Enrollment
179
Elementary
DISTRICT 328 · STATE 379
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·THOMPSON SCHOOL DISTRICT R-2J·NCES 080540000928
Big Thompson Elementary School
7702 WEST HIGHWAY 34, LOVELAND, CO 80538 · (970) 613-5600 · Larimer County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL179 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.8:1
14 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.3:1 · STATE 16.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
25%
44 students
DISTRICT 37% · STATE 50%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
QUIET COMMUNITY
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START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
CMAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
43.8%
CO avg 44.9% . -7.6pp since 2023
Math
36.5%
CO avg 36.1% . -4.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the CMAS, Colorado's statewide test, about 44 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 37 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Colorado schools, those numbers are about 45 and 36. Reading and writing scores are down about 8 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 4 points.
Source: CMAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
44.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
51.8%
based on CO schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 44% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 52% typical for Colorado schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Colorado's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
179
-61 (-25%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
12.8:1
was 20.4:1
% White
78%
was 80%
% Hispanic
13%
was 13%
% Black
1%
was 0%
% Asian
0%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About Big Thompson Elementary School
Located at 7702 WEST HIGHWAY 34, in LOVELAND, Colorado, Big Thompson Elementary School is a low-enrollment K-5 school that enrolls 179 students (grades K through 5), operated by Thompson School District R-2J. Enrollment runs roughly 53% below the state mean of about 379.
Big Thompson Elementary School is one of 32 schools operated by Thompson School District R-2J, a district that educates 14,580 students overall.
In terms of who attends, Big Thompson Elementary School lists that White students make up the majority at 78%. The remainder comes out to 13% Hispanic, 6% multiracial.
On the income-and-resources front, Big Thompson Elementary School shows 14 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 12.8:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 16.6:1 average. Around 25% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is lower than Larimer County's rate of about 35%.
Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Big Thompson Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 51.8% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 44.3%.
Around the school, Larimer County reports that median household earnings sit near $93,765, about 53% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. In all, Larimer County runs 94 public schools (combined enrollment of about 47,159 students), of which Big Thompson Elementary School is one.
Nearest neighbor: Namaqua Elementary School, around 3.6 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Big Thompson Elementary School. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Big Thompson Elementary School ranks 4th on composite proficiency, above the local average of 37.7%.
The school occupies an outlying site.
Five-year trend. Big Thompson Elementary School's enrollment has fell 25% since 2018, when it stood at 240 (now 179). Class-load math has pulled in: from 20.4:1 in 2018 to 12.8:1 in 2025.
On this page, members of the Big Thompson Elementary School community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Larimer County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
367,368
Census ACS
Median income
$93,765
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
53%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
94
47,159 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Thompson School District R-2J
- Loveland High SchoolHigh · 1,354 students
- Mountain View High SchoolHigh · 1,074 students
- Loveland Classical SchoolCombined · 1,032 students
- New Vision Charter SchoolElementary · 1,005 students
- Thompson Valley High SchoolHigh · 1,005 students
- Riverview PK-8Elementary · 757 students
Other schools in LOVELAND
- Loveland High SchoolHigh · 1,354 students
- Mountain View High SchoolHigh · 1,074 students
- Loveland Classical SchoolCombined · 1,032 students
- New Vision Charter SchoolElementary · 1,005 students
- Thompson Valley High SchoolHigh · 1,005 students
- Lucile Erwin Middle SchoolMiddle · 686 students
Nearby schools
- Namaqua Elementary School3.6 mi · 236
- Ponderosa Elementary3.7 mi · 335
- Loveland Classical School4.1 mi · 1,032
- Lucile Erwin Middle School4.3 mi · 686
- Harold Ferguson High School4.6 mi · 164
- Walt Clark Middle School4.7 mi · 340
Frequently asked questions
About Big Thompson Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Big Thompson Elementary School?
Big Thompson Elementary School enrolls approximately 179 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Big Thompson Elementary School serve?
Big Thompson Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Big Thompson Elementary School?
Approximately 12.8:1 students per teacher at Big Thompson Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Big Thompson Elementary School?
At Big Thompson Elementary School, the student body is approximately 78% White, 13% Hispanic, 1% Black, 6% Two or more.
What district is Big Thompson Elementary School in?
Big Thompson Elementary School is part of Thompson School District R-2J.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.