STEM Launch

STEM Launch is a K-5 school of heavily attended scale in THORNTON, Colorado, run under Adams 12 Five Star Schools, hosting 677 students in grades K through 8. Compared to the state average of about 379 students per school, that is 79% larger than typical.

STEM Launch is one of 54 schools operated by Adams 12 Five Star Schools, a district that educates 34,466 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, STEM Launch records that 73% of the student body identifies as Hispanic. Other groups include 20% White, 4% multiracial. By comparison, Adams County as a whole is about 43% Hispanic, so the school skews meaningfully more Hispanic than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, STEM Launch shows 46 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.7:1. The state averages around 16.6:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 79% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Adams County (around 62%), the school's rate is north of typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, STEM Launch performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 19.1%, the actual is 27.1%, a residual of +8.0 points.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Adams County indicate the typical household earns roughly $94,571 per year, 29% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. STEM Launch is one of 171 public schools in Adams County (combined enrollment of about 87,938 students).

The closest other public school is Federal Heights Elementary School, roughly 0.7 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts STEM Launch at 1st of 8; the average score across the group is 15.6%.

The school occupies an outer-ring site.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at STEM Launch has shrank 21%, going from 854 students in 2018 to 677 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 16.3:1 in 2018 to 14.7:1 today.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.