Schools in Zip Code 80211

ZIP code 80211 in Denver, Colorado, contains 13 schools in School District No. 1 (Denver Public Schools), including 6 elementary, 2 middle, and 5 high schools that collectively serve about 5,838 students. The district ranks 71st of 115 Colorado districts with a 2-star rating, and this ZIP code alone spans the full spectrum of school quality — from a 5-star middle school to 0-star and unranked alternative high schools.

For parents, the standout choices are clear. Skinner Middle School is the top school in the area, ranking 47th of 469 Colorado middle schools (90th percentile, 5 stars) with 67.6% ELA and 55.3% math proficiency, compared to Rocky Mountain Prep Sunnyside, the ZIP code's other middle school, which ranks in the 6th percentile with just 15.6% ELA and 7.5% math proficiency — a dramatic divide. At the elementary level, Valdez Elementary School is the strongest, ranking in the 85th percentile with 73.6% ELA and 62.4% math while serving a 49.9% free/reduced-lunch population. Career Education Center Early College posts exceptional graduation outcomes — a 97.1% graduation rate, the best in the ZIP code — and low chronic absenteeism of 20.4% despite 85.5% poverty. Trevista at Horace Mann is a genuine turnaround story, climbing from the 10th to the 61st percentile in just two years.

The biggest red flag is chronic absenteeism, which exceeds the state average at nine of the 13 schools. AUL Denver (88.8%), North High School Engagement Center (88.2%), Columbian Elementary School (61.1%), and Rocky Mountain Prep Sunnyside (59.4%) are in crisis territory, while Academia Ana Marie Sandoval (17.9%) and Career Education Center Early College (20.4%) show what's possible. Math proficiency is also a systemic weakness — even at strong schools, math lags ELA, and at Bryant Webster Dual Language Ece-8 School, 8th-grade math proficiency drops to just 12.8%. The bottom line for families: this ZIP code offers real choices, from high-performing Skinner Middle School and Valdez Elementary School to early-college pathways at Career Education Center Early College, but strong attendance and school-specific support matter far more than location or poverty in predicting student success.