Best Public Schools in Zip Code 80911

Zip code 80911 in Colorado Springs, Colorado is served by School District No. 3, which operates 15 schools — 9 elementary, 2 junior high, 3 high schools, and 1 alternative program — enrolling 7,209 students total. Enrollment ranges from just 72 students at James Madison Charter Academy to 1,304 at Mesa Ridge High School, with a median school size of 470 students. This is a predominantly middle-to-high poverty area: seven of the fifteen schools have free/reduced lunch eligibility above 50%, led by Venetucci Elementary School at 67.7%.

The bright spots are significant. Martin Luther King Junior Elementary School is the top elementary in the zip, ranked in the 73rd percentile with 4 stars and the highest math proficiency anywhere in the area at 52.2%. Widefield Elementary School of the Arts is nearly its equal, with the best ELA scores (58.9%) and the lowest chronic absenteeism among traditional schools (15.9%). That theme-school advantage extends to Talbott STEAM Innovation School, which also beats district averages. At the middle level, Sproul Junior High School clearly outperforms Watson Junior High School in every subject, including a standout 48.9% 8th-grade math rate. Among high schools, Mesa Ridge High School posts the best graduation rate at 91.2% with a 1.6% dropout rate, while Widefield High School holds the higher state ranking and stronger test scores.

Math is the area's biggest academic weakness: both traditional high schools recorded just 14% SAT math proficiency, and several elementary schools fall well below the state average of 37.3%. Chronic absenteeism is also widespread, with 9 of 15 schools exceeding the state rate of 28.4% — most critically at Discovery High School, where the graduation rate is just 17.2% and dropout rate 13.8%. By contrast, The Haven School posts the lowest chronic absenteeism in the entire dataset at 5.9%. Parents should look beyond rankings when evaluating these schools; a school like Mesa Ridge graduates students exceptionally well despite a modest academic rank, while French Elementary School and Widefield High School are showing clear upward trends in their state percentiles.