Gold Rush Elementary

Gold Rush Elementary is a primary school of substantial scale in PARKER, Colorado, overseen by Douglas County School District No. Re 1, serveing 639 students in grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 379 students per school, that is 69% larger than typical.

Douglas County School District No. Re 1 comprises 89 schools with combined enrollment of 61,550 students; Gold Rush Elementary is among them.

In terms of who attends, Gold Rush Elementary records that White students make up the majority at 73%. Other groups include 13% Hispanic, 7% Asian, 6% multiracial.

On the resource side, On paper, Gold Rush Elementary has 35 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 18.5:1. The state averages around 16.6:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 10% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Gold Rush Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 60.6%, the actual is 73.2%, a residual of +12.6 points.

Around the school, the surrounding county (Douglas County) reports that median household income runs about $149,594, 62% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 3%. In all, Douglas County runs 92 public schools (combined enrollment of about 63,841 students), of which Gold Rush Elementary is one.

Prairie Crossing Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.9 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Gold Rush Elementary at 2nd of 9; the average score across the group is 54.7%.

The campus sits in a bedroom-community setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Gold Rush Elementary's enrollment has decreased 4% since 2018, when it stood at 667 (now 639). White enrollment moved from 80% to 73% across the same window. Class-load math has fell: from 19.8:1 in 2018 to 18.5:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.