Edna and John W. Mosley P-8

Edna and John W. Mosley P-8 is a large PK-8 school in Aurora Joint District No. 28, serving 994 students in Aurora, CO, where roughly 82% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. Statewide, the school ranks in the low range — 852nd out of 943 Colorado schools with a 0-star rating — but within its immediate neighborhood, Mosley is not at the bottom. It outperforms several nearby schools, including Laredo Elementary School, Iowa Elementary School, Altura Elementary School, AXL Academy, and Tollgate Elementary School of Expeditionary Learning, while trailing a few comparable schools such as Arkansas Elementary School and Elkhart Elementary School.

Academically, Mosley's biggest challenge is math. While 3rd-grade math proficiency (26.1%) actually exceeds the district average, it drops sharply to 11.7% in 4th grade and remains very low through 7th grade before recovering to 21.0% in 8th grade. Overall math proficiency is 16.5%, compared with the district's 20.5% and the state's 37.3%. The bright spot is 8th-grade ELA, where 34.6% of students are proficient — well above the district average of 27.5% and not far below the state average of 42.2%. This suggests the school may be doing something effective in middle-school literacy. ELA proficiency overall is 24.0%.

Attendance is a relative strength: Mosley's chronic absenteeism rate of 37.6% is below the district average of 38.9% and significantly better than Montessori del Mundo Charter School (53.0%), AXL Academy (45.0%), Tollgate Elementary School of Expeditionary Learning (44.9%), and Altura Elementary School (43.7%). The student-teacher ratio of 17.2 is similar to nearby schools. While Mosley's statewide ranking has dipped slightly, math proficiency has improved over three years, from 12.3% to 16.5%. If the school can replicate its 8th-grade literacy success in earlier grades and sustain its early math gains, it has a realistic path toward improvement.