The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in English language arts. The lowest is 34% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Calhan Elementary School
Calhan Elementary School serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the Calhan District No. RJ1, a rural school system in eastern El Paso County. The school building sits on a shared campus at Bulldog Drive, set apart from the small town’s Colorado Avenue corridor. This is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet.
Calhan itself is a very small town that straddles U.S. Highway 24 about halfway between Colorado Springs and Limon. It was founded as a railroad water station and still holds a ranching and agricultural character. The town’s population has declined over recent years. The median home value has risen, though the town has seen no large new housing developments reported. The El Paso County Fairgrounds sit in Calhan, and the nearby Calhan Paint Mines Archeological District is a local attraction. No public transit system or public library was found mentioned for the town itself. The school campus is separate from the downtown area, which is consistent with the town’s small rural layout.
The elementary school enrolls a student body that is overwhelmingly white, with a modest share of Black students and a small share of Hispanic students. More than half of the students come from economically disadvantaged households, as measured by free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available for this school.
On Colorado’s state assessments, Calhan Elementary’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among schools relative to districts in El Paso County. That is a positive position, though it is important to look at the individual subjects. In English language arts, roughly half of tested students scored at the proficient level or above. In math, about a third did. In science, the share was about a third as well. These are mixed results, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly around math and science support. The participation rate on these assessments was notably low, meaning that a meaningful number of students did not take the tests. The reasons for that are not stated in the data available, so families may wish to ask the school about it.
Because the school serves only preschool through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate data here. That is by design; the high school in the same district would carry that information.
The district itself, Calhan District No. RJ1, is a small rural district. No recent district-level changes, such as referendums or curriculum shifts, turned up in search results. That may simply reflect limited public reporting for a small district, but it means there is no publicly documented recent change in direction for parents to evaluate.
Housing in Calhan is priced below the state median for Colorado, which is a factor for families considering a move. The typical monthly mortgage payment in the area, at current interest rates, is substantial relative to incomes, but the home values themselves are lower than many parts of the Front Range. The town’s population decline and limited development activity suggest a stable but not growing local economy.
What Calhan Elementary offers is a small, rural setting with a student body that is not highly diverse. Academic results are mixed, with English language arts showing a modest strength and math and science lagging behind, though the school’s overall proficiency index is relatively strong compared with other schools in El Paso County. The low assessment participation rate is an open question. For families who value a small-town agricultural community and are comfortable with the trade-offs in academic performance and limited local amenities, this school may fit. For those seeking higher math and science outcomes or a more urban context with robust transit and library access, it likely will not.
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