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Independence Academy

Q: Is Independence Academy a good school?

Independence Academy ranks 407 th of 946 Colorado elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public, Charter Grades PK, KG-8

407^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 946 Colorado Elementary Schools

Better than 57% of Colorado elementary schools

Summary

Independence Academy is a PK–8 school in Grand Junction, Colorado, serving 491 students in the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51, and it stands as the highest-ranked among its nearby district peers in the latest state rankings, outranking schools like Pomona Elementary School and Tope Elementary School. Its PK–8 grade span makes it unique in the area, since nearly every nearby comparison school serves only PK–5. The school has been consistently rated 3 stars by SchoolDigger for the past decade, with a state ranking currently sitting at the 57th percentile statewide.

One of the school's most striking strengths is attendance. Chronic absenteeism at Independence Academy is just 14.6%, compared to a district average of 36.7% and a state average of 28.4%. No nearby school comes close; the next-best rate among nearby schools is Tope Elementary School at 20.9%. This is especially notable given that 87.6% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch — the highest rate in the area. Despite this, the school posts remarkable results for students from low-income backgrounds, ranking 9th among 319 Colorado schools for this group (97th percentile) in the latest year.

Academically, Independence Academy is steady in English language arts, with proficiency consistently above district and state averages. Science is a clear strength, particularly in 8th grade, where 49% of students scored proficient — more than 13 percentage points above both district and state averages. Math is more variable, with the most recent proficiency rate slightly below the state average. The school also maintains a relatively high student-teacher ratio of 17.2, yet still outperforms many peers with smaller classes, suggesting that attendance, culture, and targeted support are driving results. A recent drop in 5th-grade science is worth monitoring, but overall, Independence Academy is a school where high-poverty enrollment does not predict low achievement.

491

Students ?

17.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,523

Per pupil spending ?

87.6%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in Colorado receive free school meals.

95.8%

Kindergartners fully immunized against measles (MMR) (2025-26)

Exemptions: 4.2% (MMR)

675 29 Rd
Grand Junction, CO 81504

(970) 254-6850

District: Mesa County Valley School District No. 51

Racial breakdown:

White:

84.3%

Hispanic:

12.2%

Two or more races:

2.4%

See top rated Colorado elementary schools

Compare Independence Academy to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 81st percentile in 2016 → 57th in 2026

Strengths

✓Above the Colorado median (57th percentile)

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 24 percentile points since 2016

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school42%

District avg38%

Colorado avg40%

Elementary school

407^th of 946

Colorado public elementary schools ?

Top 43%▼ down 24 pts since 2016

From top 19% (2016) to top 43% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

172^nd of 476

Colorado public middle schools ?

Top 36%▲ up 12 pts since 2016

From top 48% (2016) to top 36% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

9^th of 24Elementary Schools in the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51

