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Mesa Elementary School

Public Grades K-5

868^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 950 Colorado Elementary Schools

Better than 9% of Colorado elementary schools

Summary

Mesa Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Cortez, Colorado, serving grades K-5 with a total enrollment of 409 students. It is part of the Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1, which is ranked 68 out of 115 school districts in Colorado and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Mesa Elementary School has consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 27.7% to 44.6% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average and the rates of nearby schools like Lewis-Arriola Elementary (27.7%) and Children's Kiva Montessori School (27.7%). Additionally, the school's academic performance, as measured by CMAS test scores, is consistently below the state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2024-2025, only 13.1% of students at Mesa Elementary were proficient or better in CMAS Math, compared to 35.9% statewide and 18.9% in the Montezuma-Cortez School District.

Mesa Elementary School has a very high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 72.57% to 80.25% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the nearby schools like Lewis-Arriola Elementary (40.83%) and Children's Kiva Montessori School (64.79%). This suggests that the school's student population faces significant socioeconomic challenges, which may be contributing factors to the school's relatively low academic performance and high chronic absenteeism rates.

359

Students ?

13.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,321

Per pupil spending ?

76.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

703 West 7th Street
Cortez, CO 81321-4056

(970) 565-3858

District: Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1

Students who attend Mesa Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Montezuma-Cortez Middle School
High:	Montezuma-Cortez High School

Racial breakdown:

American Indian:

37.3%

White:

29.0%

Hispanic:

22.8%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 30th percentile in 2015 → 9th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (15% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (36% vs 28% Colorado)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school15%

District avg24%

Colorado avg40%

868^th of 950

Colorado public elementary schools ?

Bottom 9%▼ down 21 pts since 2015

From bottom 30% (2015) to bottom 9% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 3Elementary Schools in the Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1

68^th of 115Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1 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	11.2	868 of 950	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.7	812 of 943	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	11.5	868 of 933	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.7	869 of 921	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	23.9	574 of 710	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.9	694 of 965	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.2	704 of 917	23.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	26.3	665 of 929	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	18.1	753 of 914	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	27.2	660 of 938	29.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	17.3	813 of 962	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	17.5	800 of 954	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	19.1	776 of 935	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	16.5	804 of 935	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	26.2	718 of 925	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	21.5	708 of 872	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	14.8	742 of 849	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	17.7	721 of 852	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	25.4	653 of 829	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	34.4	581 of 823	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	26.1	628 of 808	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	12.2	620 of 694	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.3	632 of 684	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.3	633 of 642	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.4	581 of 595	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	24.3	567 of 758	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.7	551 of 690	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	32.7	240 of 337	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	5.9	689 of 700	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.3	644 of 683	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.2	613 of 649	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.9	567 of 594	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	22.7	586 of 764	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.9	567 of 693	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2024	14.2	492 of 539	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.5	507 of 525	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	36.9	381 of 596	36.1%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)29th percentile+20 vs school

Female (2025)11th percentile~ school

White (2024)9th percentile-5 vs school

Male (2025)2nd percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts21%-24 vs state

Math13%-23 vs state

Science7%-32 vs state

★

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Schools Near Mesa 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
Mesa Elementary School	Public	K-5	703 West 7th Street	Cortez	81321	Montezuma County	Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 565-3858	359	27	13.4	76.6%	104 (29.0%)	1 (0.3%)	82 (22.8%)	3 (0.8%)	134 (37.3%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (9.7%)	11.2	868^th of 950 public elementary schools	8.6%		14.7	812^th of 943 public elementary schools	13.9%	56	18.0	30.0	16.0	20.9	14.0	20.0	7.4	13.1	7.4	$15,321
Kemper Elementary School	Public	K-5	620 East Montezuma	Cortez	81321	Montezuma County	Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 565-3737	339	24	13.9	62.5%	177 (52.2%)	0 (0.0%)	75 (22.1%)	3 (0.9%)	66 (19.5%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (5.3%)	19.1	751^st of 950 public elementary schools	20.9%		34.3	566^th of 943 public elementary schools	40.0%	185	26.3	31.8	20.8	26.2	24.6	32.3	11.1	22.2	12.5	$15,496
Children's Kiva Montessori School	Public, Charter	K-8	601 North Mildred	Cortez	81321	Montezuma County	Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1	Yes	No	No	Yes	(970) 564-9377	130	9	14.0	65.4%	68 (52.3%)	1 (0.8%)	24 (18.5%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (20.8%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (7.7%)								(n/a)	31.3		31.3	36.4						$13,276
Lewis-Arriola Elementary School	Public	K-5	21434 Road U	Cortez	81321	Montezuma County	Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 882-4494	125	8	15.6	40.8%	96 (76.8%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (13.6%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (7.2%)	90.7	68^th of 950 public elementary schools	92.8%		65.2	311^th of 943 public elementary schools	67.0%	243	76.5	72.7	70.0	72.9	70.6			51.7	61.1	$17,529
Dolores Elementary School	Public	K-5	12th And Hillside	Dolores	81323	Montezuma County	Dolores School District No. Re-4A	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 882-4688	245	18	13.8	53.9%	186 (75.9%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (12.7%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (6.9%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.5%)	37.2	553^rd of 950 public elementary schools	41.8%		42.4	501^st of 943 public elementary schools	46.9%	52	48.6	40.4	23.1	35.8	45.7	27.7	17.3	28.4	40.4	$13,713
Kwiyagat Community Academy	Public, Charter	K-4	450 Sunset Blvd	Towaoc	81334	Montezuma County	State Charter School Institute	Yes	No	No	Yes	(970) 564-5348	61	4	14.0	100.0%	1 (1.6%)	2 (3.3%)	1 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (93.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)										$27,475
Battle Rock Charter School	Public, Charter	K-6	11247 County Road G	Cortez	81321	Montezuma County	Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1	Yes	No	No	Yes	(970) 565-3237	88	6	14.2	51.1%	44 (50.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (25.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (13.6%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (11.4%)								(n/a)								21.4		$11,775
Mancos Elementary School	Public	K-5	301 Grand Avenue	Mancos	81328	Montezuma County	Mancos School District Re-6	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 533-7744	217	18	12.3	37.8%	168 (77.4%)	2 (0.9%)	25 (11.5%)	1 (0.5%)	14 (6.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (3.2%)								(n/a)										$15,654
Pleasant View Charter School	Public, Charter	K-6	15238 County Road Cc	Pleasant View	81331	Montezuma County	Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1	Yes	No	No	Yes	(970) 562-4286	35	3	11.7	54.3%	32 (91.4%)	1 (2.9%)	1 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.9%)								(n/a)										$7,667

Frequently Asked Questions about Mesa Elementary School

What is the racial makeup of Mesa Elementary School?

Students at Mesa Elementary School are 37% American Indian, 29% White, 23% Hispanic, 10% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Mesa Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Mesa Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Montezuma-Cortez Middle School
High : Montezuma-Cortez High School

Is Mesa Elementary School a good school?

Mesa Elementary School ranks in the bottom 8.6% of Colorado elementary schools.

What district is Mesa Elementary School in?

Montezuma-Cortez School District No. Re-1

How many students attend Mesa Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 359 students attended Mesa Elementary School.

Rate Mesa 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.