Best Public Schools in Bear, DE

Bear, Delaware is served by three elementary schools—Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary, Oberle (William) Elementary School, and Loss (Olive B.) Elementary School—which together educate about 2,063 students in grades K-5, with no middle or high schools located within the city itself.

The standout is Loss (Olive B.) Elementary School, ranked #6 in the state (94th percentile) with a 5-star rating. It leads all Bear schools by wide margins: 65.4% ELA proficiency and 60% math proficiency, compared to just 24.1% and 17.2% at Oberle (William) Elementary School, which ranks #92 (13th percentile) with a 1-star rating. Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary sits in the middle at #71 (33rd percentile) with 31.9% ELA and 29.8% math proficiency. Loss also has dramatically lower chronic absenteeism (4.9%) compared to Wilbur (11.3%) and Oberle (12.1%), and it belongs to the top-performing Appoquinimink School District, while Wilbur is in Colonial School District and Oberle is in Christina School District.

Notably, Oberle spends the most per student ($15,226) yet performs worst, while Loss spends the least ($12,755) and excels—suggesting spending and class size (Oberle has the lowest ratio at 12.8:1) are not the main drivers of success. Attendance and district support appear far more influential. Loss is also improving (state rank climbed from #13 to #6), while Oberle has stagnated at #92 for two years. All three schools show a consistent jump in 5th-grade social studies scores, and the achievement gap between Loss and Oberle is massive—over 40 percentage points in both ELA and math. For parents, the choice is stark: Loss offers a top-tier education, while Oberle struggles significantly, and Wilbur provides a mid-range option with the largest enrollment and highest student-teacher ratio.