Best Public Schools in Zip Code 01543

ZIP code 01543 in Rutland, Massachusetts is home to three public schools — Naquag Elementary School (K–2, 353 students), Glenwood Elementary School (3–5, 382 students), and Central Tree Middle (6–8, 369 students), together enrolling 1,104 students in the Wachusett district. The three schools form a clean K–8 feeder pattern, and there is no high school inside this ZIP code, so local students continue elsewhere after eighth grade. The district itself ranks 97 out of 351 districts statewide, in the 72nd percentile with 4 stars — a strong backdrop for the schools below.

Central Tree Middle is the clear academic standout. It has earned 4 stars in each of the last three years and ranks 102 out of 478 middle schools in 2025–2026, the 79th percentile. Its all-grade proficiency is 56.12% in math, 64.22% in science, and 62.62% in civics — all above the district and state — while ELA sits at 44.94%, above the state (40.03%) but below the district (49.4%). Its 8th grade is especially strong in math, science, and civics. Glenwood Elementary is a 3-star school hovering near the 60th percentile, above the state in every tested subject but below the district in all three: ELA 42.78%, math 50%, and science 46.67%. Its 5th grade math score of 54.55% is a bright spot, while 4th grade ELA at 37.14% is a relative weakness. Naquag cannot be compared academically because it serves K–2 and has no test or rank data, but it leads on resources with the lowest student-teacher ratio (13.4) and the highest per-student spending ($15,710).

Two year-over-year shifts stand out: Central Tree's science rose from 44.44% to 64.22% and civics from 48.78% to 62.62%, while Glenwood's science fell from 58.1% to 46.67%. Resource levels do not neatly track outcomes here — Glenwood has the lowest spending and highest student-teacher ratio and is the lower-ranked tested school, while Central Tree produces the strongest results with middle-of-the-group resources. Note that free/reduced lunch percentages are blank for all three schools, so socioeconomic context is simply unavailable and should not be read as zero. Overall, this is a strong district with an uneven local profile: one high-performing middle school, a solid-but-mixed elementary school, and an early-grades school whose academic impact is not measurable from this data.