Best High Schools in Zip Code 80549

Zip code 80549 contains exactly one high school, Wellington Middle-High School, a combined campus serving grades 6 through 12 with 1,173 students in the Wellington, Colorado area, operating within the highly ranked Poudre School District R-1. This school stands out most for its strong graduation rate of 92.8%, well above the district's 89.0% and the state's 85.6%, along with an exceptionally low dropout rate of just 0.6% compared to the state's 1.6%. However, chronic absenteeism is a serious concern: 43.8% of students are chronically absent, far higher than the district's 30.7% and the state's 28.4%. With 39.64% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch and a student-teacher ratio of 16.5, the school carries a notable economically disadvantaged population. Its overall state ranking is 157 out of 338 high schools (54th percentile, 3-star), while its district ranks 12th out of 115 districts (90th percentile, 5-star), showing that a top-tier district does not guarantee top performance at every school.

Academically, the school shows a clear split between literacy and math. In reading and writing, Wellington Middle-High School performs near or above state averages: SAT Reading/Writing is 63% proficient versus 60% statewide, and PSAT 9 Reading/Writing jumps to 76% versus 66% statewide. Math tells a very different story. SAT Math proficiency is just 19%, far below the state's 32%, and CMAS Math across all grades sits at 28.3% versus 37.3% statewide. PSAT 9 Math (36%) and PSAT 10 Math (33%) also trail state averages. The middle school grades are noticeably stronger than the high school grades: 8th grade ELA, math, and science all meet or exceed state averages, while 11th grade SAT Math and CMAS Science lag significantly, particularly against district peers. Year-to-year trends are mixed, with some reading gains (SAT Reading/Writing rose from 57% to 63%) but notable math slips (SAT Math fell from 26% to 19%).

For parents, the bottom line is that Wellington Middle-High School is a solid, mid-tier school that does an excellent job keeping students on track to graduation and delivering competitive literacy outcomes, especially in middle school. The main challenges are persistent math underperformance and an alarmingly high chronic absenteeism rate that affects nearly half of all students. While the school benefits from being part of the highly regarded Poudre School District R-1, it clearly needs targeted support in mathematics, increased attendance interventions, and a focus on reversing the decline in high school science and math scores to better serve its students and close the gap with district and state benchmarks.