Elementary Schools in Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District #87

Summary:

The Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District #87 contains 6 elementary schools serving students in grades K-6: Molly Stark School, Bennington Elementary School, Pownal Elementary School, Shaftsbury Elementary School, Monument Elementary School, and Woodford Hollow School. This district, located in southwest Vermont, faces significant challenges, with all schools performing below the state average on standardized tests and having high rates of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

Among the schools, Shaftsbury Elementary School stands out as the highest performer, earning a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger compared to 0 stars for the other schools. Shaftsbury has the strongest academic performance, with the highest proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics across multiple grade levels. In contrast, the other schools in the district struggle, with proficiency rates well below the state averages in both subjects.

The high rates of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 73.33% at Woodford Hollow School to 84.33% at Molly Stark School, suggest that poverty is a significant factor impacting student performance across the Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District #87. Addressing these challenges and supporting the needs of economically disadvantaged students will be crucial for improving educational outcomes in the district.

District Detail

181 Orchard Road
Bennington, VT 05201-9238

(802) 447-8419

SchoolDigger Rank:
68^th of 75 Vermont districts

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Grades served: PK, KG-6
Students: 1,351

Primary Schools: 6
Middle Schools: 0
High Schools: 0
Alternative Schools: 0

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				VTCAP English Language Arts (2025)				VTCAP Mathematics (2025)				VTCAP Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
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	VTCAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	VTCAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	VTCAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	VTCAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	VTCAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	VTCAP Mathematics 4th Grade	VTCAP Mathematics 5th Grade	VTCAP Mathematics 6th Grade	VTCAP Science 5th Grade	Total
Bennington Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	128 Park Street	Bennington	05201	Bennington County	Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District #87	(n/a)	No	No	Yes	(802) 442-5256	278	17	16.3	82.4%	246 (88.5%)	4 (1.4%)	9 (3.2%)	10 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.2%)								(n/a)									15.4
Molly Stark School	Public	PK, KG-5	181 Orchard Street	Bennington	05201	Bennington County	Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District #87	(n/a)	No	No	Yes	(802) 442-2692	402	22	18.6	84.3%	349 (86.8%)	8 (2.0%)	23 (5.7%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (5.0%)	5.7	137^th of 137 public elementary schools	0.0%		11.1	125^th of 133 public elementary schools	6.0%	12	10.4	35.6	30.0		6.4	2.2	12.0		16.7
Monument Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	66 Main Street	Bennington	05201	Bennington County	Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District #87	(n/a)	No	No	Yes	(802) 447-7979	147	9	17.2	76.9%	134 (91.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	3 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (6.1%)								(n/a)
Pownal Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	94 School House Road	Pownal	05261	Bennington County	Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District #87	(n/a)	No	No	Yes	(802) 823-7333	249	17	14.6	82.7%	234 (94.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.2%)	7.6	135^th of 137 public elementary schools	1.5%		9.1	130^th of 133 public elementary schools	2.3%	5	20.7	50.0	16.7	22.9	6.7	12.5	6.9	17.1	16.7
Shaftsbury Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	150 Buck Hill Road	Shaftsbury	05262	Bennington County	Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District #87	(n/a)	No	No	Yes	(802) 442-4373	245	20	12.3	76.3%	220 (89.8%)	3 (1.2%)	15 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.9%)	33.3	97^th of 137 public elementary schools	29.2%		36.4	87^th of 133 public elementary schools	34.6%	10	25.0			62.2	21.9			48.7	16.7
Woodford Hollow School	Public	PK, KG-6	995 VT Route 9	Bennington	05201	Bennington County	Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District #87	(n/a)	No	No	Yes	(802) 442-4071	30	3	8.8	73.3%	30 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Bennington Incorporated School District	0 mi	3
Mount Anthony Union High School District #14	0.36 mi	2	62^nd
Southwest Technical	0.41 mi	1
Woodford School District	3.01 mi	1
Shaftsbury School District	4.49 mi	1

See the top VT Vermont districts

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