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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Mesa Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
359
Elementary
DISTRICT 164 · STATE 379
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MONTEZUMA-CORTEZ SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. RE-1·NCES 080309000839
Mesa Elementary School
703 WEST 7TH STREET, CORTEZ, CO 81321 · (970) 565-3858 · Montezuma County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL359 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 10% of Colorado public elementary schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Colorado public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.4:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.8:1 · STATE 16.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
77%
275 students
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 50%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 44 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 59 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 63 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 50 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 59 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 84 | 23% |
This year's kindergarten class (44) is 48% smaller than its 5th grade class (84).
Student demographics
72%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 67% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Mesa Elementary School→Montezuma-Cortez Middle School
Based on grade levels within Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
CMAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
20.9%
CO avg 44.9% . -1.2pp since 2023
Math
13.1%
CO avg 36.1% . -5.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the CMAS, Colorado's statewide test, about 21 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 13 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Colorado schools, those numbers are about 45 and 36. Reading and writing scores are down about 1 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 6 points.
CMAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 20.9% | 13.1% |
| 2023-24 | 22.1% | 18.9% |
% Met or Exceeded Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CMAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
16.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
20.3%
based on CO schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 17% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 20% typical for Colorado schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Colorado's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Mesa Elementary School
Mesa Elementary School's state test result (16.8% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mesa Elementary School this school | 359 | 76.6% | 16.8% |
| Chipeta Elementary School GRAND JUNCTION | 364 | 76.4% | 34.8% |
| Nisley Elementary School GRAND JUNCTION | 346 | 81.5% | 17.8% |
| Rocky Mountain Elementary School CLIFTON | 395 | 79.5% | 17.7% |
| Fremont Elementary School COLORADO SPRINGS | 308 | 76.3% | 28.8% |
| Jackson Elementary School COLORADO SPRINGS | 312 | 77.6% | 26.4% |
Matched among Colorado elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Mesa Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Colorado | In Montezuma County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 16.8% | #827 of 931 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 13.1% | #847 of 940 ▼ 122 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 20.9% | #812 of 946 ▼ 32 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 359 | #541 of 1,056 | #1 of 10 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.4:1 | #157 of 896 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 71.5% | #33 of 896 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 76.6% | #191 of 983 | #1 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -7.5% | #531 of 664 | N/A |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
359
+56 (+18%) vs 2020
-20% since 1990-91, when it was 451
Student : Teacher
13.4:1
was 13.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 359 | 26.8 | 13.4:1 | 77% (275) |
| 2023-24 | 409 | 25.6 | 16.0:1 | 78% (317) |
| 2022-23 | 400 | 20.5 | 19.6:1 | 80% (321) |
| 2020-21 | 303 | 22 | 13.8:1 | 71% (215) |
| 2017-18 | 388 | 22 | 17.6:1 | 74% (289) |
| 2015-16 | 382 | 21 | 18.2:1 | 68% (260) |
| 2010-11 | 402 | 24 | 16.8:1 | 75% (302) |
| 2000-01 | 334 | 24 | 13.9:1 | 63% (209) |
| 1990-91 | 451 | 27 | 16.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Mesa Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (388 to 359); teachers up 22% (22 to 26.8).
About Mesa Elementary School
Mesa Elementary School is a mid-sized elementary school. Its address is in CORTEZ, Colorado. The school runs kindergarten through 5 and enrolls 359 students.
Mesa Elementary School is run by Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1, whose 10 schools enroll 2,380 students.
The biggest share of students at Mesa Elementary School, 37%, is Native American. Other reported shares: 29% White, 23% Hispanic, and 10% multiracial. The diversity index for Mesa Elementary School is 72%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
Classroom staffing at Mesa Elementary School totals 26.8 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 13.4:1. The average for elementary schools in Colorado, 16.6:1, is higher. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at Mesa Elementary School is about 77%. The average for public schools in Montezuma County is 59%.
Mesa Elementary School holds a D allk12 Grade, placing it above 10% of Colorado public elementary schools.
Mesa Elementary School posts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 16.8%, compared with a predicted 20.3%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Colorado schools on BeatsExpectations.
In the wider Montezuma County area, the median household earns about $65,244 a year, about 31% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 7%. Mesa Elementary School shares Montezuma County with 18 other public schools.
Mesa Elementary School's nearest public school is Montezuma-Cortez Middle School (about 0.5 miles). Inside a five-mile radius, there are 6 other public schools. Mesa Elementary School is 6th of 6 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
Federal records code the school's setting as Rural: Fringe.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment increased from 303 to 359, an 18% rise.
Mesa Elementary School has a community page on allk12 for topics such as special education services, counseling, and support programs. You can also rate the school on this page.
Montezuma County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
26,412
Census ACS
Median income
$65,244
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
19
3,620 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1
- Montezuma-Cortez High SchoolHigh · 598 students
- Montezuma-Cortez Middle SchoolMiddle · 505 students
- Kemper Elementary SchoolElementary · 339 students
- Southwest Open Charter SchoolHigh · 131 students
- Children's Kiva Montessori SchoolElementary · 130 students
- Lewis-Arriola Elementary SchoolElementary · 125 students
Other schools in CORTEZ
- Montezuma-Cortez High SchoolHigh · 598 students
- Montezuma-Cortez Middle SchoolMiddle · 505 students
- Kemper Elementary SchoolElementary · 339 students
- Southwest Open Charter SchoolHigh · 131 students
- Children's Kiva Montessori SchoolElementary · 130 students
- Lewis-Arriola Elementary SchoolElementary · 125 students
Other Mesa Elementary schools
8 other US public schools in 4 states are named Mesa Elementary. Mesa Elementary School is the 5th largest of the 9.
- Mesa Elementary SchoolFOUNTAIN, CO · 668 students
- Mesa Elementary SchoolWESTMINSTER, CO · 317 students
- Mesa Elementary SchoolBOULDER, CO · 250 students
- Mesa ElementaryWest Covina, CA · 753 students
- Mesa ElementarySomis, CA · 597 students
Nearby schools
- Montezuma-Cortez Middle School0.5 mi · 505
- Beech Street Preschool1.1 mi · 70
- Kemper Elementary School1.3 mi · 339
- Children's Kiva Montessori School1.5 mi · 130
- Montezuma-Cortez High School1.9 mi · 598
- Southwest Open Charter School2.4 mi · 131
Frequently asked questions
About Mesa Elementary SchoolHow large is Mesa Elementary School?
Mesa Elementary School enrolls approximately 359 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Mesa Elementary School serve?
Mesa Elementary School serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mesa Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Mesa Elementary School is approximately 13.4:1 (27 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Mesa Elementary School?
Student demographics at Mesa Elementary School are roughly 29% White, 23% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 10% Two or more.
What district is Mesa Elementary School in?
Mesa Elementary School is part of Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.