School Recognition
Accredited with Distinction by DCSD 50J
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2024 National ESEA Distinguished School
| The National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators (NAESPA) is pleased to announce that Paonia K-8 School has been named a National ESEA Distinguished School by the Colorado Education Department. Paonia K-8 School is one of up to 100 schools throughout the country that is being nationally recognized for exceptional student achievement in 2024. A project of NAESPA, the National ESEA Distinguished Schools Program publicly recognizes qualifying federally funded schools for the outstanding academic achievements of their students. It highlights the efforts of schools across the country making significant improvements for their students. The program has been in place since 1996, showcasing the success of hundreds of schools in exceptional student performance and academic growth, as determined by the state of Colorado. | |
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2020 National ESEA Distinguished School
Category 1: Exceptional student performance and academic growth for two consecutive years.
• Paonia Elementary is one of the top performing schools in Colorado, and has earned the highest rating in our state accountability system for the last 10 years.
• Paonia Elementary has met or exceeded expectations on the state tests in English language arts and math in both 2018 and 2019. In fact, Paonia Elementary is above the 80th percentile for achievement on both English language arts and math – meaning the school as a whole performed better than 80 percent of all other elementary schools in Colorado. Paonia Elementary has also met or exceeded expectations for student growth in both English language arts and math.