Elementary Schools in Durango School District No. 9-R

Summary:

The Durango School District No. 9-R in Colorado is home to 8 elementary schools serving students from grades K-5. The district as a whole is ranked 34 out of 115 school districts in the state and is rated 4 out of 5 stars by SchoolDigger. While the district performs well overall, there are notable differences in the academic performance and other key metrics among the individual elementary schools.

The top-performing elementary schools in the district are Park Elementary School and Riverview Elementary School, both of which are consistently ranked in the top 20% of Colorado elementary schools and outperform the district and state averages on CMAS test scores for English Language Arts and Math. Another standout is The Juniper School, a public charter school that ranks in the top 40% of Colorado elementary schools and excels in Science and English Language Arts.

In contrast, schools like Florida Mesa Elementary, Needham Elementary, and Sunnyside Elementary struggle to keep up with the district and state averages, with significantly lower CMAS test scores. These schools also have the highest rates of free and reduced lunch, suggesting a correlation between socioeconomic status and academic achievement. Additionally, the district as a whole faces a significant challenge with high chronic absenteeism rates across all schools, which may be impacting student performance.

District Detail

281 Sawyer Dr Suite 100
Durango, CO 81303

(970) 247-5411

SchoolDigger Rank:
34^th of 115 Colorado districts

See the 2025 Colorado District rankings!

Grades served: PK, KG-12
Students: 4,337

Primary Schools: 8
Middle Schools: 2
High Schools: 2
Alternative Schools: 0

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CMAS English Language Arts (2025)					CMAS Math (2025)				CMAS Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CMAS English Language Arts 3rd Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 4th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 5th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 6th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts All Grades	CMAS Math 3rd Grade	CMAS Math 4th Grade	CMAS Math 5th Grade	CMAS Math All Grades	CMAS Science 5th Grade	Total
Florida Mesa Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	216 Highway 172	Durango	81303	La Plata County	Durango School District No. 9-R	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 247-4250	293	28	10.3	52.6%	164 (56.0%)	0 (0.0%)	81 (27.6%)	3 (1.0%)	27 (9.2%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (6.1%)	35.5	566^th of 950 public elementary schools	40.4%		31.2	602^nd of 943 public elementary schools	36.2%	36	29.8	32.4	39.7		34.5	23.9	14.3	41.4	28.8	42.9	$20,091
Fort Lewis Mesa Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	11274 Highway 140	Hesperus	81326	La Plata County	Durango School District No. 9-R	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 588-3331	116	11	10.2	50.9%	84 (72.4%)	1 (0.9%)	25 (21.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.7%)								(n/a)					50.0				43.8		$24,256
Needham Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2425 West Third Avenue	Durango	81301	La Plata County	Durango School District No. 9-R	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 247-4791	367	32	11.5	42.2%	242 (65.9%)	3 (0.8%)	73 (19.9%)	2 (0.5%)	18 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (7.9%)	48	463^rd of 950 public elementary schools	51.3%		55.1	402^nd of 943 public elementary schools	57.4%	61	38.6	62.7	48.0		50.0	25.4	42.4	32.7	33.5	33.3	$17,744
Park Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	510 E. 6th Ave.	Durango	81301	La Plata County	Durango School District No. 9-R	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 247-3718	452	36	12.7	38.9%	256 (56.6%)	1 (0.2%)	110 (24.3%)	7 (1.5%)	38 (8.4%)	1 (0.2%)	37 (8.2%)	79.7	176^th of 950 public elementary schools	81.5%		78.8	177^th of 943 public elementary schools	81.2%	1	57.6	61.8	60.3		60.1	58.3	55.8	58.7	57.5	55.6	$16,275
Riverview Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2900 Mesa Avenue	Durango	81301	La Plata County	Durango School District No. 9-R	No	No	No	No	(970) 247-3862	374	31	12.0	30.5%	279 (74.6%)	1 (0.3%)	48 (12.8%)	2 (0.5%)	16 (4.3%)	1 (0.3%)	27 (7.2%)	79.3	185^th of 950 public elementary schools	80.5%		61.1	351^st of 943 public elementary schools	62.8%	166	60.3	66.2	64.0		63.5	69.8	48.5	44.9	55.0	56.3	$17,222
Sunnyside Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	75 Cr 218	Durango	81303	La Plata County	Durango School District No. 9-R	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 259-5249	107	11	9.8	50.5%	67 (62.6%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (29.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.9%)	1 (0.9%)	5 (4.7%)								(n/a)					31.6				21.1		$23,512
Animas Valley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	373 Hermosa Meadows Road	Durango	81301	La Plata County	Durango School District No. 9-R	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 247-0124	185	18	10.1	37.8%	109 (58.9%)	0 (0.0%)	58 (31.4%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (3.8%)	47.5	467^th of 950 public elementary schools	50.8%		53.6	420^th of 943 public elementary schools	55.5%	47	57.7	39.1	50.0		49.3	29.6	45.8	25.0	33.3	33.3	$21,990
The Juniper School	Public, Charter	K-8	225 Sawyer Dr	Durango	81303	La Plata County	Durango School District No. 9-R	Yes	No	No	No	(970) 764-4185	171	12	14.4	38.6%	136 (79.5%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (16.4%)	2 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.9%)	60.1	356^th of 950 public elementary schools	62.5%		63.7	331^st of 943 public elementary schools	64.9%	25	73.9	41.2	52.9	31.3	50.0	56.5	23.5	35.3	32.6	64.7	$13,249

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
State Charter School Institute	0.71 mi	52	50^th
San Juan boces	1.31 mi	1
Bayfield School District No. 10Jt-R	15.38 mi	4	72^nd
Ignacio School District No. 11Jt	17.21 mi	4	101^st
Mancos School District Re-6	23.34 mi	4

See the top CO Colorado districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Colorado Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.