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Welcome to the Thunder Mountain Elementary School community. What's one thing that would make Thunder Mountain Elementary School even better?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
432
Elementary
DISTRICT 331 · STATE 379
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MESA COUNTY VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 51·NCES 080435001346
Thunder Mountain Elementary School
3063 F1/2 ROAD, GRAND JUNCTION, CO 81504 · (970) 254-5870 · Mesa County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL432 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.2:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.9:1 · STATE 16.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
54%
235 students
DISTRICT 54% · STATE 50%
Community
6
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 52 | 12% |
| Kindergarten | 66 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 54 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 62 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 72 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 58 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 68 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (66) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (68).
Student demographics
50%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 45% · 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
Test scores
CMAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
32.2%
CO avg 44.9% . +7.9pp since 2023
Math
25.1%
CO avg 36.1% . +5.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the CMAS, Colorado's statewide test, about 32 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 25 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Colorado schools, those numbers are about 45 and 36. Reading and writing scores are up about 8 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.
CMAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 32.2% | 25.1% |
| 2023-24 | 24.3% | 19.5% |
% 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
25.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.7%
based on CO schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 25% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 34% 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 Thunder Mountain Elementary School
Thunder Mountain Elementary School's state test result (25.4% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder Mountain Elementary School this school | 432 | 54.4% | 25.4% |
| Bauder Elementary School FORT COLLINS | 423 | 54.6% | 44.6% |
| Pomona Elementary School GRAND JUNCTION | 395 | 50.1% | 47.5% |
| Estes Park K-5 School ESTES PARK | 431 | 52.4% | 30.2% |
| Fremont Elementary School FLORENCE | 441 | 59.6% | 23.8% |
| Laurel Elementary School FORT COLLINS | 412 | 54.6% | 37.3% |
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 Thunder Mountain Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Colorado | In Mesa County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 25.4% | #671 of 931 | #23 of 26 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 25.1% | #617 of 940 ▲ 86 | #23 of 27 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 32.2% | #618 of 946 ▲ 122 | #22 of 27 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 432 | #360 of 1,056 | #3 of 30 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.2:1 | #571 of 896 | #16 of 26 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 50.0% | #451 of 896 | #7 of 26 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 54.4% | #429 of 983 | #15 of 27 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -15.5% | #374 of 664 | #12 of 20 |
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
432
-33 (-7%) vs 2020
-27% since 1990-91, when it was 593
Student : Teacher
16.2:1
was 17.2:1
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 | 432 | 26.6 | 16.2:1 | 54% (235) |
| 2023-24 | 441 | 28.6 | 15.4:1 | 60% (266) |
| 2022-23 | 443 | 28.4 | 15.6:1 | 51% (224) |
| 2020-21 | 465 | 27 | 17.2:1 | 61% (283) |
| 2017-18 | 511 | 28 | 18.3:1 | 48% (243) |
| 2015-16 | 544 | 30 | 18.1:1 | 51% (275) |
| 2010-11 | 624 | 30 | 20.8:1 | 36% (223) |
| 2000-01 | 589 | 35 | 16.8:1 | 27% (158) |
| 1990-91 | 593 | 32 | 18.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Thunder Mountain Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 15% (511 to 432); teachers down 5% (28 to 26.6).
About Thunder Mountain Elementary School
Thunder Mountain Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school serving families in GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado. The latest federal count shows 432 students in pre-K through 5.
Enrollment across the 45 schools in Mesa County Valley School District No. 51 totals 20,344 students.
At Thunder Mountain Elementary School, White students make up 65% of the student body. The remaining shares are 28% Hispanic, 3% multiracial, and 2% Asian. Mesa County as a whole is about 82% White, so the school's share is lower. Pick two students at random and there is a 50% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Teachers at the school number 26.6 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 16.2:1. That matches the 16.6:1 average for elementary schools in Colorado fairly closely. The school's lunch program data list 54% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That tracks the 53% average for public schools in Mesa County.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Thunder Mountain Elementary School is 8.4 points below its prediction. Actual: 25.4%. Predicted: 33.7%.
Across Mesa County, the median household income is $73,658, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 32% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. Mesa County is home to 57 public schools and about 22,232 public school students.
The next-closest public school is Fruitvale Elementary School, about 0.9 miles away. Thunder Mountain Elementary School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Thunder Mountain Elementary School's average proficiency of 25.4% compares with 24.9% for its nearest scored neighbors.
Locale data from NCES put Thunder Mountain Elementary School in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000 (Suburb: Mid-size).
Over 4 years, Thunder Mountain Elementary School's enrollment dropped 7%, to 432.
Parents and students can post about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater at Thunder Mountain Elementary School. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Mesa County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
158,601
Census ACS
Median income
$73,658
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
57
22,232 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Mesa County Valley School District No. 51
- Grand Junction High SchoolHigh · 1,832 students
- Fruita Monument High SchoolHigh · 1,427 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 1,352 students
- Palisade High SchoolHigh · 1,073 students
- Fruita Middle SchoolMiddle · 690 students
- Redlands Middle SchoolMiddle · 632 students
Other schools in GRAND JUNCTION
- Grand Junction High SchoolHigh · 1,832 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 1,352 students
- Caprock AcademyCombined · 871 students
- Redlands Middle SchoolMiddle · 632 students
- Orchard Mesa Middle SchoolMiddle · 560 students
- Bookcliff Middle SchoolMiddle · 525 students
Nearby schools
- Fruitvale Elementary School0.9 mi · 358
- Central High School1.0 mi · 1,352
- Grand Mesa Middle School1.0 mi · 476
- Ascent Classical Academy of Grand Junction1.1 mi · 457
- Bookcliff Middle School1.7 mi · 525
- Independence Academy1.9 mi · 491
Frequently asked questions
About Thunder Mountain Elementary SchoolHow large is Thunder Mountain Elementary School?
Thunder Mountain Elementary School enrolls approximately 432 students in grades PK-05.
Is Thunder Mountain Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Thunder Mountain Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Thunder Mountain Elementary School have?
Thunder Mountain Elementary School employs 27 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.2:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Thunder Mountain Elementary School?
At Thunder Mountain Elementary School, the student body is approximately 65% White, 28% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Thunder Mountain Elementary School public or private?
Thunder Mountain Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Mesa County Valley School District No. 51.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.