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What's the best and worst thing about the food at Cottonwood Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
394
Elementary
DISTRICT 364 · STATE 379
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MONTROSE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT RE-1J·NCES 080579001554
Cottonwood Elementary School
3500 WOODGATE ROAD, MONTROSE, CO 81401 · (970) 249-2539 · Montrose County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL394 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 69% of Colorado public elementary schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Colorado public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
17.1:1
23 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.2:1 · STATE 16.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
41%
160 students
DISTRICT 59% · STATE 50%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 50 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 66 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 63 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 70 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 68 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 77 | 20% |
This year's kindergarten class (50) is 35% smaller than its 5th grade class (77).
Student demographics
43%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 53% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CMAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
56.0%
CO avg 44.9% . +2.6pp since 2023
Math
45.2%
CO avg 36.1% . +3.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the CMAS, Colorado's statewide test, about 56 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 45 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Colorado schools, those numbers are about 45 and 36. Reading and writing scores are up about 3 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 4 points.
CMAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 56.0% | 45.2% |
| 2023-24 | 53.4% | 41.3% |
% Met or Exceeded Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
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
48.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
42.1%
based on CO schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 49% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 42% 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 →
Schools most like Cottonwood Elementary School
Cottonwood Elementary School's state test result (48.7% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cottonwood Elementary School this school | 394 | 40.6% | 48.7% |
| Granby Elementary School GRANBY | 366 | 39.1% | 25.9% |
| Longmont Estates Elementary School LONGMONT | 365 | 42.2% | 51.1% |
| Kruse Elementary School FORT COLLINS | 406 | 38.9% | 65.2% |
| Oak Grove Elementary School MONTROSE | 374 | 41.2% | 37.3% |
| Needham Elementary School DURANGO | 367 | 42.2% | 41.6% |
Matched among Colorado elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Cottonwood Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Colorado | In Montrose County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 48.7% | #316 of 931 | #1 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 45.2% | #337 of 940 ▲ 36 | #1 of 7 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 56.0% | #278 of 946 ▲ 32 | #1 of 7 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 394 | #443 of 1,056 | #3 of 8 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.1:1 | #671 of 896 | #4 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 43.1% | #608 of 896 | #6 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 40.6% | #576 of 983 | #8 of 8 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.3% | #561 of 664 | #5 of 7 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
394
+4 (+1%) vs 2020
0% since 2000-01, when it was 393
Student : Teacher
17.1:1
was 17.7:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 394 | 23 | 17.1:1 | 41% (160) |
| 2023-24 | 412 | 22.8 | 18.1:1 | 41% (169) |
| 2022-23 | 403 | 23.3 | 17.3:1 | 34% (136) |
| 2020-21 | 390 | 22 | 17.7:1 | 38% (149) |
| 2017-18 | 416 | 22.6 | 18.4:1 | 37% (155) |
| 2015-16 | 459 | 23 | 20.0:1 | 36% (164) |
| 2010-11 | 505 | 25 | 20.2:1 | 39% (196) |
| 2000-01 | 393 | 19 | 20.7:1 | 52% (203) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Cottonwood Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 5% (416 to 394); teachers up 2% (22.6 to 23).
About Cottonwood Elementary School
Cottonwood Elementary School is an elementary school in MONTROSE, Colorado, reachable at (970) 249-2539. A federal count lists 394 students at the school, in kindergarten through 5.
Montrose County School District Re-1J enrolls 5,977 students, and its 15 schools include Cottonwood Elementary School.
Cottonwood Elementary School's enrollment is 71% White. Next come 24% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. By the diversity index, Cottonwood Elementary School comes in at 43%.
Cottonwood Elementary School employs 23 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 17.1:1. Elementary schools in Colorado have a similar average ratio of 16.6:1. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was 41% in 2024-25. That rate is below the 56% average among public schools in Montrose County.
allk12 grades Cottonwood Elementary School a B+. The grade compares the school only with Colorado public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
The model predicts 42.1% for a school in Colorado with Cottonwood Elementary School's free or reduced-price lunch share. Cottonwood Elementary School posts 48.7%.
Among Montrose County residents, median household income is about $72,120, 29% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 8% of people live in poverty. Federal data list 19 public schools in Montrose County, with a combined enrollment of about 6,237.
The closest other public school is Vista Charter School, about 1.6 miles away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Cottonwood Elementary School at 1st of 5.
In the federal locale system, Cottonwood Elementary School is coded Town: Remote, for schools in a town far from an urbanized area.
Federal data show 390 students in 2020-21 and 394 in 2024-25, a difference of under 3%.
Parents and students can post about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at Cottonwood Elementary School. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Montrose County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
43,807
Census ACS
Median income
$72,120
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
29%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
19
6,237 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Montrose County School District Re-1J
- Montrose High SchoolHigh · 1,279 students
- Centennial Middle SchoolMiddle · 540 students
- Johnson Elementary SchoolElementary · 531 students
- Olathe Middle/High SchoolHigh · 499 students
- Columbine Middle SchoolMiddle · 491 students
- Olathe Elementary SchoolElementary · 424 students
Other schools in MONTROSE
- Montrose High SchoolHigh · 1,279 students
- Centennial Middle SchoolMiddle · 540 students
- Johnson Elementary SchoolElementary · 531 students
- Columbine Middle SchoolMiddle · 491 students
- Oak Grove Elementary SchoolElementary · 374 students
- Pomona Elementary SchoolElementary · 335 students
Other Cottonwood Elementary schools
20 other US public schools in 12 states are named Cottonwood Elementary. Cottonwood Elementary School is the 12th largest of the 21.
- Cottonwood Elementary SchoolCLEVELAND, TX · 1,023 students
- Cottonwood ElementaryHesperia, CA · 868 students
- COTTONWOOD ELEMENTARYCARLSBAD, NM · 684 students
- COTTONWOOD ELEMENTARYRIGBY, ID · 682 students
- Cottonwood ElementaryPalmdale, CA · 652 students
Nearby schools
- Vista Charter School1.6 mi · 188
- Columbine Middle School1.8 mi · 491
- Early Childhood Center1.9 mi · 162
- Pomona Elementary School2.0 mi · 335
- Outer Range2.0 mi · 71
- Montrose High School2.1 mi · 1,279
Frequently asked questions
About Cottonwood Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Cottonwood Elementary School?
Cottonwood Elementary School enrolls approximately 394 students in grades KG-05.
Is Cottonwood Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Cottonwood Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cottonwood Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Cottonwood Elementary School is approximately 17.1:1 (23 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Cottonwood Elementary School?
Cottonwood Elementary School reports a student body of 71% White, 24% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Cottonwood Elementary School?
Cottonwood Elementary School is overseen by Montrose County School District Re-1J in Montrose County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.