Horizon Middle School

Horizon Middle School is a middle school of expansive scale in AURORA, Colorado, overseen by Cherry Creek School District No. 5 in the county of Arapah, instructing 714 students in grades 6 through 8. By comparison, Colorado's public schools average about 462 students each, so Horizon Middle School sits 55% above that benchmark.

Cherry Creek School District No. 5 in the county of Arapah comprises 70 schools with combined enrollment of 52,099 students; Horizon Middle School is among them.

On demographics, Horizon Middle School logs that the largest single group is Hispanic at 41%, but no single group is in the majority. Beyond that, the school reports 28% White, 17% Black, 10% multiracial, 3% Asian. That is considerably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 22%.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Horizon Middle School has 49 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.6:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.9:1, putting Horizon Middle School tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 59% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is noticeably above Arapahoe County's rate of about 50%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Horizon Middle School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 30.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 21.6%.

In the area at large, the surrounding county (Arapahoe County) shows that median household income runs about $101,087, 47% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. Across Arapahoe County's 176 public schools (combined enrollment of about 115,502 students), Horizon Middle School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Summit Elementary School, around 0.3 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Horizon Middle School ranks 5th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 26.1%.

The school occupies a downtown site.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Horizon Middle School has shrank 25%, going from 958 students in 2018 to 714 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 42% to 28% across the same window. Class-load math has fell: from 17.3:1 in 2018 to 14.6:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.