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What's one thing BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
429
Elementary
DISTRICT 389 · STATE 287
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LOS ALAMOS·NCES 350165000428
BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY
57 LOMA DEL ESCOLAR, LOS ALAMOS, NM 87544 · (505) 663-2730 · Los Alamos County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL429 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.4:1
38 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.2:1 · STATE 12.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
13%
56 students
DISTRICT 12% · STATE 90%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY→LOS ALAMOS MIDDLE
Based on grade levels within LOS ALAMOS. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NM-MSSA + NM-ASR 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
64.4%
NM avg 44.2%
Math
59.1%
NM avg 27.2%
What this means: On the NM-MSSA + NM-ASR, New Mexico's statewide test, about 64 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 59 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New Mexico schools, those numbers are about 44 and 27.
Source: NM-MSSA + NM-ASR. 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
60.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
54.3%
based on NM schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 61% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 54% typical for New Mexico 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 New Mexico'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 →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
429
-37 (-8%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
11.4:1
was 14.6:1
% White
57%
was 55%
% Hispanic
33%
was 34%
% Black
1%
was 0%
% Asian
8%
was 4%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY
BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY operates as an average-sized primary school in LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico, operated by LOS ALAMOS. Current enrollment sits at 429 students spanning grades pre-K through 6. Compared to the state average of about 287 students per school, that is 49% bigger than typical.
Across the 8 schools in LOS ALAMOS (3,971 students total), BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY accounts for its share of the district's footprint.
Looking at the student body, BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY lists that 57% of the student body identifies as White. Other groups include 33% Hispanic, 8% Asian. By comparison, Los Alamos County as a whole is about 75% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.
Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 38 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.4:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 12.9:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 13% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.
On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 54.3%, the actual is 60.6%, a residual of +6.3 points.
In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (Los Alamos County) records that median household earnings sit near $147,139, 70% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 3%. BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY is one of 8 public schools in Los Alamos County (combined enrollment of about 3,971 students).
The closest other public school is LOS ALAMOS MIDDLE, roughly 1.0 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 5 other public schools cluster around BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY at 6th of 6; the average score across the group is 68.7%.
The campus sits in a countryside setting.
Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY has edged down 8%, going from 466 students in 2018 to 429 in 2025. Class-load math has pulled in: from 14.6:1 in 2018 to 11.4:1 in 2025.
On allk12, posts here usually surface around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Los Alamos County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
19,435
Census ACS
Median income
$147,139
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
70%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
3%
Below federal line
Schools in county
8
3,971 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in LOS ALAMOS
- LOS ALAMOS HIGHHigh · 1,181 students
- LOS ALAMOS MIDDLEMiddle · 543 students
- MOUNTAIN ELEMENTARYElementary · 435 students
- ASPEN ELEMENTARYElementary · 428 students
- PINON ELEMENTARYElementary · 350 students
- TOPPER FRESHMAN ACADEMYCombined · 304 students
Other schools in LOS ALAMOS
- LOS ALAMOS HIGHHigh · 1,181 students
- LOS ALAMOS MIDDLEMiddle · 543 students
- MOUNTAIN ELEMENTARYElementary · 435 students
- ASPEN ELEMENTARYElementary · 428 students
- TOPPER FRESHMAN ACADEMYCombined · 304 students
Nearby schools
- LOS ALAMOS MIDDLE1.0 mi · 543
- ASPEN ELEMENTARY1.7 mi · 428
- TOPPER FRESHMAN ACADEMY2.2 mi · 304
- LOS ALAMOS HIGH2.3 mi · 1,181
- MOUNTAIN ELEMENTARY2.4 mi · 435
- PINON ELEMENTARY6.8 mi · 350
Frequently asked questions
About BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARYHow large is BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY?
BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY enrolls approximately 429 students in grades PK-06.
What age range does BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY serve?
BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY serves students from grade PK through grade 06.
How many students per teacher at BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY?
Approximately 11.4:1 students per teacher at BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY.
What is the student diversity at BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY?
Student demographics at BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY are roughly 57% White, 33% Hispanic, 1% Black, 8% Asian, 0% Two or more.
What district is BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY in?
BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY is part of LOS ALAMOS.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.