Rank

Frontier

5 schools · 1 high school · 4 elementary schools · Conway, Deerfield, Sunderland, Whately · Regional District

Frontier Regional School District serves Conway, Deerfield, Sunderland, and Whately, four towns in the Pioneer Valley region of western Massachusetts. The district encompasses a rural, agricultural area with moderate single-family assessed values ranging from approximately $444,000 to $478,000 across its towns. Frontier Regional ranks #102 statewide, with notably strong elementary performance—Conway Grammar is ranked #29 among Massachusetts elementary schools. The district's 89% graduation rate and average SAT score of 1226 reflect solid academic outcomes for the region.

Avg MCAS ELA

57.8%

#104 of 326

Avg MCAS Math

51.2%

#119 of 326

Avg SAT

1,226

#33 of 290

Attendance

93.2%

#154 of 328

Graduation Rate

89%

#220 of 288

AP Pass Rate

87.7%

#42 of 278

Per-Pupil Spending

$22,836

#133 of 325

Avg Teacher Salary

$78,317

#278 of 325

MCAS Performance by Grade

Grade	ELA M+E%	Math M+E%	Sci M+E%	Avg Score	Students
Grade 3	94%	71%	—	514	17
Grade 4	65%	53%	—	508	17
Grade 5	52%	56%	60%	500	25
Grade 6	60%	55%	—	501	20
Grade 7	35%	42%	—	492	103
Grade 8	36%	33%	42%	491	118
Grade 10	43%	55%	42%	502	67
HS Science	—	—	48%	497	102

Showing 2025 data

Student Demographics

White: 82.5%

Asian: 1.9%

Hispanic: 8.4%

Black: 2%

Multi-Race: 5.2%

Female: 50.2%Male: 48.7%Non-binary: 1.2%

High Schools in Frontier

Rank

Grade

School

SAT

MCAS ELA

MCAS Math

Grad

Elementary Schools in Frontier

Rank

Grade

School

MCAS ELA

MCAS Math

Attend.

Class Size

Sunderland Elementary

Sunderland Elementary

33%

45%

94.2%

District Operations

Attendance

#154 of 328

Attendance Rate93.2%

Avg Days Absent12

Chronically Absent (10%+)15.1%

Chronically Absent (20%+)4%

Per-Pupil Expenditure

#133 of 325

In-District Per Pupil$21,881

Total Per Pupil$22,836

Total FTE Students656

Teacher Salaries

#278 of 325

Average Salary$78,317

Teacher FTE Count52

Salary vs. Town Income1.7x(above town avg)

Teacher salary is 1.7x the town's per capita income ($46,285). Teachers earn well above the community per capita income. The MA median ratio is about 1.9x.

Class Size & Populations

#5 of 327

Avg Class Size11

English Learners0.5%

Students w/ Disabilities21.1%

Total Students592

Staffing & Retention

#11 of 327

Teacher Retention94.4%

Principal Retention100%

Total Teachers54

Attendance: 2024-2025 · Expenditure: 2024 · Salaries: 2023-2024 · Class Size: 2024-2025 · Staffing: 2025

Town Data

Conway

Avg Assessed Value

$443,605

#183 of 235

Avg Tax Bill

$6,335

Income Per Capita

$77,069

#133 of 235

Tax Bill Rank

#201

of 341 towns

Avg Assessed Value is the mean assessed value of single-family homes only (MA property class 101 — excludes condos, multi-family, and apartments). MA law requires assessment at 100% of fair market value. Income Per Capita is total town income divided by population, derived from MA state income tax returns (not Census surveys). It includes wages, investment income, and capital gains, so wealthy towns can have very high figures. The MA median is about $48K. Tax bill rank orders towns by average single-family tax bill, highest to lowest.

Tax & Bond Details

Residential Tax Rate1.43%

Tax as % of Income8.22%(low burden)

New Growth

$1.1M+0.24% levy growth(low)

Residential$629K

Commercial/Industrial$494K

Residential Share56.02%(diverse)

New growth measures new taxable value from construction and development (not rising home prices). In Massachusetts, Proposition 2\u00BD limits annual property tax increases to 2.5% of the prior year\u2019s levy. New growth revenue is automatically added on top of this 2.5% base increase \u2014 it does not require a vote. This town’s total levy growth is about 2.7% (2.5% base + 0.24% from new growth). The MA median is about 1.2%; above 1.5% is strong, below 0.8% signals limited development. The residential share (56.02%) shows how much comes from homes vs. commercial/industrial. When most growth is residential, homeowners carry more of the tax burden. More commercial/industrial growth is generally better for homeowners because businesses share the cost.

Municipal Free Cash

$894K10.8% of operating budget

Free cash is the town's unencumbered surplus funds. 5-10% of budget is considered healthy. Operating budget: $8.3M.

