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Ellis Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

886^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 950 Colorado Elementary Schools

Better than 7% of Colorado elementary schools

Summary

Ellis Elementary School is a public elementary school in Denver, Colorado, serving 380 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the School District No. 1, which is ranked 76 out of 115 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Ellis Elementary faces significant challenges, with high chronic absenteeism rates ranging from 27.7% to 59.0% over the past few years, well above the state and district averages. The school also consistently performs below the district and state averages on CMAS assessments for English Language Arts, Math, and Science. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 21.3% of Ellis students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 41.9% for the district and 44.8% for the state. Additionally, the school has a high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 73.6% to 86.87%, suggesting a high concentration of students from low-income families.

When comparing Ellis Elementary to nearby schools in the same district, the differences are notable. Bradley International School and Creativity Challenge Community have significantly higher test scores and lower chronic absenteeism rates than Ellis. Highline Academy Southeast and Cory Elementary School also outperform Ellis in both test scores and attendance. While Denver Green School Southeast and Place Bridge Academy are closer in performance to Ellis, they still have better test scores and lower chronic absenteeism rates.

467

Students ?

18.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,575

Per pupil spending ?

85.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1651 South Dahlia Street
Denver, CO 80222-3817

(720) 424-7700

District: School District No. 1

Students who attend Ellis Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Merrill Middle School
High:	Thomas Jefferson High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

71.5%

White:

17.1%

African American:

6.6%

See top rated Colorado elementary schools

Compare Ellis Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 24th percentile in 2014 → 7th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (16% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (7th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (50% vs 28% Colorado)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school16%

District avg37%

Colorado avg40%

886^th of 950

Colorado public elementary schools ?

Bottom 7%▼ down 27 pts since 2015

From bottom 33% (2015) to bottom 7% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

89^th of 99Elementary Schools in the School District No. 1

76^th of 115School District No. 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	9.8	886 of 950	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.5	905 of 943	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	19.9	734 of 933	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	37.6	532 of 921	42.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	7.7	936 of 965	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	19.3	739 of 917	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	30.6	629 of 929	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2016	19.0	742 of 914	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	30.2	624 of 938	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2014	25.6	735 of 962	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	18.7	790 of 954	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	17.8	783 of 935	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	16.8	799 of 935	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	11.4	830 of 925	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	8.1	810 of 872	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	7.1	803 of 849	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	9.7	783 of 852	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	7.5	772 of 829	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	14.4	719 of 823	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	23.7	649 of 808	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	7.1	674 of 694	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	8.7	663 of 700	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Male (2025)5th percentile~ school

Female (2025)3rd percentile-4 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts21%-24 vs state

Math15%-21 vs state

Science10%-29 vs state

5.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★2

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Thursday, February 27, 2020

Ellis Elementary is a terrific school dedicated to it's students, teachers, families and community. Overall, the teachers are truly what makes the difference and sets this school apart. Close Quote

by a parent
Thursday, June 22, 2017

My daughter has had a great experience at Ellis. Overall her teachers have been excellent there and I really like the new principal. They have a lot of events to welcome in families and we feel like part of a really unique and diverse community. She has gotten to know kids from all different backgrounds, which is very important to me. Close Quote

