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Lotus School for Excellence

Public, Charter, Alternative Grades K-12
674th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 943 Colorado Alternative Schools
Better than 29% of Colorado alternative schools
Summary

Lotus School for Excellence is a K-12 alternative school in Aurora, CO, serving roughly 1,008 students within the Aurora Joint District No. 28, a district ranked in the bottom 10% of Colorado districts. The school serves a very high-poverty population—91.8% of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-2025—with a student-teacher ratio of 15.2. Despite these challenges, Lotus posts academic results well above its district and notably lower chronic absenteeism than most nearby peer schools.

In the latest CMAS results, Lotus scored 32.9% proficient in ELA and 23.8% in math, outpacing the district's 26.1% and 20.5% but trailing state averages of 44.7% and 37.3%. The high school results are especially strong: 44% of 11th graders scored proficient on SAT Reading/Writing versus just 19% at Aurora Central Campus and 22% at Vanguard Classical School - East, while PSAT10 math proficiency hit 36%, just 3 points below the state average. Lotus also outperforms Aurora Science & Technical High School in most high school subjects. That said, 8th grade science is a clear weak spot at 10.6% proficiency versus 35.4% statewide.

Lotus's most striking differentiators are its attendance and graduation history. Chronic absenteeism is just 21.2%, far below the district's 38.9% and well under rates at peers like Aurora Central Campus (69.4%) and Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy (51.7%). Historically, Lotus posted a 100% graduation rate in 2021-2022 with a zero dropout rate, though more recent school-level data is unavailable. Academic trends are also improving, with ELA proficiency jumping from 23.0% to 32.9% and math from 15.4% to 23.8% in the latest year. The gaps between Lotus and affluent nearby schools like Skyview Academy remain large, but Lotus stands out as a high-poverty school delivering above-expectation results, especially for older students.

1,008
Students ?
15.2
Student/teacher ratio ?
$15,356
Per pupil spending ?
91.8%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 11001-A East Alameda Avenue
       Aurora, CO  80012-1034

(303) 360-0052

District: Aurora Joint District No. 28

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
44.8%
African American:
39.0%
White:
10.9%
more
 See top rated Colorado elementary schools

