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Velarde Elementary

Public Grades K-6

Summary

Velarde Elementary is a public elementary school in Velarde, New Mexico, serving 58 students in grades K-6. The school is part of the Espanola School District, which is ranked 108 out of 128 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Velarde Elementary has consistently underperformed compared to state and district averages in academic subjects like English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 27% of Velarde Elementary students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to the state average of 39% and the Espanola district average of 24%. In Mathematics, Velarde Elementary's proficiency rate was only 12.5% in 2021-2022, significantly lower than the state average of 24.5% and the Espanola district average of 11.1%. The school has maintained a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger and has consistently ranked in the bottom half of New Mexico elementary schools, with a ranking of 315 out of 413 schools in the 2023-2024 school year.

While Velarde Elementary's performance is generally lower than the state and district averages, it is not the lowest-performing school in the Espanola district. Schools like James Rodriguez Elementary and Tony Quintana Elementary also have low performance and rankings, indicating that the challenges faced by Velarde Elementary may be systemic within the district. The relatively low student-teacher ratio at Velarde Elementary, with 10 students per teacher in the 2023-2024 school year, suggests that the school may have the resources to provide more individualized attention to students, which could potentially be leveraged to improve academic outcomes.

Students ?

8.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,322

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

State Road 68 County Road 51
Velarde, NM 87582

(505) 852-4331

District: Espanola

Students who attend Velarde Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Carlos F. Vigil Middle
High:	Espanola Valley High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

97.4%

American Indian:

2.6%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 53rd percentile in 2009 → 24th in 2024

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 9 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the New Mexico average (36% vs 44% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 29 percentile points since 2009

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school36%

District avg29%

New Mexico avg44%

Not ranked this year

Velarde Elementary did not have enough recent test-score data to be ranked. Check the trend below for past years.

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	23.0	315 of 413	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.3	326 of 420	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	49.9	175 of 410	57.3%	★★★☆☆
2015	27.1	321 of 421	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	26.3	352 of 442	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	40.9	244 of 412	40.8%	★★☆☆☆
2012	43.2	227 of 398	43.0%	★★☆☆☆
2011	40.8	242 of 402	39.8%	★★☆☆☆
2010	51.1	195 of 419	53.5%	★★★☆☆
2009	51.6	195 of 411	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2008	59.6	137 of 405	66.2%	★★★☆☆
2007	65.3	118 of 398	70.4%	★★★★☆
2006	49.0	193 of 390	50.5%	★★★☆☆
2005	46.4	205 of 389	47.3%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	30.0	262 of 398	34.2%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	25.0	298 of 384	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.1	292 of 389	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2022	26.4	283 of 410	31.0%	★★☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Female (2024)34th percentile+10 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2022)31st percentile+9 vs school

Hispanic (2024)22nd percentile~ school

★

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Schools Near Velarde Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				NM-MSSA English Language Arts (2025)					NM-MSSA Mathematics (2025)					Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 3rd Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 4th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 5th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 6th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts All Grades	NM-MSSA Mathematics 3rd Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 4th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 5th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 6th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics All Grades	Total
Velarde Elementary	Public	K-6	State Road 68 County Road 51	Velarde	87582	Rio Arriba County	Espanola	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 852-4331	39	4	8.9	100.0%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (97.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)					36.4						$14,322
Alcalde Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	State Rd 68 County Rd 138a	Espanola	87511	Rio Arriba County	Espanola	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 852-4253	151	13	11.6	96.7%	1 (0.7%)	1 (0.7%)	143 (94.7%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)					24.3						$11,487
Dixon Elementary	Public	K-6	220 New Mexico Highway 75	Dixon	87527	Rio Arriba County	Espanola	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 579-4325	50	5	10.5	100.0%	7 (14.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (74.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (8.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (4.0%)								(n/a)					51.5					39.4	$12,218
San Juan Elementary	Public	K-6	411 State Rd 74	Ohkay Owingeh	87566	Rio Arriba County	Espanola	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 852-4225	141	14	10.1	97.2%	2 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	93 (66.0%)	1 (0.7%)	39 (27.7%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (4.3%)								(n/a)	39.4				26.5					8.4	$10,855
Ohkay Owingeh Community School	Public	K-6	307 Community School Rd	Ohkay Owingeh	87566	Rio Arriba County	Ohkay Owingeh Community School	(n/a)	No	No	Yes	(505) 852-2154	105	5	21.0	97.1%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	105 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Chimayo Elementary	Public	K-6	State Rd 76 County Rd 93 Buil	Chimayo	87522	Rio Arriba County	Espanola	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 351-4207	112	8	14.9	100.0%	2 (1.8%)	1 (0.9%)	103 (92.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)				68.2	41.3				36.4	20.6	$13,418
Eutimio Salazar Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	1000 Zuni Ln	Espanola	87532	Rio Arriba County	Espanola	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 753-2391	339	26	12.9	95.9%	5 (1.5%)	1 (0.3%)	323 (95.3%)	3 (0.9%)	4 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	17.3	311^th of 345 public elementary schools	9.9%		22.4	321^st of 413 public elementary schools	22.3%	10	17.0	34.1	35.9	27.9	28.3		15.9	18.0	25.6	17.3	$11,638
James Rodriguez Elementary	Public	1-6	420 North Coronado Ave	Espanola	87532	Rio Arriba County	Espanola	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 753-2256	233	18	13.2	94.0%	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	218 (93.6%)	1 (0.4%)	12 (5.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13.9	328^th of 345 public elementary schools	4.9%		24.8	308^th of 413 public elementary schools	25.4%	20	20.0	24.3		26.5	21.5	22.2				8.7	$10,059
Hernandez Elementary	Public	K-6	State Road 84/285 #1934b	Espanola	87532	Rio Arriba County	Espanola	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 753-4008	85	9	9.2	97.6%	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.2%)	82 (96.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)					31.7						$11,371
Los Ninos Elementary	Public	PK-K	323 North Coronado Ave	Espanola	87532	Rio Arriba County	Espanola	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 753-6819	71	7	9.5	100.0%	1 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	67 (94.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.4%)	1 (1.4%)	1 (1.4%)								(n/a)											$18,699

Frequently Asked Questions about Velarde Elementary

What district is Velarde Elementary in?

Espanola

What schools do graduates of Velarde Elementary attend?

Students who attend Velarde Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Carlos F. Vigil Middle
High : Espanola Valley High

How many students attend Velarde Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 39 students attended Velarde Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Velarde Elementary?

Students at Velarde Elementary are 97% Hispanic, 3% American Indian.

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the New Mexico Public Education Department.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.