38^th of 114Mesa County Valley School District No. 51 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)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	54.3	407 of 946	57.0%	★★★☆☆
2025	54.2	413 of 950	56.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	65.1	312 of 943	66.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	55.4	385 of 933	58.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	50.1	432 of 921	53.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	60.9	303 of 710	57.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	67.1	296 of 965	69.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	49.0	424 of 917	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2017	64.2	295 of 929	68.2%	★★★☆☆
2016	76.8	176 of 914	80.7%	★★★★☆
2015	56.7	366 of 938	61.0%	★★★☆☆
2014	64.5	339 of 962	64.8%	★★★☆☆
2013	62.5	369 of 954	61.3%	★★★☆☆
2012	46.6	548 of 935	41.4%	★★☆☆☆
2011	41.4	594 of 935	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2010	52.8	489 of 925	47.1%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	47.8	343 of 695	50.6%	★★★☆☆
2025	52.7	297 of 694	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	63.6	226 of 684	67.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	58.2	249 of 642	61.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	54.1	268 of 595	55.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	60.1	164 of 351	53.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	64.7	236 of 758	68.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	50.9	306 of 690	55.7%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	91.5	9 of 322	97.2%	★★★★★
2025	98.0	3 of 337	99.1%	★★★★★
2024	98.1	3 of 365	99.2%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	46.0	356 of 697	48.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	57.6	273 of 700	61.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	49.7	325 of 683	52.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	39.1	382 of 649	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	32.5	388 of 594	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	39.5	263 of 352	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	43.9	396 of 764	48.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	40.4	382 of 693	44.9%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	30.4	407 of 547	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	22.8	458 of 551	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	38.0	354 of 539	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.1	399 of 525	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.7	390 of 454	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	40.6	205 of 288	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	50.4	293 of 596	50.8%	★★★☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	56.7	172 of 476	63.9%	★★★☆☆
2025	54.7	181 of 469	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	57.5	172 of 485	64.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	49.7	216 of 480	55.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	40.9	245 of 448	45.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	41.8	195 of 369	47.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	80.5	67 of 458	85.4%	★★★★☆
2018	47.9	193 of 418	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2017	37.7	245 of 424	42.2%	★★☆☆☆
2016	46.5	191 of 400	52.3%	★★★☆☆
2015	36.8	267 of 436	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2014	56.8	189 of 461	59.0%	★★★☆☆
2013	31.8	329 of 454	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	32.3	302 of 425	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	12.9	376 of 422	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	39.2	273 of 409	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2009	6.8	357 of 377	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	38.5	241 of 362	33.4%	★★☆☆☆
2007	36.4	256 of 360	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	54.7	149 of 368	59.5%	★★★☆☆
2025	61.4	121 of 347	65.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	60.9	120 of 350	65.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	47.3	171 of 363	52.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	35.8	195 of 326	40.2%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	73.3	41 of 231	82.3%	★★★★☆
2024	82.6	21 of 244	91.4%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	46.7	169 of 372	54.6%	★★★☆☆
2025	44.9	168 of 352	52.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	42.0	175 of 357	51.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	47.1	160 of 356	55.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	41.0	174 of 328	47.0%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2026	28.8	195 of 278	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	20.6	227 of 275	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	38.8	162 of 273	40.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	25.2	216 of 286	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	64.8	82 of 283	71.0%	★★★★☆

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)

Elementary school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)97th percentile+40 vs school

Female (2026)51st percentile-6 vs school

Male (2026)49th percentile-8 vs school

White (2026)26th percentile-31 vs school

Middle school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)82nd percentile+18 vs school

Female (2026)60th percentile-4 vs school

Male (2026)55th percentile-9 vs school

White (2026)30th percentile-34 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts47%~ state avg

Science43%+7 vs state

Math37%~ state avg

★

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Schools Near Independence Academy

