Montezuma-Cortez Middle School

As a reasonably sized middle-grades school in CORTEZ, Colorado, Montezuma-Cortez Middle School hosts 505 students from grades 6 through 8, operated by Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1.

Across the 10 schools in Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1 (2,380 students total), Montezuma-Cortez Middle School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, Montezuma-Cortez Middle School records that the largest single group is White at 40%, but no single group is in the majority. The remainder comes out to 29% Native American, 22% Hispanic, 8% multiracial. By comparison, Montezuma County as a whole is about 75% White, so the school skews noticeably less White than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, The school reports having 34 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 15.0:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.9:1 average. About 68% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is higher than Montezuma County's rate of about 59%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Montezuma-Cortez Middle School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 25.4% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 23.7%.

In the area at large, census data for Montezuma County shows the typical household earns roughly $65,244 per year, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 7%. Across Montezuma County's 19 public schools (combined enrollment of about 3,620 students), Montezuma-Cortez Middle School is one campus in the mix.

Mesa Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. 6 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Montezuma-Cortez Middle School at 5th of 6; the average score across the group is 33.4%.

The school occupies a town-based site.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Montezuma-Cortez Middle School has declined 9%, going from 556 students in 2018 to 505 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio grew from 12.9:1 in 2018 to 15.0:1 today.

On this page, members of the Montezuma-Cortez Middle School community share and discuss open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.