Sutton Public Schools

The Sutton Public Schools district in Nebraska consists of two schools: Sutton Elementary School, serving grades PK-6, and Sutton Secondary School, serving grades 7-12. While Sutton Secondary is a standout high-performing school, ranking 25th out of 146 Nebraska high schools, Sutton Elementary lags behind, ranking 213th out of 274 elementary schools in the state.

Sutton Secondary School boasts a strong 87.9% 4-year graduation rate and outperforms the state averages on several key assessments, including 58.33% proficiency in ACT Math (vs. 41.27% statewide) and 70.83% proficiency in ACT Science (vs. 47.59% statewide). In contrast, Sutton Elementary students underperformed the state averages in English Language Arts and Math proficiency across multiple grade levels. Both schools, however, struggle with high chronic absenteeism rates of 19.3%, nearly double the state average.

Socioeconomic factors may play a role in the performance gap, as Sutton Elementary has a higher free/reduced lunch rate of 43.32% compared to 37.99% at Sutton Secondary. Despite the differences, the district's per-student spending and student-teacher ratios are similar across the two schools. The stark contrast in performance between the elementary and secondary schools suggests opportunities for the district to identify and replicate the successful practices from Sutton Secondary to improve the overall quality of education for all students in the Sutton Public Schools district.