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Polton Community Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

763^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 950 Colorado Elementary Schools

Better than 20% of Colorado elementary schools

Summary

Polton Community Elementary School is a public elementary school in Aurora, Colorado, serving 451 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Cherry Creek School District No. 5, which is ranked 30th out of 115 districts in the state.

Despite being part of a relatively high-performing district, Polton Community Elementary School has consistently struggled academically. The school has ranked in the bottom half of Colorado elementary schools for the past decade, maintaining a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. Its proficiency rates on state assessments are significantly lower than the district and state averages, particularly in 5th grade where they hover around 20-25% in English Language Arts and Math, compared to the district's 52.4% and 46%, and the state's 48% and 39.1%. The school's performance is especially low for male students, white students, and students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds.

Polton Community Elementary School is not alone in its challenges. The nearby Cherry Creek School District schools, such as Village East Community Elementary, Eastridge Community Elementary, and Ponderosa Elementary, also struggle with low rankings, 1-star ratings, and poor student performance. Additionally, these schools serve a high proportion of students from low-income families, with free/reduced-lunch rates ranging from 69.63% to 89.49%. Addressing the persistent underperformance and equity concerns at Polton Community Elementary School and the surrounding schools will require a comprehensive, district-wide approach to support the needs of these high-need student populations.

466

Students ?

13.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,572

Per pupil spending ?

55.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2985 South Oakland Street
Aurora, CO 80014-3143

(720) 747-2600

District: Cherry Creek School District No. 5

Students who attend Polton Community Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Prairie Middle School
High:	Overland High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

31.3%

Hispanic:

26.2%

African American:

23.2%

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Compare Polton Community Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 58th percentile in 2015 → 20th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (23% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (20th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 38 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school23%

District avg45%

Colorado avg40%

763^rd of 950

Colorado public elementary schools ?

Bottom 20%▼ down 38 pts since 2015

From top 42% (2015) to bottom 20% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

40^th of 46Elementary Schools in the Cherry Creek School District No. 5

30^th of 115Cherry Creek School District No. 5 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)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	18.2	763 of 950	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.0	662 of 943	29.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.5	665 of 933	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.4	762 of 921	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	29.5	529 of 710	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	36.2	586 of 965	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	34.2	578 of 917	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2017	40.1	517 of 929	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2016	42.1	485 of 914	46.9%	★★☆☆☆
2015	53.9	393 of 938	58.1%	★★★☆☆
2014	58.2	411 of 962	57.3%	★★★☆☆
2013	53.0	481 of 954	49.6%	★★☆☆☆
2012	49.0	524 of 935	44.0%	★★☆☆☆
2011	55.6	454 of 935	51.4%	★★★☆☆
2010	53.4	477 of 925	48.4%	★★☆☆☆
2009	60.9	371 of 872	57.5%	★★★☆☆
2008	60.8	363 of 849	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2007	51.7	463 of 852	45.7%	★★☆☆☆
2006	52.1	442 of 829	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2005	50.6	458 of 823	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2004	46.4	476 of 808	41.1%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	19.6	550 of 694	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.4	473 of 684	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	18.9	523 of 642	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	39.7	431 of 758	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	30.2	477 of 690	30.9%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2019	36.1	171 of 270	36.7%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	30.1	254 of 337	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.9	290 of 365	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	43.4	155 of 265	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	27.4	163 of 203	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	42.5	188 of 332	43.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	37.1	209 of 308	32.1%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	6.7	678 of 700	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.2	653 of 683	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	19.7	528 of 649	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.9	591 of 764	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.9	530 of 693	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	13.7	500 of 551	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	15.1	489 of 539	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	22.6	441 of 525	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.1	456 of 596	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	32.8	237 of 337	29.7%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Hispanic (2019)37th percentile-3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)25th percentile+5 vs school

Female (2025)21st percentile~ school

White (2025)9th percentile-10 vs school

Male (2025)3rd percentile-17 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts25%-20 vs state

Math24%-12 vs state

Science16%-23 vs state

5.0

2 ratings · 1 written review

5★2

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Polton Has a safe environment and is the only 2 elementary schools with S.T.E.M. That means Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. It has wonderful, nice, etc. staff members.It has Preschool to 5th grade which is extraordinary. It also has a daycare that is a summer long too. I would say Polton is the best school in the Cherry Creek district. Close Quote