 Compare Lotus School for Excellence to nearby alternative schools!
At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 28th percentile in 2023 → 27th in 2026
Strengths
✓100% graduate in 4 years — above the Colorado average (82%)
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Colorado average (30% vs 43% meeting standards)
!Reading and Writing scores 21 pts below the Colorado average
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school30%
District avg24%
Colorado avg43%
Elementary school
674th of 943
Colorado public elementary schools ?
Bottom 29%▲ up 8 pts since 2016
From bottom 20% (2016) to bottom 29% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
321st of 469
Colorado public middle schools ?
Bottom 32%▲ up 7 pts since 2016
From bottom 25% (2016) to bottom 32% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Colorado Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
High school
246th of 338
Colorado public high schools ?
Bottom 27%▼ down 12 pts since 2016
From bottom 39% (2016) to bottom 27% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Colorado High Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
2nd of 3Alternative Schools in the Aurora Joint District No. 28
106th of 115Aurora Joint District No. 28 among Colorado districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202625.6674 of 94328.5%★☆☆☆☆
202518.2764 of 95019.6%★☆☆☆☆
202422.2706 of 94325.1%★☆☆☆☆
202319.2749 of 93319.7%★☆☆☆☆
202213.1829 of 92110.0%★☆☆☆☆
202115.0641 of 7109.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201918.1793 of 96517.8%★☆☆☆☆
201812.6839 of 9178.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201714.6807 of 92913.1%★☆☆☆☆
201620.0728 of 91420.4%★☆☆☆☆
201522.6721 of 93823.1%★☆☆☆☆
201421.6778 of 96219.1%★☆☆☆☆
201311.3862 of 9549.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201214.1812 of 93513.2%★☆☆☆☆
201114.6816 of 93512.7%★☆☆☆☆
201014.2807 of 92512.8%★☆☆☆☆
200931.8651 of 87225.3%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202642.711 of 2454.2%★★★☆☆
202544.410 of 2152.4%★★★☆☆
202458.76 of 1866.7%★★★★☆
202346.98 of 2060.0%★★★☆☆
202240.411 of 1838.9%★★☆☆☆
202126.23 of 30.0%★★★★☆
201944.714 of 2339.1%★★☆☆☆
201845.07 of 1553.3%★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202632.610 of 1428.6%★★☆☆☆
202339.210 of 1741.2%★★★☆☆
202223.417 of 1910.5%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202619.7557 of 69219.5%★☆☆☆☆
202514.6587 of 69415.4%★☆☆☆☆
202431.6457 of 68433.2%★★☆☆☆
202316.7545 of 64215.1%★☆☆☆☆
202214.8522 of 59512.3%★☆☆☆☆
201916.8654 of 75813.7%★☆☆☆☆
201811.9640 of 6907.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202641.9134 of 24946.2%★★☆☆☆
202535.8151 of 24738.9%★★☆☆☆
202444.8124 of 24248.8%★★☆☆☆
201931.6191 of 27029.3%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202619.7560 of 69419.3%★☆☆☆☆
202514.7600 of 70014.3%★☆☆☆☆
202414.1602 of 68311.9%★☆☆☆☆
202311.0607 of 6496.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202213.5532 of 59410.4%★☆☆☆☆
201912.9694 of 7649.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20189.4663 of 6934.3%☆☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202626.7321 of 46931.6%★★☆☆☆
202514.5412 of 46912.2%★☆☆☆☆
202414.0414 of 48514.6%★☆☆☆☆
202321.7361 of 48024.8%★☆☆☆☆
202217.2373 of 44816.7%★☆☆☆☆
202118.4320 of 36913.3%★☆☆☆☆
201917.7372 of 45818.8%★☆☆☆☆
201819.0336 of 41819.6%★☆☆☆☆
201725.5313 of 42426.2%★☆☆☆☆
201625.6300 of 40025.0%★☆☆☆☆
201529.8301 of 43631.0%★★☆☆☆
201423.1372 of 46119.3%★☆☆☆☆
201334.2322 of 45429.1%★☆☆☆☆
201231.0307 of 42527.8%★☆☆☆☆
201127.0330 of 42221.8%★☆☆☆☆
201024.3329 of 40919.6%★☆☆☆☆
200922.8312 of 37717.2%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202648.115 of 3557.1%★★★☆☆
202532.720 of 2931.0%★★☆☆☆
202441.815 of 2540.0%★★★☆☆
202360.710 of 2560.0%★★★☆☆
202252.88 of 2060.0%★★★☆☆
202133.86 of 825.0%★★☆☆☆
201946.516 of 3351.5%★★★☆☆
201860.08 of 2263.6%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202627.3258 of 36529.3%★☆☆☆☆
202519.1278 of 34719.9%★☆☆☆☆
202415.1296 of 35015.4%★☆☆☆☆
202319.2286 of 36321.2%★☆☆☆☆
202215.7279 of 32614.4%★☆☆☆☆
202119.3224 of 25411.8%★☆☆☆☆
201926.1259 of 35226.4%★☆☆☆☆
201821.6250 of 31520.6%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202641.9106 of 20748.8%★★☆☆☆
202526.8168 of 21822.9%★☆☆☆☆
202419.8167 of 19916.1%★☆☆☆☆
202123.372 of 8313.3%★☆☆☆☆
201924.2173 of 22021.4%★☆☆☆☆
201816.2155 of 1656.1%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
201836.2138 of 22237.8%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202617.7307 of 36916.8%★☆☆☆☆
20257.4343 of 3522.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202413.9309 of 35713.4%★☆☆☆☆
202322.9257 of 35627.8%★☆☆☆☆
202216.9273 of 32816.8%★☆☆☆☆
202112.8237 of 2494.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201911.2318 of 3437.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201816.2271 of 31714.5%★☆☆☆☆
High school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202627.3246 of 33827.2%★☆☆☆☆
202522.9258 of 32821.3%★☆☆☆☆
202429.8239 of 34931.5%★★☆☆☆
202326.5253 of 34927.5%★☆☆☆☆
201946.4207 of 41149.6%★★☆☆☆
201852.8162 of 38858.2%★★★☆☆
201738.5128 of 25650.0%★★★☆☆
201632.8155 of 25539.2%★★☆☆☆
201536.5162 of 29244.5%★★☆☆☆
201432.8265 of 36928.2%★☆☆☆☆
201348.9191 of 34945.3%★★☆☆☆
201229.1243 of 33427.2%★☆☆☆☆
201127.6253 of 33724.9%★☆☆☆☆
201037.8221 of 32732.4%★★☆☆☆
200939.1204 of 31034.2%★★☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202664.69 of 3171.0%★★★★☆
202585.14 of 3086.7%★★★★☆
202473.59 of 3876.3%★★★★☆
202364.910 of 3672.2%★★★★☆
202253.812 of 3464.7%★★★★☆
202154.511 of 2962.1%★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202479.09 of 3675.0%★★★★☆
202369.59 of 4479.5%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202628.0175 of 24528.6%★☆☆☆☆
202428.0177 of 25731.1%★★☆☆☆
202329.8175 of 25431.1%★★☆☆☆
202231.7173 of 25732.7%★★☆☆☆
202133.1160 of 23933.1%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202640.3111 of 19743.7%★★☆☆☆
202525.2138 of 18726.2%★☆☆☆☆
202437.6115 of 19942.2%★★☆☆☆
202326.8144 of 19827.3%★☆☆☆☆
202234.2130 of 20536.6%★★☆☆☆
202141.093 of 18148.6%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankColorado percentileRating
202624.7181 of 24325.5%★☆☆☆☆
202526.6177 of 24628.0%★☆☆☆☆
202429.9171 of 25633.2%★★☆☆☆
202323.8189 of 25225.0%★☆☆☆☆
202215.0215 of 25315.0%★☆☆☆☆
202112.5209 of 24012.9%★☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Elementary school
African American (2026)54th percentile+26 vs school
Hispanic (2026)46th percentile+18 vs school
English Language Learner (2026)29th percentile~ school
Female (2026)20th percentile-9 vs school
Male (2026)19th percentile-9 vs school
Middle school
African American (2026)57th percentile+26 vs school
Hispanic (2026)49th percentile+17 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2018)38th percentile+18 vs school
Female (2026)29th percentile~ school
Male (2026)17th percentile-15 vs school
High school
English Language Learner (2024)75th percentile+43 vs school
African American (2026)71st percentile+44 vs school
Hispanic (2026)44th percentile+16 vs school
Female (2026)29th percentile~ school
Male (2026)26th percentile~ school
By subject vs Colorado (2025-2026) ?
Reading and Writing45%-21 vs state
English Language Arts33%-12 vs state
Mathematics26%-14 vs state
Math24%-14 vs state
Science18%-18 vs state

