CENTRAL ELEMENTARY

Set in BELEN, New Mexico, CENTRAL ELEMENTARY is a close-knit middle-grades school, one of the schools within BELEN. It hosts 166 students across grades 4 through 6. That puts it 50% below the typical public school in New Mexico, which averages around 335 students.

BELEN runs 10 schools in total, collectively educating 3,500 students. CENTRAL ELEMENTARY is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, CENTRAL ELEMENTARY logs that 81% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority; the rest comes out to 16% White. The wider county runs roughly 61% Hispanic, putting the school's mix considerably more Hispanic than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, The school employs 15 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 11.4:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 12.5:1, putting CENTRAL ELEMENTARY tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 99% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, CENTRAL ELEMENTARY performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 33.5%, the actual is 27.4%, a residual of -6.2 points.

In the broader community, Valencia County reports that the typical household earns roughly $58,933 per year, about 21% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 13%. CENTRAL ELEMENTARY is one of 27 public schools in Valencia County (combined enrollment of about 11,956 students).

BELEN INFINITY HIGH is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around CENTRAL ELEMENTARY. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), CENTRAL ELEMENTARY ranks 5th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 37.6%.

Geographically, the school is in a commuter-belt area.

Five-year trend. CENTRAL ELEMENTARY's enrollment has decreased 29% since 2018, when it stood at 233 (now 166). The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 17.1:1 in 2018 to 11.4:1 today.

On this page, posts here usually surface around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.