Where Children Attend School

Local Public: 138(56.1%)

Regional: 62(25.2%)

Vocational: 8(3.3%)

Charter: 4(1.6%)

Private: 19(7.7%)

Home School: 13(5.3%)

Total: 246

Deerfield

Avg Assessed Value

$467,172

#183 of 235

Avg Tax Bill

$6,283

Income Per Capita

$49,737

#133 of 235

Tax Bill Rank

#207

of 341 towns

Tax & Bond Details

Residential Tax Rate1.35%

Tax as % of Income12.63%(typical)

New Growth

$5.2M+0.49% levy growth(low)

Residential$2.0M

Commercial/Industrial$3.2M

Residential Share38.53%(diverse)

New growth measures new taxable value from construction and development (not rising home prices). In Massachusetts, Proposition 2\u00BD limits annual property tax increases to 2.5% of the prior year\u2019s levy. New growth revenue is automatically added on top of this 2.5% base increase \u2014 it does not require a vote. This town’s total levy growth is about 3.0% (2.5% base + 0.49% from new growth). The MA median is about 1.2%; above 1.5% is strong, below 0.8% signals limited development. The residential share (38.53%) shows how much comes from homes vs. commercial/industrial. When most growth is residential, homeowners carry more of the tax burden. More commercial/industrial growth is generally better for homeowners because businesses share the cost.

Municipal Free Cash

$2.3M10.9% of operating budget

Free cash is the town's unencumbered surplus funds. 5-10% of budget is considered healthy. Operating budget: $20.8M.

Where Children Attend School

Local Public: 274(41.1%)

Regional: 209(31.3%)

Vocational: 30(4.5%)

Charter: 12(1.8%)

Private: 86(12.9%)

Home School: 28(4.2%)

Total: 667

Sunderland

Avg Assessed Value

$478,080

#183 of 235

Avg Tax Bill

$5,947

Income Per Capita

$33,627

#133 of 235

Tax Bill Rank

#225

of 341 towns

Tax & Bond Details

Residential Tax Rate1.24%

Tax as % of Income17.69%(above avg)

Bond RatingAA(very good)

Tax rate is the effective residential rate (tax bill ÷ assessed value). Tax as % of income measures how much of residents’ income goes to property taxes. The MA median is about 14%; below 10% is low (wealthier towns with high incomes relative to home values), above 16% is above average. Bond rating reflects the town’s creditworthiness for borrowing. AAA is the highest possible rating (strong fiscal management), meaning the town can borrow at the lowest interest rates. AA+ is excellent, AA is very good.

New Growth

$2.7M+0.46% levy growth(low)

Residential$1.9M

Commercial/Industrial$755K

Residential Share71.53%(typical)

New growth measures new taxable value from construction and development (not rising home prices). In Massachusetts, Proposition 2\u00BD limits annual property tax increases to 2.5% of the prior year\u2019s levy. New growth revenue is automatically added on top of this 2.5% base increase \u2014 it does not require a vote. This town’s total levy growth is about 3.0% (2.5% base + 0.46% from new growth). The MA median is about 1.2%; above 1.5% is strong, below 0.8% signals limited development. The residential share (71.53%) shows how much comes from homes vs. commercial/industrial. When most growth is residential, homeowners carry more of the tax burden. More commercial/industrial growth is generally better for homeowners because businesses share the cost.

Municipal Free Cash

$575K5.0% of operating budget

Free cash is the town's unencumbered surplus funds. 5-10% of budget is considered healthy. Operating budget: $11.6M.

Where Children Attend School

Local Public: 124(40.5%)

Regional: 116(37.9%)

Vocational: 12(3.9%)

Charter: 4(1.3%)

Private: 14(4.6%)

Home School: 14(4.6%)

Total: 306

Whately

Avg Assessed Value

$447,609

#183 of 235

Avg Tax Bill

$5,850

Income Per Capita

$24,708

#133 of 235

Tax Bill Rank

#233

of 341 towns

Tax & Bond Details

Residential Tax Rate1.31%

Tax as % of Income23.68%(high burden)

New Growth

$4.2M+0.88% levy growth(typical)

Residential$2.0M

Commercial/Industrial$2.2M

Residential Share46.62%(diverse)

New growth measures new taxable value from construction and development (not rising home prices). In Massachusetts, Proposition 2\u00BD limits annual property tax increases to 2.5% of the prior year\u2019s levy. New growth revenue is automatically added on top of this 2.5% base increase \u2014 it does not require a vote. This town’s total levy growth is about 3.4% (2.5% base + 0.88% from new growth). The MA median is about 1.2%; above 1.5% is strong, below 0.8% signals limited development. The residential share (46.62%) shows how much comes from homes vs. commercial/industrial. When most growth is residential, homeowners carry more of the tax burden. More commercial/industrial growth is generally better for homeowners because businesses share the cost.

Municipal Free Cash

$747K10.6% of operating budget

Free cash is the town's unencumbered surplus funds. 5-10% of budget is considered healthy. Operating budget: $7.0M.

Where Children Attend School

Local Public: 81(48.8%)

Regional: 46(27.7%)

Vocational: 13(7.8%)

Charter: 2(1.2%)

Private: 9(5.4%)

Home School: 3(1.8%)

Total: 166