Schools in Zip Code 80221

Zip code 80221 contains 16 schools serving approximately 5,466 students — 12 elementary campuses, one middle school, two high schools, and one alternative school — in a high-poverty area dominated by Mapleton School District No. 1 and Westminster Public Schools. Academic proficiency sits roughly 20 points below state averages in every core subject: ELA averages 24.2% versus 44.7% statewide, math averages 17.5% versus 37.3%, and chronic absenteeism averages 34.7% versus 28.4%. The average free-and-reduced lunch rate is 78.1%.

Among standouts, Valley View Innovation School is the strongest overall performer, with 38.6% ELA and 34.1% math proficiency and the lowest poverty rate in the zip (57.9% FRL). Metropolitan Arts Academy offers by far the best attendance at just 11.5% chronic absenteeism and strong 8th-grade science (52.0% versus 35.4% statewide). Trailside Academy has climbed from the 18th to 32nd percentile in recent years, with notably strong 7th-grade ELA at 45.3%. Sherrelwood Elementary School posts 4th-grade math proficiency of 45.5%, above the state average. Among high schools, Performing Arts School on Broadway is the better option, with 60% PSAT reading/writing proficiency and an 80% graduation rate.

Several schools are in crisis. Fairview Pk-8 ranks in the 0th percentile with just 5.6% ELA and 3.4% math proficiency. Ricardo Flores Magon Academy, the zip's only charter, posts just 2.6% math proficiency despite belonging to the highest-ranked district in the area. Colorado Sports Leadership Academy sits in the 5th percentile with 42.8% chronic absenteeism, and Mapleton Online has a 42.3% graduation rate. Chronic absenteeism affects 15 of 16 schools. The Mapleton "Global" feeder pattern shows students losing ground from Global Primary Academy through Global Intermediate Academy to Global Leadership Academy. Still, schools like Metropolitan Arts Academy prove that high-poverty campuses can achieve strong engagement and subject-area success.