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Barney Ford Elementary School

Q: Is Barney Ford Elementary School a good school?

Barney Ford Elementary School ranks in the bottom 10.3% of Colorado elementary schools.

Q: How many students attend Barney Ford Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 487 students attended Barney Ford Elementary School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Barney Ford Elementary School?

Students at Barney Ford Elementary School are 84% Hispanic, 10% African American, 2% White, 2% Pacific Islander, 1% Two or more races.

Q: What schools do graduates of Barney Ford Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Barney Ford Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : DSST: Elevate Northeast Middle School Middle : DSST: Green Valley Ranch Middle School Middle : KIPP Northeast Denver Middle School Middle : Rocky Mountain Prep Green Valley Ranch Middle : Rocky Mountain Prep Noel High : Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Early College High : DSST: Green Valley Ranch High School High : KIPP Northeast Denver Leadership Academy High : Montbello High School High : Northeast Early College High : Rocky Mountain Prep RISE

Public Grades PK, KG-5

849^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 946 Colorado Elementary Schools

Better than 10% of Colorado elementary schools

Summary

Barney Ford Elementary School is a PK–5 public school in Denver’s 80239 area serving 487 students as part of School District No. 1. The school serves a very high-poverty population — 94% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch — and currently holds a 1-star state rating, ranking 846th out of 943 Colorado elementary schools for 2025–26.

Academically, the picture is mixed but shows signs of momentum. Reading proficiency reached 26.3% in 2025–26, the second-highest among nearby elementaries and a dramatic jump from just 11% two years earlier. That puts Barney Ford ahead of Monarch Montessori (22.2%), Academy 360 (19.6%), and Maxwell Elementary School (14.1%). Math and science remain weak spots, though: just 14.5% of students are proficient in math and only 7.1% of 5th graders in science, far below district and state averages. Grade-level results are uneven — 4th graders posted 36.4% reading proficiency versus 16.2% for 3rd graders — suggesting gains aren't yet consistent across the school. Just 0.68 miles away, Lena Archuleta Elementary School outperforms Barney Ford in every subject (41.1% vs. 26.3% in reading; 31.9% vs. 14.5% in math), though it serves a somewhat lower-poverty student body.

Attendance is one of the clearest bright spots. Chronic absenteeism dropped from 44.3% in 2023–24 to 34.2% in 2024–25, now below the district average of 38.1% and better than neighbors like Escalante-Biggs Academy (51.3%) and McGlone Academy (51.9%). The most urgent concern is the school's English Language Learner population: once ranked 5th out of 12 Colorado schools for ELL performance in 2017–18, Barney Ford now ranks last — 14th out of 14 — among comparison schools. With reading scores rising and attendance improving, the school has momentum, but extending those gains to math, science, and ELL support will be critical going forward.

487

Students ?

15.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,879

Per pupil spending ?

94%

Free/discounted lunch ?

14500 Maxwell Place
Denver, CO 80239-3804

(720) 424-7300

District: School District No. 1

Students who attend Barney Ford Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	DSST: Elevate Northeast Middle School
	DSST: Green Valley Ranch Middle School
	KIPP Northeast Denver Middle School
	Rocky Mountain Prep Green Valley Ranch
	More...
	Rocky Mountain Prep Noel
High:	Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Early College
	DSST: Green Valley Ranch High School
	KIPP Northeast Denver Leadership Academy
	Montbello High School
	More...
	Northeast Early College
	Rocky Mountain Prep RISE

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

84.0%

African American:

10.3%

White:

2.1%

See top rated Colorado elementary schools

Compare Barney Ford Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 13th percentile in 2015 → 10th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (18% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (10th percentile)

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school18%

District avg38%

Colorado avg41%

849^th of 946

Colorado public elementary schools ?

Bottom 10%▼ down 15 pts since 2016

From bottom 25% (2016) to bottom 10% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

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

69^th of 114School 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
2026	12.5	849 of 946	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	9.3	898 of 950	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.0	901 of 943	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.1	872 of 933	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.1	850 of 921	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	18.3	790 of 965	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.8	680 of 917	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	33.3	597 of 929	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2016	23.9	682 of 914	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	15.2	815 of 938	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	4.6	952 of 962	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	17.4	14 of 14	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	46.1	22 of 43	48.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	52.6	5 of 12	58.3%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2023	5.9	635 of 642	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.4	702 of 758	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	20.9	562 of 690	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2019	39.9	157 of 270	41.9%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2024	9.0	656 of 683	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.5	612 of 649	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	17.0	648 of 764	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.8	610 of 693	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆

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)42nd percentile+24 vs school

Male (2024)4th percentile~ school

Female (2023)1st percentile-5 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)<1st percentile-5 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts26%-18 vs state

