MESA ELEMENTARY

MESA ELEMENTARY operates as a low-enrollment elementary-level community in SHIPROCK, New Mexico, overseen by CENTRAL. Current enrollment sits at 229 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 20% leaner than the state mean of about 287.

Within CENTRAL, which oversees 16 schools and 4,539 students, MESA ELEMENTARY is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, MESA ELEMENTARY reports that 94% of students identify as Native American, making the school strongly Native American-majority. Beyond that, the school logs 3% Hispanic.

On the resource side, MESA ELEMENTARY shows 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 11.2:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 12.9:1, putting MESA ELEMENTARY tighter than the state norm the norm. About 100% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

With demographic context factored in, MESA ELEMENTARY tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 33.4% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 21.3%.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (San Juan County) logs that median household income runs about $55,872, roughly 18% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 18% of residents live below the federal poverty line. MESA ELEMENTARY is one of 62 public schools in San Juan County (combined enrollment of about 21,309 students).

Nearest neighbor: Shiprock Northwest High School, around 0.7 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around MESA ELEMENTARY. On composite proficiency, MESA ELEMENTARY comes 2nd of 4 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 20.7%.

The campus sits in an outlying setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 24%: 302 students in 2018 compared to 229 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 14.4:1 in 2018 to 11.2:1 today.

On the community side, members of the MESA ELEMENTARY community share and discuss school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.