Schools Near Ellis 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 6th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 7th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 8th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts All Grades	CMAS Math 3rd Grade	CMAS Math 4th Grade	CMAS Math 5th Grade	CMAS Math 6th Grade	CMAS Math 7th Grade	CMAS Math 8th Grade	CMAS Math All Grades	CMAS Science 5th Grade	CMAS Science 8th Grade	Total
Ellis Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1651 South Dahlia Street	Denver	80222	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-7700	467	26	18.1	85.2%	80 (17.1%)	31 (6.6%)	334 (71.5%)	12 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.9%)	9.8	886^th of 950 public elementary schools	6.7%		8.5	905^th of 943 public elementary schools	4.0%	19			19.6				21.3	19.6	9.1	15.0				14.6	10.0		$21,575
Highline Academy Southeast	Public, Charter	K-8	2170 South Dahlia Street	Denver	80222	Denver County	School District No. 1	Yes	No	No	No	(303) 759-7808	591	46	12.8	53.3%	229 (38.7%)	147 (24.9%)	168 (28.4%)	20 (3.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (4.2%)	54.8	406^th of 950 public elementary schools	57.3%		57.9	383^rd of 943 public elementary schools	59.4%	23	49.2	49.2	56.3	51.9	53.4	61.8	53.7	33.3	55.7	33.9	29.6	26.0	58.0	38.9	35.5	42.6	$14,779
Creativity Challenge Community	Public	K-5	1551 S. Monroe St	Denver	80210	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 424-0630	306	17	17.6	14.4%	229 (74.8%)	7 (2.3%)	39 (12.7%)	5 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	25 (8.2%)	92	52^nd of 950 public elementary schools	94.5%		93.4	38^th of 943 public elementary schools	96.0%	14	73.1	73.3	80.0				75.2	69.8	60.0	65.0				65.2	72.5		$17,149
Cory Elementary School	Public	1-5	1550 South Steele Street	Denver	80210	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 424-8380	407	24	16.8	23.1%	286 (70.3%)	18 (4.4%)	43 (10.6%)	14 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	44 (10.8%)	91.5	56^th of 950 public elementary schools	94.1%		96.1	22^nd of 943 public elementary schools	97.7%	34	66.2	60.5	81.4				68.9	73.0	67.9	75.7				72.0	69.1		$16,959
McMeen Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1000 South Holly Street	Denver	80246	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-5520	706	38	18.3	63.3%	150 (21.2%)	108 (15.3%)	393 (55.7%)	22 (3.1%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (4.1%)	20.8	730^th of 950 public elementary schools	23.2%		17.4	771^st of 943 public elementary schools	18.2%	41	45.8	36.4	20.7				32.7	26.9	20.2	5.6				18.2	13.5		$16,752
University Park Elementary School	Public	K-5	2300 South St Paul Street	Denver	80210	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 424-3410	413	27	15.4	28.6%	269 (65.1%)	24 (5.8%)	71 (17.2%)	22 (5.3%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (5.8%)	89.3	80^th of 950 public elementary schools	91.6%		82.8	144^th of 943 public elementary schools	84.7%	64	65.2	64.2	81.1				69.8	56.7	64.3	72.7				64.0	78.2		$17,625
Place Bridge Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	7125 Cherry Creek Drive North	Denver	80224	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-0960	824	63	13.0	85.2%	65 (7.9%)	193 (23.4%)	467 (56.7%)	77 (9.3%)	4 (0.5%)	3 (0.4%)	15 (1.8%)	11.3	866^th of 950 public elementary schools	8.8%		8.3	908^th of 943 public elementary schools	3.7%	42			19.0	12.3	12.9	13.8	13.2	20.8	12.5	17.9		12.3		11.5	16.7	7.8	$19,602
Stephen Knight Center for Early Education	Public	PK-K	3245 East Exposition Avenue	Denver	80209	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 424-6500	276	22	12.7	26.1%	152 (55.1%)	18 (6.5%)	53 (19.2%)	22 (8.0%)	3 (1.1%)	1 (0.4%)	27 (9.8%)								(n/a)																	$19,974
Bradley International School	Public	PK, KG-5	3051 South Elm Street	Denver	80222	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	No	(720) 424-9468	574	34	16.8	42.2%	275 (47.9%)	64 (11.1%)	153 (26.7%)	23 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (9.9%)	62.8	336^th of 950 public elementary schools	64.6%		69.6	267^th of 943 public elementary schools	71.7%	69	46.1	53.2	44.4				47.9	49.3	61.3	41.8				51.1	43.6		$17,037
Holly Hills Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	6161 East Cornell Avenue	Denver	80222	Arapahoe County	Cherry Creek School District No. 5	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 747-2500	633	42	15.2	62.4%	174 (27.5%)	71 (11.2%)	323 (51.0%)	15 (2.4%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	46 (7.3%)	22.1	710^th of 950 public elementary schools	25.3%		22	712^th of 943 public elementary schools	24.5%	2	28.0	21.1	35.2				28.1	21.4	20.6	27.7				23.4	25.5		$20,712

Frequently Asked Questions about Ellis Elementary School

How many students attend Ellis Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 467 students attended Ellis Elementary School.

What district is Ellis Elementary School in?

School District No. 1

What schools do graduates of Ellis Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : Merrill Middle School
High : Thomas Jefferson High School

What is the racial makeup of Ellis Elementary School?

Students at Ellis Elementary School are 72% Hispanic, 17% White, 7% African American, 3% Asian, 2% Two or more races.

Is Ellis Elementary School a good school?

Ellis Elementary School ranks in the bottom 6.7% of Colorado elementary schools.

Rate Ellis 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.