Enrollment
270
Elementary
DISTRICT 414 · STATE 287
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LAS CRUCES·NCES 350150000397
WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY
1 VIKING ST WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, LAS CRUCES, NM 88002 · (575) 674-1241 · Doña Ana County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL270 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
10.6:1
26 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.6:1 · STATE 12.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
270 students
DISTRICT 100% · STATE 90%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. 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
63.7%
NM avg 44.2%
Math
58.2%
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 58 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
62.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.4%
based on NM schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+29.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 62% 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 29 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 →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
270
-28 (-9%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
10.6:1
was 15.2:1
% White
41%
was 52%
% Hispanic
42%
was 32%
% Black
3%
was 6%
% Asian
1%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY
As a mid-tier K-5 school in LAS CRUCES, New Mexico, WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY educates 270 students from grades pre-K through 8, part of LAS CRUCES.
LAS CRUCES runs 39 schools in total, collectively educating 22,670 students. WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY is one of those campuses.
Demographically, WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY reports that 42% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest looks like 41% White, 11% multiracial, 3% Black. By comparison, Doñan Ana County as a whole is about 68% Hispanic, so the school skews noticeably less Hispanic than its surroundings.
In terms of school funding signals, WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY shows 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 10.6:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 12.9:1 average. An estimated 100% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.
With demographic context factored in, WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 33.4%; this one delivers 62.5%, a residual of +29.1 points.
Around the school, community-level numbers for Doñan Ana County indicate median household income runs about $56,848, roughly 32% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 19%. Across Doñan Ana County's 81 public schools (combined enrollment of about 36,561 students), WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY is one campus in the mix.
SUNRISE ELEMENTARY is the nearest neighboring public school, about 11.1 miles from this campus. On composite proficiency, WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY comes 1st of 6 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 38.2%.
WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY operates from a rural location.
Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 9%: 298 students in 2018 compared to 270 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 52% to 41% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 15.2:1 in 2018 to 10.6:1 today.
On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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
Nearby schools
- SUNRISE ELEMENTARY11.1 mi · 363
- CESAR CHAVEZ ELEMENTARY11.1 mi · 492
- ORGAN MOUNTAIN HIGH SCHOOL13.0 mi · 2,128
- MESA MIDDLE13.8 mi · 728
- CENTENNIAL HIGH SCHOOL14.0 mi · 1,713
- MONTE VISTA ELEMENTARY14.1 mi · 706
Frequently asked questions
About WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARYHow large is WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY?
WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY enrolls approximately 270 students in grades PK-08.
Is WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY an elementary, middle, or high school?
WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY is an elementary school covering grades PK-08.
How many students per teacher at WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY?
Approximately 10.6:1 students per teacher at WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY.
What is the racial breakdown of students at WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY?
At WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY, the student body is approximately 41% White, 42% Hispanic, 3% Black, 1% Asian, 11% Two or more.
Who oversees WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY?
WHITE SANDS ELEMENTARY is overseen by LAS CRUCES in Doña Ana County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.