Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 80917

Zip code 80917 in Colorado Springs is served by three elementary schools—Rudy Elementary School, Penrose Elementary School, and Carver Elementary School—all part of the 2-star Colorado Springs School District No. 11. Rudy and Penrose serve pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, while Carver serves kindergarten through fifth grade, with enrollment ranging from 205 students at Carver to 385 at Rudy.

Rudy Elementary School is the clear academic leader, ranking in the 53rd percentile statewide with a 3-star rating and outperforming both the district and state averages in math while nearly matching the state in English Language Arts. By contrast, Penrose Elementary School (18th percentile) and Carver Elementary School (13th percentile) both earn 1-star ratings and remain well below district and state proficiency averages in every subject. Carver, however, is the most improved school in the area: it jumped from the 3rd percentile to the 13th percentile and more than doubled its math proficiency from 9.5% to 21.3% over the past year. Penrose has shown modest gains but remains consistently low-performing.

A clear pattern emerges linking poverty, attendance, and achievement. Rudy has the lowest free/reduced lunch rate (53.77%) and the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (31.8%), while Carver has the highest on both measures (78.54% and 40.9%, respectively). All three schools exceed the state's chronic absenteeism average of 28.4%, making attendance a significant concern across the zip code. Notably, Carver has the smallest student-teacher ratio (11.8) yet the lowest test scores, indicating that class size alone does not drive academic success. Even Rudy, despite remaining the strongest school, has declined from the 67th to the 53rd percentile over three years, suggesting families should monitor its trajectory as well.