The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in Math. The lowest is 13% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Newlon Elementary School
Newlon Elementary School serves students from preschool through fifth grade in Denver Public Schools. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it is part of the largest school district in Colorado, which covers the entire city and county of Denver.
Newlon is a community school in the sense that its student body overwhelmingly reflects the families who live in the surrounding neighborhood. The vast majority of students identify as Hispanic. A very substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a high-poverty context. The enrollment is moderate for an elementary school serving these grades, with a fairly even distribution across each grade level.
The neighborhood around the school sits within Denver, a major consolidated city-county and state capital that functions as the principal commercial, industrial, and transportation hub for the Rocky Mountain West. Denver’s economy spans telecommunications, aviation, aerospace, software, financial services, health care, and tourism, and it hosts the headquarters of several Fortune firms. The city has a dense downtown core with cultural institutions, government offices, and professional sports venues, while residential neighborhoods like the one surrounding Newlon extend outward from the center. Denver has experienced sustained population growth over the long term, and the metropolitan area forms a nearly continuous developed corridor along the Front Range. Housing values in the broader area, as measured in the zip code covering this part of Denver, are below the state median for single-family homes, and rents are correspondingly lower than the state average, reflecting the economic diversity of the neighborhood.
Denver Public Schools has made several recent changes that affect Newlon families. In November 2024, voters approved the largest bond measure in district history, funding facility improvements, safety upgrades, technology, and new school construction. The district also implemented a district-wide literacy curriculum shift starting in the 2023-2024 school year, adopting evidence-based reading instruction aligned with the science of reading across elementary grades, which directly affects how Newlon teaches its youngest students. Starting in the 2024-2025 school year, the district moved to a unified enrollment system, changing how families apply to and select schools. Additionally, a mill levy override approved in 2022 increased teacher pay and expanded mental health resources in schools.
On state assessments, Newlon’s results fall below the midpoint among its peers. Looking at the most recent testing year, proficiency rates in math and English language arts for students in grades three through five were well below the district average. In science, the proficiency rate for fifth graders also sat well below the district average. The school’s overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile relative to other elementary schools in Denver County. This is a school where a large share of students are not yet meeting state benchmarks in reading, math, and science. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what academic interventions and supports are in place.
Because Newlon only serves elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. Data on special populations, such as the proportion of students with disabilities or those classified as English learners, was not available in the provided information.
Newlon Elementary sits in a Denver neighborhood with below-average state test scores and a high level of economic need. The district is investing heavily in facility upgrades and a new literacy approach that may shape the school’s direction in coming years. For a family considering this school, the peer environment is one where most students are Hispanic and from low-income households, the academic outcomes are well below district averages, and the surrounding housing market is more affordable than many parts of the metro area.
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