Schools Near Polton Community Elementary School

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 All Grades	CMAS Math 3rd Grade	CMAS Math 4th Grade	CMAS Math 5th Grade	CMAS Math All Grades	CMAS Science 5th Grade	Total
Polton Community Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2985 South Oakland Street	Aurora	80014	Arapahoe County	Cherry Creek School District No. 5	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 747-2600	466	34	13.7	55.6%	146 (31.3%)	108 (23.2%)	122 (26.2%)	17 (3.6%)	2 (0.4%)	5 (1.1%)	66 (14.2%)	18.2	763^rd of 950 public elementary schools	19.7%		26	662^nd of 943 public elementary schools	29.8%	101	22.4	31.9	21.0	24.7	24.5	19.6	25.4	23.5	15.9	$21,572
Eastridge Community Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	11777 East Wesley Avenue	Aurora	80014	Arapahoe County	Cherry Creek School District No. 5	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 747-2200	716	48	15.0	65.6%	103 (14.4%)	158 (22.1%)	319 (44.6%)	53 (7.4%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.4%)	78 (10.9%)	9.8	887^th of 950 public elementary schools	6.6%		17	780^th of 943 public elementary schools	17.3%	107	20.2	5.0	28.7	18.3	9.9	5.5	19.8	11.8	9.5	$32,171
Joe Shoemaker School	Public	PK, KG-5	3333 South Havana Street	Denver	80231	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 423-9333	543	29	18.5	68.1%	59 (10.9%)	108 (19.9%)	329 (60.6%)	20 (3.7%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (4.4%)	11.3	865^th of 950 public elementary schools	8.9%		13.5	830^th of 943 public elementary schools	12.0%	35		33.3		18.3	5.9	18.9	8.2	10.9	8.5	$18,950
Ponderosa Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1885 South Lima Street	Aurora	80012	Arapahoe County	Cherry Creek School District No. 5	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 747-2800	634	35	18.1	71.5%	95 (15.0%)	139 (21.9%)	281 (44.3%)	50 (7.9%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.5%)	65 (10.3%)	13.9	820^th of 950 public elementary schools	13.7%		13.8	824^th of 943 public elementary schools	12.6%	4	10.3	20.8	26.2	18.6	11.8	19.3	23.6	17.9	21.1	$16,789
Village East Community Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1433 South Oakland Street	Aurora	80012	Arapahoe County	Cherry Creek School District No. 5	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 747-2000	821	50	16.4	65.7%	120 (14.6%)	196 (23.9%)	376 (45.8%)	30 (3.7%)	6 (0.7%)	8 (1.0%)	85 (10.4%)	10.1	885^th of 950 public elementary schools	6.8%		10.6	870^th of 943 public elementary schools	7.7%	15	10.8	14.7	19.3	15.2	14.2	11.0	16.1	13.8	20.0	$17,296
Jewell Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	14601 East Jewell Ave	Aurora	80012	Arapahoe County	Aurora Joint District No. 28	No	No	No	No	(303) 751-8862	493	35	14.0	85.8%	50 (10.1%)	114 (23.1%)	263 (53.3%)	23 (4.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	42 (8.5%)	18.9	753^rd of 950 public elementary schools	20.7%		15	806^th of 943 public elementary schools	14.5%	53	29.7	20.0	35.9	27.8	27.6	10.8	13.4	17.3	25.0	$17,243
Holm Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3185 South Willow Court	Denver	80231	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-6350	510	33	15.4	69.8%	104 (20.4%)	54 (10.6%)	308 (60.4%)	22 (4.3%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	20 (3.9%)	37	556^th of 950 public elementary schools	41.5%		27.9	638^th of 943 public elementary schools	32.3%	82	52.5	33.3	36.9	40.1	31.3	31.9	34.2	32.5	28.2	$17,914
Wildflower Montessori Public Schools of Colorado Aurora	Public, Charter	PK, KG-3	1330 S. Potomac Suite #104	Aurora	80012	Arapahoe County	State Charter School Institute	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(720) 432-1664	49	5	9.4	26.5%	15 (30.6%)	2 (4.1%)	26 (53.1%)	2 (4.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.0%)	2 (4.1%)								(n/a)										$28,541
Yale Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	16001 East Yale Ave	Aurora	80013	Arapahoe County	Aurora Joint District No. 28	No	No	No	No	(303) 751-7470	492	27	18.2	84.8%	106 (21.5%)	54 (11.0%)	259 (52.6%)	34 (6.9%)	3 (0.6%)	2 (0.4%)	34 (6.9%)	7	930^th of 950 public elementary schools	2.1%		9.6	889^th of 943 public elementary schools	5.7%	41	10.3	9.5	15.2	11.6	15.0	4.7	9.2	10.0	15.4	$18,777
Samuels Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3985 South Vincennes Court	Denver	80237	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-4450	532	29	18.3	86.5%	71 (13.3%)	115 (21.6%)	292 (54.9%)	27 (5.1%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.9%)	22 (4.1%)	26.8	647^th of 950 public elementary schools	31.9%					(n/a)	59.1	25.0	27.3	34.4	35.3	12.7	25.0	24.0	25.6	$19,074

Frequently Asked Questions about Polton Community Elementary School

What district is Polton Community Elementary School in?

Cherry Creek School District No. 5

What is the racial makeup of Polton Community Elementary School?

Students at Polton Community Elementary School are 31% White, 26% Hispanic, 23% African American, 14% Two or more races, 4% Asian, 1% Pacific Islander.

How many students attend Polton Community Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 466 students attended Polton Community Elementary School.

Is Polton Community Elementary School a good school?

Polton Community Elementary School ranks in the bottom 19.7% of Colorado elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Polton Community Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Polton Community Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Prairie Middle School
High : Overland High School

Rate Polton Community Elementary School!

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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.