Akron School District No. R-1

The Akron School District No. R-1 in Colorado is a small, rural district that serves two schools: Akron Elementary School and Akron High School. While the district as a whole is performing at an average level compared to other districts in the state, the schools within the district have some notable strengths and challenges.

Akron High School has shown steady improvement in its statewide ranking, moving from 239th out of 411 Colorado high schools in 2018-2019 to 174th out of 349 in the 2023-2024 school year. This indicates the high school is performing better relative to other high schools in the state. In contrast, Akron Elementary School has a relatively diverse student population, with 25.69% Hispanic students, 1.22% Native American students, and 3.67% students of two or more races, which is noteworthy for a small, rural school district.

However, both schools face challenges in academic performance. Akron Elementary School has significantly lower proficiency rates in CMAS English Language Arts and Math compared to state averages, while Akron High School has below-average SAT and PSAT scores, with the exception of 9th grade PSAT Reading and Writing. Additionally, both schools have high rates of free and reduced lunch recipients, indicating a significant population of economically disadvantaged students, which may be contributing to the achievement gap.