Summary:
ZIP code 81650 (Rifle, Colorado) contains 5 public schools serving approximately 2,625 students across three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, all part of Garfield School District No. Re-2, a district that ranks in the 20th percentile statewide with a 1-star rating and an average free/reduced lunch rate near 54%.
The strongest overall performances come from Rifle Middle School, which has improved steadily from the 20th to 27th percentile and has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (16.3%) and best student-teacher ratio (15.2:1) in the area, and Rifle High School, which posts a graduation rate matching the state average (85.6%), a dropout rate better than the state, and SAT Reading/Writing proficiency only 5 points below the state average. Graham Mesa Elementary is a bright spot in 4th grade ELA (39.7% proficient) and has the lowest poverty rate, though its overall rank has slipped to the 19th percentile.
The most urgent concern is Wamsley Elementary, which fell from the 24th to 9th percentile, earned a 0-star rating, and has all-grades math proficiency of just 9.8% versus the state's 37.3%, combined with the highest chronic absenteeism (31.9%) and highest student-teacher ratio (26.4:1). Highland Elementary also struggles, particularly in 5th grade math (7.1%) and science (8.9%). Math proficiency is a systemic crisis across all five schools, and early-grade reading skills are weak at every elementary school, suggesting these challenges will require coordinated district-wide attention rather than isolated fixes.
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