Crowley County School District No. Re-1-J

The Crowley County School District No. Re-1-J is a small, rural Colorado district serving approximately 330 students across three schools: Crowley County Elementary K-6 (grades K-6), Crowley County Junior and Senior High School (grades 7-12), and Crowley County Virtual Education Academy (grades 4-12). The district ranks 99th out of 115 Colorado districts and holds a 1-star rating, with all three schools also carrying 1-star ratings. Academic performance is well below state averages across every subject and grade level tested, and the district faces significant poverty and chronic absenteeism challenges.

Among the three schools, Crowley County Elementary K-6 is the strongest academic performer, with 29.4% ELA and 22.4% math proficiency, compared with 22.9% and 16.7% at Crowley County Junior and Senior High School. Notably, the elementary school has a higher poverty rate (69.9% free/reduced lunch eligibility) than the high school (51.9%), yet still outperforms it, suggesting that factors such as class size and teaching capacity may play an important role. The high school posts the district's best graduation rate (83.3%) and lowest dropout rate (1.1%), but only 10% of 11th graders are proficient in SAT math. Crowley County Virtual Education Academy serves just 18 students and faces severe challenges, with 55.6% chronic absenteeism and an 8.0% dropout rate — more than five times the state rate.

Math is the district's deepest area of concern: SAT math proficiency is 10% versus 32% statewide, and CMAS math proficiency trails state averages by roughly 15–20 percentage points in every grade. Chronic absenteeism is a district-wide problem, with all three schools exceeding the state rate of 28.4%, including the Virtual Academy at 55.6%. The high school's state ranking has declined from the 37th percentile in 2018–2019 to the 18th percentile in 2024–2025, while the elementary school shows a modest rebound to the 25th percentile. Because enrollment is small, year-to-year swings should be interpreted cautiously, but the priorities are clear: improve math achievement, tackle chronic absenteeism — especially at the Virtual Academy — and reverse the high school's downward trend.