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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 Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CMAS English Language Arts (2026)							CMAS Math (2026)							CMAS Science (2026)		Vaccination (2025-26)		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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	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	Vaccination: Kindergartners fully immunized against measles (MMR)	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Total
Independence Academy	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	675 29 Rd	Grand Junction	81504	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	Yes	No	No	No	(970) 254-6850	491	28	17.2	87.6%	414 (84.3%)	0 (0.0%)	60 (12.2%)	3 (0.6%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.4%)	54.3	407^th of 946 public elementary schools	57.0%		54.2	413^th of 950 public elementary schools	56.5%	6	38.5	55.8	40.8	53.0	41.4	50.9	47.1	50.0	38.5	32.7	37.0	30.4	33.3	36.7	36.2	49.0	95.8%	4.2%	$12,523
Fruitvale Elementary School	Public	K-5	585 30 Road	Grand Junction	81504	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 254-5930	358	28	13.0	70.1%	223 (62.3%)	1 (0.3%)	118 (33.0%)	3 (0.8%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	9 (2.5%)	16.5	797^th of 946 public elementary schools	15.8%		27.2	642^nd of 950 public elementary schools	32.4%	155	31.4	17.6	28.6				25.6	31.0	13.3	14.3				19.6	12.9		64.5%	1.3%	$17,493
Orchard Avenue Elementary School	Public	K-5	1800 Orchard Ave	Grand Junction	81501	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 254-7560	319	22	14.3	60.5%	238 (74.6%)	1 (0.3%)	65 (20.4%)	4 (1.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.1%)	40	514^th of 946 public elementary schools	45.7%		54.3	411^th of 950 public elementary schools	56.7%	103	35.8	42.9	41.8				40.3	35.7	31.6	32.8				33.3	36.8		83%	5.7%	$17,754
Thunder Mountain Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3063 F1/2 Road	Grand Junction	81504	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 254-5870	432	27	16.2	54.4%	279 (64.6%)	5 (1.2%)	123 (28.5%)	9 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	15 (3.5%)	27.5	653^rd of 946 public elementary schools	31.0%		27	643^rd of 950 public elementary schools	32.3%	10	32.2	41.7	39.7				37.9	32.2	20.0	28.6				26.9	11.5		75.4%	6.2%	$16,374
Wildflower Montessori Public School of Colorado Grand Valley	Public, Charter	PK, KG-4	631 26 1/2 Road	Grand Junction	81506	Mesa County	State Charter School Institute	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(970) 314-7894	40	4	10.0	37.5%	33 (82.5%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (12.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.5%)	1 (2.5%)								(n/a)																			$17,973
Tope Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2220 N 7th St	Grand Junction	81501	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 254-7070	370	19	19.0	47.3%	252 (68.1%)	2 (0.5%)	91 (24.6%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.5%)	21 (5.7%)	50.6	431^st of 946 public elementary schools	54.4%		59.7	362^nd of 950 public elementary schools	61.9%	69	42.2	53.8	55.2				50.7	50.0	36.8	31.0				38.6	30.5		76.7%	4.6%	$15,753
Pear Park Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	432 30 1/4 Road	Grand Junction	81504	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 254-5960	428	29	15.0	70.8%	267 (62.4%)	1 (0.2%)	149 (34.8%)	2 (0.5%)	5 (1.2%)	2 (0.5%)	2 (0.5%)	28	644^th of 946 public elementary schools	31.9%		28.4	631^st of 950 public elementary schools	33.6%	13	28.8	28.8	37.1				31.9	37.7	31.8	31.4				33.3	15.7		94.7%	1.8%	$17,530
Chipeta Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	950 Chipeta Avenue	Grand Junction	81501	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 254-6825	364	25	14.6	76.4%	193 (53.0%)	4 (1.1%)	147 (40.4%)	2 (0.5%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (4.1%)	39	524^th of 946 public elementary schools	44.6%		44.5	493^rd of 950 public elementary schools	48.1%	31	36.4	38.9	45.1				40.6	40.0	20.4	36.6				32.8	32.9		91.9%	0%	$17,452
Pomona Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	588 25-1/2 Road	Grand Junction	81505	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	No	(970) 254-4990	395	26	15.2	50.1%	240 (60.8%)	5 (1.3%)	123 (31.1%)	8 (2.0%)	6 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.3%)	52.4	415^th of 946 public elementary schools	56.1%		66.9	306^th of 950 public elementary schools	67.8%	109	37.0	55.2	48.4				47.5	35.2	52.2	39.7				42.9	33.3		87.8%	8.2%	$16,479
Chatfield Elementary School	Public	K-5	3188 D1/2 Road	Grand Junction	81504	Mesa County	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51	No	No	No	Yes	(970) 254-4930	371	21	17.5	62.5%	240 (64.7%)	4 (1.1%)	110 (29.6%)	1 (0.3%)	5 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.0%)	38.7	529^th of 946 public elementary schools	44.1%		57.8	386^th of 950 public elementary schools	59.4%	143	33.3	37.8	47.0				39.8	29.8	34.1	37.9				34.4	31.8		93.6%	4.3%	$15,895

Frequently Asked Questions about Independence Academy

What district is Independence Academy in?

Mesa County Valley School District No. 51

What is the racial makeup of Independence Academy?

Students at Independence Academy are 84% White, 12% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races.

Is Independence Academy a good school?

Independence Academy ranks 407^th of 946 Colorado elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Independence Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 491 students attended Independence Academy.

Rate Independence Academy!

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Latest Colorado data All new data »

2017–18 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 19, 2026

2025–26 attendance dataOct 6, 2026

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

2024–25 school spending dataJun 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.