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What tradition at DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
502
Elementary
DISTRICT 414 · STATE 287
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LAS CRUCES·NCES 350150000649
DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY
280 NORTH ROADRUNNER PKWY, LAS CRUCES, NM 88011 · (575) 527-9619 · Doña Ana County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL502 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 93% of New Mexico public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded New Mexico public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
12.1:1
42 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.6:1 · STATE 12.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
502 students
DISTRICT 100% · 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, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 43 | 9% |
| Kindergarten | 72 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 73 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 68 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 84 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 76 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 86 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (72) is 16% smaller than its 5th grade class (86).
Student demographics
49%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 34% · STATE 55% · 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
NM-MSSA + NM-ASR 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
63.8%
NM avg 44.2%
Math
52.3%
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 52 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of NM schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
60.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.4%
based on NM schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+26.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 60% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 33% typical for New Mexico schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 27 points, placing it in New Mexico's top 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 DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY
DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY's state test result (60.1% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY this school | 502 | 100.0% | 60.1% |
| MARTIN KING JR ELEMENTARY RIO RANCHO | 569 | 100.0% | 41.8% |
| EDMUND G ROSS ELEMENTARY ALBUQUERQUE | 343 | 99.7% | 25.5% |
| INEZ ELEMENTARY ALBUQUERQUE | 309 | 100.0% | 29.3% |
| PINON ELEMENTARY SANTA FE | 513 | 100.0% | 43.3% |
| MONTE VISTA ELEMENTARY ALBUQUERQUE | 379 | 99.7% | 45.2% |
Matched among New Mexico 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 DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In New Mexico | In Doña Ana County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 60.1% | #20 of 329 | #2 of 39 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 52.3% | #30 of 354 | #3 of 39 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 63.8% | #41 of 366 | #1 of 40 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 502 | #48 of 490 | #7 of 47 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.1:1 | #110 of 318 | #16 of 37 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 49.5% | #128 of 334 | #2 of 37 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 100% | #133 of 393 | #30 of 45 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -24.4% | #127 of 287 | #9 of 33 |
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
502
-114 (-19%) vs 2020
+3% since 2000-01, when it was 487
Student : Teacher
12.1:1
was 15.0:1
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 | 502 | 41.5 | 12.1:1 | 100% (502) |
| 2023-24 | 539 | 37 | 14.6:1 | 93% (500) |
| 2022-23 | 559 | 39.8 | 14.1:1 | 100% (559) |
| 2020-21 | 616 | 41 | 15.0:1 | 100% (616) |
| 2017-18 | 664 | 38.8 | 17.1:1 | 46% (304) |
| 2015-16 | 674 | 41 | 16.4:1 | 41% (278) |
| 2010-11 | 557 | 36 | 15.5:1 | 30% (165) |
| 2000-01 | 487 | 29 | 16.8:1 | 33% (161) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY.
Since 2017-18: students down 24% (664 to 502); teachers up 7% (38.8 to 41.5).
About DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY
DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY is an elementary school with a street address in LAS CRUCES, New Mexico. The school has 502 students in 2024-25 across pre-K through 5. Elementary schools in New Mexico have about 287 students on average; enrollment here is 75% higher.
DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY is part of a district of 39 schools: LAS CRUCES, with 22,670 students.
The student body at DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY is 68% Hispanic. Other reported shares: 21% White, 5% Asian, 3% multiracial, and 3% Black. Among Doña Ana County residents, the Hispanic share is about 68%. A diversity index of 49% means there is a 49% chance two randomly chosen students at DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY are from different groups.
The school had 41.5 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25. Its student-to-teacher ratio is 12.1:1. The school's 12.1:1 compares with an average of 12.9:1 for elementary schools in New Mexico. The eligibility rate for free or reduced-price meals is 100%. That is in line with the 98% average for public schools in Doña Ana County.
DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY holds an A allk12 Grade, placing it above 93% of New Mexico public elementary schools.
DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY is a top-10% school in New Mexico on BeatsExpectations, beating its predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results of 33.4% with an actual 60.1%.
For the population of Doña Ana County, median household income comes to about $56,848, roughly 32% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 19%. Doña Ana County counts 81 public schools with about 36,561 students.
EXPLORE ACADEMY LAS CRUCES is about 1.1 miles from DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY, the shortest distance to any other public school. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. By average proficiency, DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY is 1st among 8 schools close by.
Locale data from NCES put DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000 (City: Mid-size).
Over 4 years, enrollment decreased by 114 students, from 616 to 502. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 15.0:1; by 2024-25 it was 12.1:1.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about open houses, carpools, and field trips at DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Doña Ana County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
224,266
Census ACS
Median income
$56,848
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
19%
Below federal line
Schools in county
81
36,561 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in LAS CRUCES
- ORGAN MOUNTAIN HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,128 students
- CENTENNIAL HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,713 students
- LAS CRUCES HIGHHigh · 1,703 students
- MAYFIELD HIGHHigh · 1,327 students
- CAMINO REAL MIDDLEMiddle · 933 students
- MESA MIDDLEMiddle · 728 students
Other schools in LAS CRUCES
- ORGAN MOUNTAIN HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,128 students
- CENTENNIAL HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,713 students
- LAS CRUCES HIGHHigh · 1,703 students
- MAYFIELD HIGHHigh · 1,327 students
- CAMINO REAL MIDDLEMiddle · 933 students
- MESA MIDDLEMiddle · 728 students
Other Desert Hills Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Desert Hills Elementary. DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Desert Hills Elementary SchoolEL PASO, TX · 928 students
Nearby schools
- EXPLORE ACADEMY LAS CRUCES1.1 mi · 599
- SIERRA MIDDLE1.5 mi · 698
- HILLRISE ELEMENTARY1.6 mi · 421
- MESILLA VALLEY LEADERSHIP ACADEMY1.7 mi · 94
- LYNN MIDDLE1.7 mi · 507
- HERMOSA HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY1.8 mi · 408
Frequently asked questions
About DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARYHow many students attend DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY?
DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY enrolls approximately 502 students in grades PK-05.
Is DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY an elementary, middle, or high school?
DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY?
The student-to-teacher ratio at DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY is approximately 12.1:1 (42 FTE teachers).
How diverse is DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY?
DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY reports a student body of 21% White, 68% Hispanic, 3% Black, 5% Asian, 3% Two or more.
What district is DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY in?
DESERT HILLS ELEMENTARY is part of LAS CRUCES.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.