Best Public Schools in Zip Code 81637

Zip code 81637, serving the Gypsum area of Eagle County, Colorado, contains five schools within the Eagle County School District No. Re 50—two elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school—with a combined enrollment of roughly 2,040 students. The area presents a mixed academic picture: while no ranked school reaches the state median overall, some bright spots and clear challenges stand out. Red Hill Elementary School is the most-improved school, climbing from the 15th to the 36th percentile over three years, with 5th-grade science proficiency (39%) now above the state average and the lowest chronic absenteeism (25.7%) among comparable schools. Eagle Valley High School posts a strong 91.3% graduation rate, well above district and state averages, but its SAT math proficiency of 22% and slipping state rank suggest academic preparedness is mixed.

At the other end of the spectrum, Gypsum Elementary School is the area’s weakest performer, ranking in the 9th percentile with just 6.3% of 5th graders proficient in science—a 30-point gap versus the state—while also carrying the highest free/reduced lunch rate (69.1%) and 40.6% chronic absenteeism. Gypsum Creek Middle School has the most severe attendance crisis in the zip code: 49.4% chronic absenteeism, which helps explain its low math (13.5%) and ELA (24.1%) proficiency. World Academy Middle School, with only 12 students, lacks recent test data and cannot be fairly evaluated.

Math is a systemic weakness across every school in 81637, with all schools falling at least 10 points behind state proficiency levels; even the strongest elementary school, Red Hill, is at 23.9% math proficiency. The two elementary schools are remarkably different despite serving the same town: Red Hill outperforms Gypsum Elementary by 32.7 points in 5th-grade science, and its lower absenteeism and poverty rates point to the close link between attendance, economic disadvantage, and achievement. While Eagle Valley High School graduates students at an impressive rate, the gradual decline in its state rank and weak SAT math scores remain concerns. Red Hill’s upward trajectory offers the most hope, and if the trend continues, it may soon become the first school in 81637 to reach the top half of Colorado schools.