Custer County High School

Custer County High School operates as a micro-enrollment secondary school in WESTCLIFFE, Colorado, overseen by Custer County School District Consolidate 1. Current enrollment sits at 98 students spanning grades 9 through 12. Enrollment runs roughly 84% leaner than the state mean of about 627.

Across the 3 schools in Custer County School District Consolidate 1 (313 students total), Custer County High School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Custer County High School records that the largest single group is White, at 78% of enrollment. The remainder looks like 9% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, 2% Black, 2% Native American. By comparison, Custer County as a whole is about 91% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Custer County High School has 8 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 12.9:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 16.9:1, putting Custer County High School tighter than the state norm the norm. About 48% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, On a poverty-adjusted basis, Custer County High School sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 37.6%; actual is 23.9%, a gap of -13.8 points.

In the surrounding community, census data for Custer County shows the typical household earns roughly $72,674 per year, roughly 44% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 8%. Custer County High School is one of 3 public schools in Custer County (combined enrollment of about 313 students).

Custer Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 2 other public schools. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Custer County High School ranks 7th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 29.4%.

Geographically, the school is in a small-town area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 26%: 132 students in 2018 compared to 98 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 95% to 78% across the same window. Class-load math has pulled in: from 15.0:1 in 2018 to 12.9:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.