Summary:
ZIP code 01566 covers Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and contains two elementary-level schools serving a combined 1,198 students: Burgess Elementary, a PK–6 school in the Sturbridge district with 842 students, and Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School, a K–8 charter school in the Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School (District) with 356 students. Burgess enrolls about 70.3% of the area's elementary students; the charter school about 29.7%.
Burgess Elementary is the standout. It ranks 250 of 899 schools statewide (72nd percentile, 4 stars) and 94 of 351 districts (4 stars), and it has been improving: its rank moved from 362 of 916 in 2023-24 to 250 of 899 in 2025-26, with stars rising from 3 to 4. Its all-grade proficiency is above the state in every reported subject — science 60.75% vs 40.98%, math 55.05% vs 41.11%, and ELA 48.6% vs 40.03% — and every reported grade-level score also beats the state. Old Sturbridge Academy ranks 728 of 899 (19th percentile, 1 star) and 318 of 351 by district (0 stars), and its trend has slipped from 620 of 916 in 2023-24. It scores below the state in nearly every reported subject and grade; the one bright spot is 7th grade ELA at 40.0% vs the state's 39.91%.
The performance gap is widest in math: 55.05% at Burgess vs 21.05% at the charter school, a 34-point difference. Because Old Sturbridge serves grades 7–8 and Burgess does not, comparing only shared grades 3–6 is fairer — and Burgess still leads by about 24 points in ELA and 34 points in math. Resources also differ: Burgess has a student-teacher ratio of 12 vs 14.5 (about 20.8% lower) and spent $17,075 per student in 2020-21 vs $15,628 (roughly 9.3% more), though those figures are dated and don't prove cause and effect. Free/reduced lunch data are blank for both schools, so economic context can't be assessed.
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