Best Public Schools in Zip Code 04290

Summary:

The 04290 zip code is home to a single public elementary school, Dirigo Elementary School, which serves grades PK-5 with 355 students. The school is part of the Regional School Unit 56 district, which is ranked 167 out of 176 districts in Maine and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Dirigo Elementary School faces significant challenges, with consistently low academic performance across English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science compared to state averages. In the 2024-2025 school year, the school's proficiency rates were 53.59% in ELA, 39.87% in Math, and 16.98% in Science, all of which fall well below the state averages. Additionally, the school has a high chronic absenteeism rate of 23.4%, which is much higher than the state average and could be a contributing factor to the low test scores.

Further, Dirigo Elementary School serves a population with high levels of economic disadvantage, with 50.14% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in the 2023-2024 school year. Despite having a relatively low student-teacher ratio of 12.3, the school's academic and attendance challenges suggest a need for targeted interventions and support to improve student outcomes.

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
Dirigo Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	117 Auburn Road	Peru	04290	Oxford County	Regional School Unit 56	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 562-4207	324	28	11.6	56.8%	295 (91.0%)	6 (1.9%)	9 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (4.3%)	19.9	252^nd of 289 public elementary schools	12.8%		14.7	266^th of 288 public elementary schools	7.6%	14	53.6	39.9	17.0	$21,954

Cities Near Zip Code 04290

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Peru	3.35 mi	2	250^th
Dixfield	4.57 mi	4	264^th
Mexico	5.12 mi	4	270^th
Rumford	7.45 mi	2	241^st
Sumner	8.38 mi	1	168^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.