Schools in Zip Code 80640

Zip code 80640 serves the Henderson, Colorado area with 5 schools, all part of School District 27J, including one high school, one middle school, two elementary schools, and one charter school serving grades K-8. The district currently holds a 2-star rating, ranking 81st out of 115 Colorado districts, and most schools in the area perform below state averages. However, there is meaningful variation from school to school, particularly in attendance, math proficiency, and overall consistency.

Belle Creek Charter School is the clear standout in the area, holding the strongest and most stable state ranking (35th percentile for three straight years). It has the lowest chronic absenteeism in the zip code at 26.4% — the only school below the state average — and outperforms the district in 3rd grade math and 5th/8th grade science, despite serving a similar poverty rate as its neighbors. At the other end of the spectrum, Prairie View High School is the most concerning, with a 49.3% chronic absenteeism rate affecting nearly half of all students, and correspondingly low SAT math (10% proficient) and science (12.6%) scores. Henderson Elementary School has the highest free/reduced lunch rate (61.1%) and the lowest single test score in the area — just 9.8% proficiency in 5th grade science. Prairie View Middle School and John W Thimmig Elementary School fall in between, with Thimmig dropping from the 35th to 24th percentile this year.

Math proficiency is the most urgent challenge across all five schools. No school reaches the state average in overall math, and scores fall off sharply after 3rd grade — Belle Creek's 3rd grade math is 44.8% proficient but drops to 15% by 4th grade. Chronic absenteeism is also a systemic issue, with every school except Belle Creek above the state rate. There are bright spots: Prairie View High School's graduation rate of 84.9% is near the state average, and Henderson Elementary improved math proficiency from 17.2% to 25.5% in one year. Overall, Belle Creek demonstrates that strong school practices can make a meaningful difference even under similar socioeconomic conditions, while the rest of the zip code reflects the deep challenges of poverty, attendance, and math achievement.