Gillett Hailed as One of the Best Elementary Schools in Nation

U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in education rankings, today announced the 2022 Best K-8 Schools rankings. For the first time, U.S. News has published rankings and data on more than 80,000 public elementary and middle schools across the country. Schools are ranked at the state and district level, with Best Charter Schools and Best Magnet Schools ranked as stand-alone categories.  Based on their rankings, Gillett Elementary is ranking as one of the best elementary schools in the nation.

The methodology for the brand-new rankings focuses on two areas: math and reading proficiency, or how well students perform on state assessments, and math and reading performance, or how well they perform compared to expectations. Based on data from the U.S. Department of Education, the Best K-8 Schools rankings only include public schools. The state assessment data used in the rankings is from the 2018-2019 school year and therefore pre-dates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on test-taking.

“Gillett Elementary School has always been our community’s ‘The Little School That Could’.” said Principal Curt Angeli.  “Our dedicated staff puts in the time and perseverance to work with every child that walks through our doors, meeting them where they are at and working towards continuous skill development. This is a true community for our parents, students, and staff. I am so incredibly proud of our students and our teachers and staff that work with them.” 

“We strive to provide a world-class education within the confines of a small district,” said Gillett District Administrator Todd Hencsik.  “We have a lot of pride in our students, staff, and community.  We strive to have small class sizes with a committed staff, offering individual attention, and engaging our students to do and be their best.  Our students have a wide array of opportunities both in and out of the classroom including high level one-to-one technology.  We are extremely proud of this honor as it validates the incredible work that goes on at Gillett Elementary and across our District.”

The K-8 rankings, along with the Best High Schools rankings, now completes U.S. News’ K-12 offerings. Separate from the rankings, the U.S. News K-12 Schools directory features information on 95,882 public schools and 22,450 private schools, including grades taught, contact information and enrollment numbers.