Schools in Zip Code 80229

ZIP code 80229 in the Thornton/Denver area of Colorado is served by 16 schools—9 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 5 high schools, and 1 alternative K-12 school—enrolling roughly 7,576 students across the Adams 12 Five Star Schools and Mapleton School District No. 1. The average free/reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 77.2%, making this a highly economically disadvantaged community.

Despite these challenges, several schools stand out. Welby Community School of the Arts is the strongest elementary school, ranking in the 33rd percentile statewide and outperforming its district in both ELA and math, with 5th grade ELA proficiency of 53.6%—above the Colorado state average. Explore Pk-8 is the most improved, climbing from the 8th to 31st percentile over two years. Among high schools, Academy High School leads with an 87.5% graduation rate, a 0.6% dropout rate, and the strongest SAT performance in the ZIP. Mapleton Early Career Preparation has the highest graduation rate at 92.4%, while York International achieves an 86.6% graduation rate and is the only school in the ZIP with chronic absenteeism below the state average.

At the other end, Thornton Middle School ranks in the 0th percentile statewide with just 7.5% ELA and 4.7% math proficiency, and New America School - Thornton faces the most severe combination of challenges: a 22.2% graduation rate, 26.4% dropout rate, and 80.5% chronic absenteeism. Thornton Elementary, Coronado Hills Elementary, and McElwain Elementary all rank in the bottom 3rd percentile. Chronic absenteeism is a systemic crisis, averaging 46.5% across the ZIP, and math proficiency lags behind reading at nearly every school. The key takeaway: poverty is consistent, but school-level interventions matter—the Mapleton schools in this ZIP frequently outperform their district's low ranking, proving that positive results are possible even in high-need communities.