Math14%-23 vs state

Science7%-29 vs state

★

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Schools Near Barney Ford Elementary School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CMAS English Language Arts (2026)							CMAS Math (2026)							CMAS Science (2026)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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 (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	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
Barney Ford Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	14500 Maxwell Place	Denver	80239	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-7300	487	31	15.7	94.0%	10 (2.1%)	50 (10.3%)	409 (84.0%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.1%)	5 (1.0%)	12.5	849^th of 946 public elementary schools	10.3%		9.3	898^th of 950 public elementary schools	5.5%	49	16.2	36.4	24.0				26.3	11.8	10.6	21.3				14.5	7.1		$18,879
Escalante-Biggs Academy	Public	PK-K	5300 Crown Blvd	Denver	80239	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-4620	306	21	14.4	85.0%	10 (3.3%)	34 (11.1%)	247 (80.7%)	5 (1.6%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	8 (2.6%)								(n/a)																	$21,039
Marie L. Greenwood Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	5130 Durham Court	Denver	80239	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-6630	597	37	15.9	88.4%	4 (0.7%)	83 (13.9%)	483 (80.9%)	8 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.3%)	5 (0.8%)	12.3	856^th of 946 public elementary schools	9.5%		10.4	881^st of 950 public elementary schools	7.3%	25	15.4	25.8	27.8	21.1	28.4	28.8	25.4	26.5	9.3	13.0	7.9	18.9	32.9	18.2	9.3	20.5	$18,276
Lena Archuleta Elementary School	Public	1-5	16000 Maxwell Place	Denver	80239	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-9888	515	36	14.5	77.3%	22 (4.3%)	53 (10.3%)	371 (72.0%)	33 (6.4%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (4.1%)	15 (2.9%)	36.6	560^th of 946 public elementary schools	40.8%		22.8	698^th of 950 public elementary schools	26.5%	138	36.8	40.2	45.0				41.1	34.0	33.6	28.0				31.9	29.0		$18,597
Maxwell Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	14390 East Bolling Drive	Denver	80239	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-5740	638	39	16.3	92.9%	20 (3.1%)	65 (10.2%)	530 (83.1%)	5 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.6%)	8 (1.3%)	5.3	942^nd of 946 public elementary schools	0.4%		5.7	942^nd of 950 public elementary schools	0.8%		8.9	15.3	16.0				14.1	4.5	4.4	9.6				6.3	7.7		$19,838
Oakland Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4580 Dearborn Street	Denver	80239	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-5070	352	24	14.5	85.5%	11 (3.1%)	71 (20.2%)	240 (68.2%)	5 (1.4%)	3 (0.9%)	8 (2.3%)	14 (4.0%)	12.9	844^th of 946 public elementary schools	10.8%		21.2	720^th of 950 public elementary schools	24.2%	124	697.0	716.0	10.5				8.9	22.5	21.1	18.4				20.7	706.0		$22,156
John H. Amesse Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5440 Scranton Street	Denver	80239	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-9988	358	22	16.3	94.1%	10 (2.8%)	32 (8.9%)	305 (85.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.2%)	3 (0.8%)	14.4	823^rd of 946 public elementary schools	13.0%		6.3	936^th of 950 public elementary schools	1.5%	113	17.6	17.4	25.6				21.7	21.4	14.3	14.0				16.4	25.6		$20,250
McGlone Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	4500 Crown Boulevard	Denver	80239	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	No	No	Yes	(720) 424-5660	842	56	14.9	89.0%	22 (2.6%)	59 (7.0%)	703 (83.5%)	7 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (4.9%)	10 (1.2%)	5.2	943^rd of 946 public elementary schools	0.3%		6.4	934^th of 950 public elementary schools	1.7%	9	7.1	9.3	4.3	6.8	7.1	6.1	6.5	9.0	12.2	9.7	6.8	5.4	6.1	8.8	3.3	709.0	$19,373
Farrell B. Howell Ece-8 School	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-8	14250 East Albrook Drive	Denver	80239	Denver County	School District No. 1	No	Yes	No	Yes	(720) 424-2740	585	43	13.5	88.9%	8 (1.4%)	67 (11.5%)	489 (83.6%)	5 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.5%)	7 (1.2%)	8.5	907^th of 946 public elementary schools	4.1%		11.6	863^rd of 950 public elementary schools	9.2%	44	682.0	719.0	13.0	10.1	18.7	5.8	11.3	19.0	17.9	9.3	11.6	13.0	6.0	12.1	5.6	696.0	$19,736
Monarch Montessori	Public, Charter	K-5	4895 N Peoria Street	Denver	80239	Denver County	School District No. 1	Yes	No	No	Yes	(303) 712-2001	282	20	14.0	68.4%	49 (17.4%)	40 (14.2%)	167 (59.2%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (8.5%)	11.4	869^th of 946 public elementary schools	8.1%		14.2	818^th of 950 public elementary schools	13.9%	51	16.7	26.5	21.7				22.2	706.0	12.8	707.0				9.2	701.0		$16,620

Frequently Asked Questions about Barney Ford Elementary School

How many students attend Barney Ford Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 487 students attended Barney Ford Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Barney Ford Elementary School?

Students at Barney Ford Elementary School are 84% Hispanic, 10% African American, 2% White, 2% Pacific Islander, 1% Two or more races.

What district is Barney Ford Elementary School in?

School District No. 1

Is Barney Ford Elementary School a good school?

Barney Ford Elementary School ranks in the bottom 10.3% of Colorado elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Barney Ford Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Barney Ford Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : DSST: Elevate Northeast Middle School
Middle : DSST: Green Valley Ranch Middle School
Middle : KIPP Northeast Denver Middle School
Middle : Rocky Mountain Prep Green Valley Ranch
Middle : Rocky Mountain Prep Noel
High : Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Early College
High : DSST: Green Valley Ranch High School
High : KIPP Northeast Denver Leadership Academy
High : Montbello High School
High : Northeast Early College
High : Rocky Mountain Prep RISE

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Latest Colorado data All new data »

2025–26 attendance dataNewOct 6, 2026

2025–26 CMAS, PSAT10, PSAT9 & SAT test scoresAug 19, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataJun 13, 2026

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJan 13, 2026

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.