Academy 360

Academy 360 is a small PK-5 elementary school in Denver's School District No. 1, serving 201 students at 12000 E. 47th Ave. The school currently ranks in the 6th percentile of Colorado elementary schools, a long-term decline from its 17th-percentile standing in 2017-18. About 70% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch, which is actually a moderate poverty level compared to many neighboring schools — several of which exceed 85% eligibility.

The most urgent concern is attendance: 64.6% of students were chronically absent in 2024-25, the highest rate of any nearby school and more than double the state average of 28.4%. This is a sharp increase from 56.8% the prior year. Nearby Inspire Elementary, just 1.6 miles away, has a chronic absenteeism rate of only 17.8%. Academy 360 does have one notable advantage: at 12.6 students per teacher, it has the lowest student-teacher ratio in its cluster. However, that resource advantage hasn't translated into results, suggesting attendance and other school-level factors are driving performance more than class size.

Academically, Academy 360 shows a promising trend in reading. ELA proficiency has more than doubled, rising from 8.9% in 2022-23 to 19.6% in 2025-26, now exceeding several nearby schools including McGlone Academy (6.5%), Park Lane Elementary School (10.9%), and Farrell B. Howell Ece-8 School (11.3%). Math remains a major weakness at 14.8% proficiency, and upper-grade math scores appear even lower than 3rd grade. John H. Amesse Elementary, despite a much higher poverty rate, slightly outperforms Academy 360 in both subjects. With only 201 students, individual classrooms can strongly influence results, so the recent gains should be interpreted with some caution. While Academy 360 is not the lowest-performing school in its neighborhood cluster, its extreme absenteeism and weak math scores keep it in the bottom tier of Colorado elementary schools.