Escalante Middle School

Escalante Middle School is a mid-tier junior high in DURANGO, Colorado, one of the schools within Durango School District No. 9-R. The school hosts 461 students in grades 6 through 8.

Across the 13 schools in Durango School District No. 9-R (5,089 students total), Escalante Middle School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Escalante Middle School lists that 62% of the student body identifies as White. The remainder breaks down as 24% Hispanic, 7% Native American, 5% multiracial. That is meaningfully less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 82%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Escalante Middle School has 35 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.2:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.9:1, putting Escalante Middle School tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 43% of students at Escalante Middle School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Escalante Middle School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 40.8% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 41.7%.

In the area at large, community-level numbers for La Plata County indicate median household earnings sit near $86,056, 49% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. Across La Plata County's 24 public schools (combined enrollment of about 7,504 students), Escalante Middle School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: The Juniper School, around 1.3 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Escalante Middle School ranks 4th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 42.9%.

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

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Escalante Middle School has fell 3%, going from 475 students in 2018 to 461 in 2025.

On allk12, the feed for Escalante Middle School typically covers classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.