Introduction
Northern Colorado is home to some of the best schools and school districts in the state. In particular, the areas of Fort Collins, Loveland, Timnath, Windsor, and Wellington have several schools that are highly rated. These school districts are located in the Poudre, Thompson, and Weld RE-4 school districts.
Poudre School District
Poudre School District provides education for over 30,000 students, and it covers 1,856 square miles. It includes Fort Collins, Laporte, Timnath, Wellington, Red Feather, Livermore, Stove Prairie, and parts of Windsor.
One of the best schools in Poudre School District is Liberty Common Charter School. It is located in Fort Collins, and it is ranked #2 for Best Charter Middle Schools in Colorado and #3 for Best Charter Elementary Schools in Colorado, and it also is ranked #17 for Best Public High Schools in Colorado. It serves students from Kindergarten through 12th grade. It has about 1,130 students, and the student-to -ratio is 20-to-one. State standardized test scores indicate that 61 percent of students are at least proficient in math, and 70 percent of them are at least proficient in reading.
Niche.com gives the school an overall grade of A, and it received an A+ in Academics, an A for Teachers, a C for Clubs and Activities, a C+ for Diversity, an A for College Prep, and an A for Health and Safety. At the high school level, it offers AP classes for students who want to take a test to receive college credit for their high school coursework. The average SAT score is 1350, and the average ACT score is 30, according to user responses on Niche.com.
Another great school in Fort Collins is Ridgeview Classical Charter School. Like Liberty Common, Ridgeview Classical is a K-12 school. It received an overall Niche grade of A with an A in Academics, an A for Teachers, a C- for Clubs and Activities, a B for Diversity, and A- for College Prep, and an A- for Health and Safety. The school has about 775 students, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 15-to-one. Forty-three percent of the school’s students are at least proficient in math and 65 percent of them are at least proficient in reading.
One of the better high schools in the Poudre School District is Fossil Ridge High School. It ranks #2 on Niche.com’s list for Best Public High Schools in Larimer County, and its overall Niche grade is A, with an A in Academics, a B in Teachers, an A for Clubs and Activities, a B- in Diversity, an A in College Prep, and an A in Health and Safety. It also ranks #16 for Best High Schools for STEM in Colorado, and #19 for Best College Prep Public High Schools in Colorado, and #21 for Best Public High Schools in Colorado. The school serves nearly 2,000 students in and has a 20-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio. Half of the school’s students are at least proficient in math, and 67 percent of them are at least proficient in reading. The school offers an IB program as well as AP classes.
The school ranks #6 on Niche.com’s list for Best Charter Elementary Schools in Colorado, #7 on the list of Best Charter Middle Schools in Colorado, and #8 on Best Charter High Schools in Colorado. The average SAT score is 1310, and the average ACT score is 29, according to Niche.com users. The school also offers AP classes.
Zach Elementary School is one of the best elementary schools in the Poudre School District. It is #3 on Niche.com’s Best Public Elementary Schools in Larimer County, and it is a magnet school. It has an overall Niche grade of A, with an A in academics, an A- for teachers, and a B- for Diversity. It serves about 600 K-5 students. Seventy-six percent and 82 percent of students are at least proficient in math and reading, respectively.
One of the best middle schools in the Poudre School District is the Kinard Core Knowledge Middle School. It is a magnet school as well. It is #3 on Niche.com’s Best Public Middle Schools in Larimer County. It has an overall Niche grade of A, and it has an A in Academics, an A- for Teachers, and a B in Diversity. The school serves students from 6-8 and boasts a 20 to 1 teacher to student ratio. Sixty-seven and 75 percent of students are proficient in math and reading, respectively.
Thompson School District
In the Loveland area, one of the best elementary Schools is actually in Berthoud, Colorado, west of Loveland. Berthoud Elementary School ranks #196 in Best Public Elementary Schools in Colorado and receives an overall Niche grade of A-, and an A- in Academics, an A for Teachers, and a B- for Diversity. The school has about 430 elementary students and an 18 to 1 student teacher ratio. Sixty-seven and 71 percent of the school’s students are at least proficient in math and reading, respectively.
Another school that has good ratings is New Vision Charter School in Loveland. It is a K-8 school that ranks #12 in Best Public Middle Schools in Larimer County on Niche.com. It has an overall Niche grade of B, with a B+ in Academics, an A for Teachers, and B for Diversity. The school serves nearly 500 students and has a 10-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio. Forty-two percent of students score at least proficient in math, and 55 percent of them are at least proficient in reading.
One of the best high schools in Thompson School District is Loveland High School. It has about 1,600 students, and it ranks #8 for Best Public High Schools in Larimer County. It has an overall Niche grade of B+, with a B for Academics, an A- for Teachers, a B+ for Diversity, and a B+ for College Prep. Twenty-two percent of students are at least proficient in math, and 34 percent of them are at least proficient in reading. The school offers AP classes. Its average SAT scores, according to Niche.com users, is 1210, and its average ACT score is 26.
Weld RE-4
Weld RE-4 features Skyview Elementary School, a K-5 school that has a 14-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio. It is ranked #1 in Best Public Elementary Schools in Weld County and is located in Windsor, Colorado. It also ranks #11 in Best Public Elementary Schools in Colorado. Niche.com gave it an overall grade of A-, an A- in Academics, an A+ for Teachers, and a B in diversity. The school has about 375 students. State test scores indicate that 52 percent of students are at least proficient in math, and 62 percent of them are proficient in reading.
Windsor Charter Academy Middle and Early College High School ranks #3 for Best Public High Schools in Weld County, and it serves students from 6th through 12th grades. It is located in Windsor, Colorado. Niche.com gives it a B+ for an overall grade, a B+ in Academics and for Teachers, a C for Clubs and Activities, a B- for Diversity, a B for College Prep, and a B for Health and Safety. The school serves 450 students. Forty-four and 65 percent of students are at least proficient in math and reading, respectively.
Windsor Middle School in Windsor, Colorado serves students from 6th through 8th grades, and it ranks 4th in Best Public Middle Schools in Weld County. Niche.com gives it an overall grade of B+, with a B+ in Academics, an A- for Teachers, and a B for Diversity. The school serves about 640 students and has a 17-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio. Thirty-nine percent of students are at least proficient in math, and 42 percent of them are at least proficient in reading.