than the state rate of 28.4% but slightly above the district's 23.6%. Notably, the zip code contains no middle or high school, so students must transition elsewhere after 5th grade, making this elementary school the sole educational anchor for the community.

The school's test scores consistently fall below state averages. In 2025-26, 3rd grade English Language Arts proficiency was just 17.4% versus 40.8% statewide, a 23.4-point deficit, and 5th grade science proficiency was 20% versus 36.1% statewide. Math scores showed a mixed picture: 3rd grade math was 26.1% versus 41.5% statewide, while 4th grade math was the brightest spot at 36.4%, just 2.6 points below the state's 39.0%. The school's scores are identical to the district's on every grade-level test, confirming that South Routt Elementary effectively drives all district-level data. Overall, all-grades ELA proficiency was 31.3% and math was 28.1% in 2024-25, both below state averages (44.8% and 35.9%, respectively).

The most concerning trend is the school's recent ranking decline. South Routt Elementary held steady at the 51st–52nd percentile with 3 stars in both 2018-19 and 2023-24, but dropped dramatically to the 25th percentile with a 1-star rating in 2025-26, ranking 704th out of 943 schools. Chronic absenteeism, affecting one in four students, may be limiting academic growth, but the school's low student-teacher ratio not translating to higher achievement suggests challenges beyond class size—such as rural isolation or limited resources—may be at play. Targeted interventions in attendance and early literacy, particularly for 3rd grade ELA and 5th grade science, could help reverse the downward trend.