Aurora Joint District No. 28

The Aurora Joint District No. 28 serves 53 schools in the Aurora, Colorado area — 37 elementary/K-8 schools, 6 middle schools, 6 high schools, and 4 alternative schools — but the district overall ranks 106th out of 115 Colorado districts with a 0-star rating and test scores well below state averages in every subject. The median school free/reduced lunch rate is 84.1%, reflecting widespread poverty, and chronic absenteeism stands at 38.9% versus the state's 28.4%.

Despite the district's overall struggles, a few schools stand out dramatically. Aurora Quest K-8 is ranked the #2 elementary school in Colorado with 5 stars, posting 92.4% ELA and 95.8% math proficiency — more than double state averages — and the district's lowest chronic absenteeism at 4.7%. Aurora Frontier K-8 and Murphy Creek K-8 are strong traditional options with roughly 54-59% ELA proficiency and 48% math proficiency, while Aurora Academy Charter School also exceeds 40% ELA. Among high schools, Rangeview High School and Vista Peak 9-12 Preparatory have the strongest graduation rates and test scores, with Rangeview the only high school exceeding the state average in 11th grade science. William Smith High School boasts a 96.7% graduation rate, and alternative schools like Lotus School for Excellence and Vanguard Classical School - East also outperform many traditional schools despite high poverty.

The starkest challenges sit at the bottom of the district's enormous performance gap. Altura Elementary is the lowest-performing school in the state, ranking 943rd out of 943 with just 3.8% ELA proficiency, and Del Mar Academy is nearly as severe. Gateway High School and Aurora Central Campus post graduation rates of 65.4% and 59.5%, with chronic absenteeism above 64%. The math proficiency gap between Aurora Quest and Altura is 90 points — far larger than the 17-point gap between district and state averages. Chronic absenteeism is the clearest warning sign; nearly every school with absenteeism above 50% has single-digit or teen proficiency rates, while the best-performing schools all keep absenteeism below 21%. Math proficiency and college readiness remain the district's most urgent challenges.