Thornton Elementary School

Thornton Elementary School is one of the reasonably sized elementary-level communitys in THORNTON, Colorado, run under Adams 12 Five Star Schools, with 387 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5.

Within Adams 12 Five Star Schools, which oversees 54 schools and 34,466 students, Thornton Elementary School is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Thornton Elementary School lists that Hispanic students make up the majority at 73%. The remainder comes out to 12% White, 9% Asian, 3% multiracial, 2% Black. That is visibly more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 43%.

On the income-and-resources front, Thornton Elementary School reports 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 13.8:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 16.6:1 average. About 88% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Adams County runs at roughly 62%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Thornton Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 13.3% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 11.9%.

Around the school, census data for Adams County shows median household earnings sit near $94,571, about 29% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 7%. Across Adams County's 171 public schools (combined enrollment of about 87,938 students), Thornton Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Thornton Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Thornton Elementary School at 4th of 6; the average score across the group is 15.3%.

The school occupies a residential site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Thornton Elementary School's enrollment has contracted 13% since 2018, when it stood at 446 (now 387). Over the same period, the White share fell from 20% to 12%. Class-load math has narrowed: from 18.4:1 in 2018 to 13.8:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.