Best High Schools in Zip Code 80503

Zip code 80503 in Colorado is served by two public high schools—Niwot High School and Silver Creek High School—both part of the St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J, which ranks 23rd out of 115 Colorado districts (80th percentile, 4 stars). Together, the schools enroll approximately 2,717 students in grades 9–12 and serve a largely middle-income community, with free/reduced lunch rates around 25.65% and 26.99% respectively.

Niwot High School is the clear academic standout, ranking 29th out of 338 Colorado high schools in 2025–2026 (91st percentile, 5 stars), up from 60th two years earlier. It outperforms Silver Creek High School on every reading/writing and math assessment, with SAT Reading/Writing proficiency of 81% and 9th-grade PSAT9 Reading/Writing at 90%. Silver Creek High School, consistently rated 4 stars, leads on graduation, posting a 97.5% rate in 2024–2025—well above the state average of 85.6%—and recently edged out Niwot High School in 11th-grade science proficiency (40.0% vs. 39.4%), erasing a 15-point gap from the prior year.

Both schools comfortably beat district and state averages on nearly every measure and both are rated in the top 20% of Colorado high schools. Reading and writing is a clear strength, with proficiency rates 14 to 24 points above state averages across grade levels. Math is the relative weakness—Silver Creek High School’s 10th-grade math proficiency (54%) trails its reading/writing score (81%) by 27 points, while Niwot High School shows a similar 22-point gap. Chronic absenteeism is a notable concern: about 28% of students at both schools are chronically absent, well above the district average of 23.1%. Note that some data points come from different years—Niwot High School’s graduation rate is from 2022–2023, while Silver Creek High School’s is from 2024–2025. Overall, families here have access to two high-performing schools with slightly different strengths: Niwot High School for top-tier academics and rising rankings, and Silver Creek High School for exceptional graduation rates and strong science results.