Best Public Schools in Bethel, ME

Summary:

The city of Bethel, Maine is home to three schools that serve students from elementary through high school: Crescent Park School, Telstar High School, and Telstar Middle School. These schools are part of the Regional School Unit 44/Maine School Admin District 44.

Among the three schools, Crescent Park School stands out as a consistent performer, ranking in the top 30% of Maine elementary schools over the past three years, with a high ranking of 83rd out of 288 in 2023-2024. The school outperforms the district and state averages in both English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency, and has a relatively low chronic absenteeism rate of 23.4%. In contrast, Telstar High School has seen a decline in its statewide ranking, dropping from the top 30% in 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 to the top 60% in 2024-2025, despite maintaining a strong 87.8% four-year graduation rate and outperforming the district and state averages in Mathematics proficiency.

Across the district, all three schools face the challenge of a higher-than-average chronic absenteeism rate of 23.4%, which is above the state average. Additionally, the schools have varying free/reduced lunch rates, with Telstar Middle School having the highest rate at 45.83%, followed by Telstar High School at 38.69% and Crescent Park School at 39.57%. These socioeconomic factors may play a role in the schools' performance and should be considered when analyzing and addressing the district's educational challenges.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MEA English Language Arts (2025)	MEA Mathematics (2025)	MEA Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MEA English Language Arts All Grades	MEA Mathematics All Grades	MEA Science All Grades	Total
Crescent Park School	Public	PK, KG-5	19 Crescent Lane	Bethel	04217	Oxford County	Regional School Unit 44/Maine School Admin District 44	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 824-2839	263	25	10.5	48.3%	258 (98.1%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.1%)	52.8	158^th of 289 public elementary schools	45.3%		72.8	83^rd of 288 public elementary schools	71.2%	75	68.9	51.9	25.0	$24,843
Telstar High School	Public	9-12	284 Walkers Mills Rd	Bethel	04217	Oxford County	Regional School Unit 44/Maine School Admin District 44	No	No	No	No	(207) 824-2136	179	16	11.3	57.0%	164 (91.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	2 (1.1%)	11 (6.1%)	34.3	72^nd of 119 public high schools	39.5%		54	35^th of 121 public high schools	71.1%	37	61.0	51.3	18.4	$31,235
Telstar Middle School	Public	6-8	284 Walkers Mills Rd	Bethel	04217	Oxford County	Regional School Unit 44/Maine School Admin District 44	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 824-2136	155	17	9.0	51.0%	147 (94.8%)	1 (0.6%)	2 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.2%)	48.2	45^th of 91 public middle schools	50.5%		27.1	74^th of 92 public middle schools	19.6%	29	67.1	38.7	52.8	$23,191

Cities Near Bethel

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Bryant Pond	4.15 mi	1	126^th
Rumford	10.07 mi	2	241^st
West Paris	10.33 mi	1
Mexico	10.98 mi	4	270^th
Peru	12.87 mi	2	250^th

See the top ME Maine cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Maine Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.