Summary:
The 05077 zip code is home to a single elementary school, First Branch Elementary School, which serves grades PK-4 and is part of the First Branch Unified School District #82. While the school has a relatively small student-teacher ratio of 10.2, its academic performance has been declining in recent years, with test scores below the state average and a drop in its statewide ranking from 92 out of 137 Vermont elementary schools in 2024-2025 to 101 out of 113 in 2022-2023.
First Branch Elementary School faces several challenges, including a high chronic absenteeism rate of 11.4% and a significant percentage of students (43.97%) receiving free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high-poverty student population. Despite the school's relatively high spending of $16,569 per student, its academic outcomes have not kept pace, with particularly low 4th grade Math scores at just 20.83% proficient or better, compared to the state average of 34.25%.
While the small class sizes at First Branch Elementary School suggest that students may benefit from more individualized attention, the school's declining performance and below-average test scores in both ELA and Math indicate that there are likely other factors at play that are hindering student success. Further investigation would be needed to identify the root causes of these issues and develop strategies to improve the school's academic outcomes and overall performance.
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