Summary:
Zip code 80747, located in the small rural town of Peetz, Colorado, is served by two public schools — Peetz Elementary School (PK–5) and Peetz Junior-Senior High School (6–12) — with a combined enrollment of just 204 students, all part of the top-ranked School District No. Re-5 Plateau, which holds the #1 ranking among 115 Colorado districts with a 5-star rating.
Peetz Elementary School is the clear academic standout, ranking in the 94th percentile statewide and earning 5 stars for the second straight year. Its CMAS test scores are well above state averages, including 57.4% proficiency in ELA versus 44.7% statewide, 48.9% in math versus 37.3%, and a remarkable 72.2% in 5th-grade science — nearly double the state rate of 36.1%. The school improved from the 47th percentile in 2013–2014 to its current elite standing, and chronic absenteeism is just 16.7%, far better than the district rate of 33.9% and state rate of 28.4%.
The same cannot be said for Peetz Junior-Senior High School, where test scores now trail state averages — 32.5% proficiency in ELA versus 44.7%, and 27.5% in math versus 37.3% — after a steep one-year drop in ELA from 42.5%. Most alarming is the school's chronic absenteeism rate of 51.6%, more than double the state rate and triple the elementary school's rate. The high school was once ranked in the 97th percentile back in 2012–2013, so this decline is dramatic. The district's #1 ranking is being driven almost entirely by the elementary school, and with relatively low poverty levels (about 27% free/reduced lunch eligibility), this is not a story of concentrated poverty. Instead, addressing chronic absenteeism at the high school level is the most urgent priority, and the elementary school's success proves the district has a strong foundation to build on.
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