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.

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