Summary:
Zip code 81201 in Salida, Colorado is served by two middle schools—Salida Middle School and Crest Academy—both part of the Salida School District No. R-32 and both serving grades 5 through 8. The two schools present very different profiles: Salida Middle School enrolls 327 students with a student-teacher ratio of 12.5, while Crest Academy enrolls just 60 students with a slightly higher ratio of 13.3. Salida Middle also serves a higher-poverty population, with 46.48% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch compared to 26.67% at Crest Academy.
Crest Academy is the clear academic standout in this area. On the 2025–2026 CMAS assessments, it posted 78.9% proficiency in English Language Arts and 77.2% in math—far exceeding both Salida Middle School's 60.2% and 46.3%, respectively, and well above district and state averages. The gap is most dramatic in 7th grade math, where 81.3% of Crest Academy students scored proficient compared to just 35.3% at Salida Middle, a 46-percentage-point difference. Crest Academy also has a much lower chronic absenteeism rate at 16.7%, well below the district rate of 24.0% and the state rate of 28.4%.
Salida Middle School remains a solidly performing school relative to the state, exceeding state averages in both ELA and math, and its historical rankings from 2012–2015 placed it in the 77th to 84th percentile statewide. However, it falls below the district average in math in both recent school years, and its chronic absenteeism rate of 34.6% is more than double Crest Academy's and above both district and state averages. Both schools reported a 0.0% dropout rate in the most recent school-level data. For parents comparing these schools, Crest Academy offers better test scores and attendance, while Salida Middle School provides a larger, more traditional middle school environment with a track record of above-state performance but clear opportunities for improvement, particularly in math.
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