The top reported proficiency rate is 33% in Science. The lowest is 17% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Del Norte Elementary School
Del Norte Elementary School serves students from kindergarten through sixth grade in the town of Del Norte, the county seat of Rio Grande County. It is a regular public school within the Upper Rio Grande School District C-7. The school is not a charter or magnet school. Its enrollment is moderate for an elementary school serving this grade span. The student body is composed of roughly equal shares of Hispanic and white students, with a very small number of American Indian or Alaska Native and multiracial students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
State testing results from the Colorado Measures of Academic Success are available and show that proficiency rates are modest. In math, fewer than one in five students scored at the proficient or above level. In English language arts, just over a quarter of students reached that benchmark. At the fifth-grade level, about a third of students scored proficient or above in science. These are the most recent reported figures, and the school’s participation rate was high, meaning the results reflect nearly all enrolled students. When compared with other districts in Rio Grande County, Del Norte Elementary’s overall proficiency across subjects and grades sits above the midpoint of the three districts in the county. That relative position is a positive signal, but the absolute rates remain low, and a parent looking at the numbers would want to ask the school about the specific programs and supports in place for students who are not yet meeting grade-level expectations.
Because this is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, and staffing were not available in the source materials, so a full picture of school climate and daily operations is incomplete. A parent may wish to visit or ask the school directly about class sizes, teacher retention, and how the school addresses attendance and behavior.
The community context matters here. Del Norte is a small town situated where the Rio Grande leaves the San Juan Mountains and enters the San Luis Valley. It has a walkable downtown core along Grande Avenue, with many original storefronts preserved from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Historically a mining supply camp, then a ranching and agriculture community, the town now also serves as a lodging base for Wolf Creek Ski Area and sees growing recreation tourism. The Rio Grande National Forest relocated its headquarters to Del Norte, and the town is developing a riverwalk and white-water park along the Rio Grande. These civic anchors give the town a stable, if modest, economic base. Housing values in the area are below the Colorado statewide median, making it a relatively affordable place for families, though the local job market is limited largely to government, schools, agriculture, and tourism.
No recent district-level changes were identified from publicly available searches, so there is no information about bond measures, curriculum overhauls, or boundary adjustments that would affect families directly. The school itself offers no specialized programs that were reported in the data, such as magnet themes or career pathways, but again those would be more relevant at the secondary level.
Del Norte Elementary is a neighborhood school in a small, rural Colorado community. The student demographics reflect the town’s population, and the school serves a high-needs student body. Academic performance is below state averages but in the middle of the pack among the county’s three districts. Families choosing this school will likely do so because they live in the area and value a small-town setting. For those moving to the region, the affordable housing, outdoor recreation, and county-seat amenities of Del Norte are part of the overall appeal. The academic data warrants a conversation with the school about how it supports students who are not yet proficient and what interventions or enrichment are available.
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