Manzanola Elementary School

Manzanola Elementary School operates as a very small K-5 school in MANZANOLA, Colorado, overseen by Manzanola Joint District No. 3J of the counties of Otero a. Current enrollment sits at 71 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 81% smaller than the typical public school in Colorado, which averages around 379 students.

Manzanola Elementary School is one of 2 schools operated by Manzanola Joint District No. 3J of the counties of Otero a, a district that enrolls 174 students overall.

Looking at the student body, Manzanola Elementary School logs that the largest single group is White, at 68% of enrollment; the rest reads as 14% Hispanic, 8% Black, 7% multiracial, 3% Native American. That composition is broadly in line with Otero County as a whole.

On the income-and-resources front, Manzanola Elementary School shows 7 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 9.6:1. The state averages around 16.6:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 86% of students at Manzanola Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Otero County (around 71%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Manzanola Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 14.6%; this one delivers 27.3%.

Around the school, ACS estimates for Otero County put median household earnings sit near $54,037, 18% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 15%. In all, Otero County runs 15 public schools (combined enrollment of about 3,027 students), of which Manzanola Elementary School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Manzanola Junior-Senior High School, around 0.0 miles off. Within ten miles, there are 7 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas. On composite proficiency, Manzanola Elementary School comes 4th of 5 in the immediate cluster, below the nearby-schools average of 32.4%.

Manzanola Elementary School operates from a rural location.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Manzanola Elementary School has ticked up 13%, going from 63 students in 2018 to 71 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 46% to 14% across the same window.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.