Penrose Elementary School

Penrose Elementary School operates as a modestly sized elementary-level community in COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, run under Colorado Springs School District No. 11 in the county of E. Current enrollment sits at 279 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 26% leaner than the state mean of about 379.

Penrose Elementary School is one of 60 schools operated by Colorado Springs School District No. 11 in the county of E, a district that instructs 22,293 students overall.

On the student-mix side, Penrose Elementary School records that 47% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 35% Hispanic, 10% multiracial, 5% Black, 3% Asian. That is noticeably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 70%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school lists 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 13.4:1. The state averages around 16.6:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 64% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, El Paso County runs at roughly 42%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, Penrose Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 28.0%, the actual is 19.4%, a residual of -8.6 points.

In the broader community, ACS estimates for El Paso County put median household earnings sit near $90,363, roughly 42% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Penrose Elementary School is one of 245 public schools in El Paso County (combined enrollment of about 114,356 students).

The closest other public school is Sabin Middle School, roughly 0.3 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Penrose Elementary School. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Penrose Elementary School at 6th of 7; the average score across the group is 31.4%.

The school occupies a city-core site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 35%: 426 students in 2018 compared to 279 in 2025. The White share of enrollment declined from 53% to 47% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 17.5:1 in 2018 to 13.4:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.