Sanford Public Schools

The Sanford Public Schools district in Maine consists of 5 schools, including 3 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 high school, serving students from the local community. While the district has some standout schools, there is a significant disparity in performance across the different institutions.

The Sanford High School has shown improvement in recent years, moving from a 1-star to a 2-star rating, and boasts a relatively high 90.8% four-year graduation rate. In contrast, the Sanford Middle School and other schools in the district have struggled, with low 1-star ratings from SchoolDigger. The Carl J Lamb School stands out with the lowest student-teacher ratio of 10.2, suggesting smaller class sizes and more individualized attention, while the Margaret Chase Smith elementary school has achieved the highest statewide ranking in recent years.

Across the district, there are concerns about high chronic absenteeism rates, particularly at Sanford High School (40.4%), which may be impacting student learning and achievement. Additionally, the high percentages of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 37.37% to 60.56%, suggest that many students in the Sanford Public Schools district come from low-income households, presenting additional challenges. While the district has room for improvement, the progress shown at Sanford High School indicates that there may be opportunities for other underperforming schools to make similar strides.