MILLS ELEMENTARY

Set in HOBBS, New Mexico, MILLS ELEMENTARY is a mid-tier elementary campus, run under HOBBS. It educates 411 students across grades pre-K through 5. By comparison, New Mexico's public schools average about 287 students each, so MILLS ELEMENTARY sits 43% larger than that benchmark.

HOBBS runs 18 schools in total, collectively educating 10,097 students. MILLS ELEMENTARY is one of those campuses.

Demographically, MILLS ELEMENTARY shows that 75% of the student body identifies as Hispanic; the rest is composed of 21% White. By comparison, Lea County as a whole is about 63% Hispanic, so the school skews visibly more Hispanic than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, On paper, MILLS ELEMENTARY has 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 18.1:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 12.9:1, putting MILLS ELEMENTARY higher than the state norm the norm. About 59% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Lea County (around 73%), the school's rate is somewhat below typical.

After controlling for student poverty, MILLS ELEMENTARY sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 43.4%; this one delivers 46.3%.

In the surrounding community, Lea County reports that median household earnings sit near $68,015, roughly 16% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 15%. MILLS ELEMENTARY is one of 38 public schools in Lea County (combined enrollment of about 15,126 students).

SANGER ELEMENTARY is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.8 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around MILLS ELEMENTARY. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), MILLS ELEMENTARY ranks 1st on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 33.6%.

The campus sits in a town-center setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count climbed 19%: 344 students in 2018 compared to 411 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 65% to 75% across the same window.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.