JAL ELEMENTARY

JAL ELEMENTARY, a moderately sized elementary-level community in JAL, New Mexico, part of JAL, enrolls 290 students, covering grades pre-K through 5.

JAL ELEMENTARY is one of 3 schools operated by JAL, a district that hosts 567 students overall.

In terms of who attends, JAL ELEMENTARY reports that 85% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. Beyond that, the school logs 14% White. By comparison, Lea County as a whole is about 63% Hispanic, so the school skews visibly more Hispanic than its surroundings.

On the resource side, On paper, JAL ELEMENTARY has 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 16.6:1. The state averages around 12.9:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Around 100% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Lea County runs at roughly 73%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully above the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, JAL ELEMENTARY tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 33.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 29.7%.

Zooming out to the county, Lea County reports that median household earnings sit near $68,015, about 16% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 15% of residents live below the federal poverty line. JAL ELEMENTARY is one of 38 public schools in Lea County (combined enrollment of about 15,126 students).

JAL HIGH is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. 2 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts JAL ELEMENTARY at 5th of 7; the average score across the group is 33.2%.

The campus sits in a rural setting.

Over the past 7-year window. JAL ELEMENTARY's enrollment has expanded 9% since 2018, when it stood at 266 (now 290). The Hispanic share of enrollment climbed from 78% to 85% over that span. Class-load math has widened: from 14.8:1 in 2018 to 16.6:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.