Summary:
Zip code 81630 in De Beque, Colorado contains exactly one school: De Beque Pk-12 School District 49JT, a combined Pre-K through 12th grade campus serving 179 students as the sole educational institution in De Beque Joint District No. 49. Because there is only one school, all school-level data mirrors district-level data, making De Beque Pk-12 the default standout—notable for its relatively low student-teacher ratio of 13.2 and its classification as an Alternative school despite serving all grade levels.
The school serves a high-need population, with 63.69% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Academic performance on CMAS assessments is well below state averages: in the 2025-2026 school year, only 9.8% of students were proficient in English Language Arts and 9.6% in Math, compared to state rates of 44.7% and 37.3%. However, a bright spot appears on the 9th-grade PSAT9 Reading/Writing test, where students achieved 61% proficiency—just 5 points below the state average of 66%. Chronic absenteeism runs high at 34.4%, versus 28.4% statewide, which likely compounds academic struggles.
The graduation rate of 80.0% trails the state's 85.6%, yet the dropout rate of 1.4% is slightly below the state's 1.6%, indicating most students remain enrolled. With only 179 students, metrics can swing dramatically from year to year; CMAS Math proficiency dropped from 17.0% to 9.6% between school years, reflecting both real shifts and the volatility of small-school data. The high poverty rate of nearly two-thirds of students provides essential context for the test scores and absenteeism. Overall, De Beque Pk-12 offers a small, closely-knit learning environment with potential for individualized attention, but faces significant academic challenges that families should weigh carefully.
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