Best Public Schools in Zip Code 81041

Zip code 81041 in Granada, Colorado, is served by two public schools within Granada School District No. Re-1, covering grades PK-12 on a single campus: Granada Elementary School (PK-6, 118 students) and Granada Undivided High School (7-12, 92 students). Together, these schools serve about 210 students in a small, rural district where most families qualify for free or reduced lunch—71% at the elementary and 63% at the high school—and where student-teacher ratios are notably low (10.2 and 9.1, respectively), allowing for fairly individualized instruction.

The elementary school currently stands out academically and in attendance. Its chronic absenteeism rate is 17.1%, well below the district (22.2%) and state (28.4%) averages, and its most recent ELA proficiency (41%) and math proficiency (26.6%) both exceed district averages, with ELA approaching the state rate of 44.7%. In contrast, Granada Undivided High School struggles more: 28% of its students are chronically absent, matching the state average but exceeding the district, and its ELA (24%) and math (20%) proficiency rates lag the elementary school and state. Still, the high school posts a low dropout rate of 1.0% versus the state’s 1.6%, though its graduation rate (82.4%) trails the state (85.6%).

Both schools have declined from middle-of-the-pack state rankings several years ago—the elementary fell from the 57th percentile (3 stars) in 2018-2019 to the 27th percentile (1 star) in 2022-2023, and the high school dropped from the 52nd percentile (3 stars) in 2015-2016 to the same bottom-quartile ranking. Math proficiency is a district-wide weakness, with both schools scoring far below the state’s 37.3% proficiency rate, and small enrollments cause large year-to-year swings (high school math jumped from 8.8% to 20% in one year). Parents should view single-year changes cautiously, but the positive signs—low student-teacher ratios, improving elementary ELA scores, and a low high school dropout rate—offer reasons to hope for a turnaround if math and secondary attendance improve.