3.8
6 ratings · 4 written reviews
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What people are saying
by a parent
Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Open Quote Middle school teachers are not qualified by any means, most of them were hired when the school couldn't find qualified applicants. That is probably the situation in many other schools these days, but in Lotus, every middle school teacher has less than one year of experience as a teacher and 25 years or younger. The only exception is the Middle school Dean. Good luck kids. Close Quote


by a parent
Friday, January 7, 2011

Open Quote This is the best school in Aurora. The school is getting better and improving itself. I believe that Lotus is going to be the best school in Colorado soon. Close Quote


by a parent
Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Open Quote This is old data
School impressively increased its scores. Its achievement data is about 10% above the district in all areas and its growth is at 60-80 % where CO average is 50%. Lotus is one of the best schools in Aurora. Close Quote


by a parent
Saturday, April 3, 2010

Open Quote Great math, technology, and science school! The clubs are great! Close Quote




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Frequently Asked Questions about Lotus School for Excellence

Lotus School for Excellence ranks 674th of 943 Colorado alternative schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Students at Lotus School for Excellence are 45% Hispanic, 39% African American, 11% White, 3% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,008 students attended Lotus School for Excellence.

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Latest Colorado data All new data »
2025–26 CMAS, PSAT10, PSAT9 & SAT test scoresNewAug 19, 2026
2024–25 school spending dataJun 13, 2026
2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJan 13, 2026
2024–25 attendance dataAug 27, 2025


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.

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