Animas Valley Elementary School

Animas Valley Elementary School is one of the modestly sized elementary-level communitys in DURANGO, Colorado, run under Durango School District No. 9-R, with 185 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5. By comparison, Colorado's public schools average about 379 students each, so Animas Valley Elementary School sits 51% smaller than that benchmark.

Animas Valley Elementary School is one of 13 schools operated by Durango School District No. 9-R, a district that works with 5,089 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Animas Valley Elementary School reports that White students make up the majority at 59%. Other groups include 31% Hispanic, 6% Native American, 4% multiracial. That is considerably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 82%.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 10.2:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 16.6:1, putting Animas Valley Elementary School tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 38% of students at Animas Valley Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

After controlling for student poverty, Animas Valley Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 43.8%, the actual is 40.8%, a residual of -3.0 points.

In the broader community, census data for La Plata County shows median household earnings sit near $86,056, roughly 49% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. In all, La Plata County runs 24 public schools (combined enrollment of about 7,504 students), of which Animas Valley Elementary School is one.

Mountain Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 7.4 miles from this campus. Within ten miles, there are 8 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Animas Valley Elementary School ranks 5th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 42.9%.

The campus sits in an outlying setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Animas Valley Elementary School's enrollment has fell 32% since 2018, when it stood at 273 (now 185). The Hispanic share of enrollment increased from 25% to 31% over that span. Class-load math has narrowed: from 13.8:1 in 2018 to 10.2:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, posts here usually surface around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.