The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in English language arts. The lowest is 7% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Roots & Wings Community
Roots & Wings Community School sits in the Lama area just outside the village of Questa, in Taos County, New Mexico. It is a charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade, operating as its own district under a charter contract authorized through the 2021 to 2026 term. The school follows an Expeditionary Learning model, which emphasizes hands-on, project-based learning rooted in real-world inquiry rather than traditional textbook instruction. For a family weighing this school, the pedagogy is the defining feature. It is a choice for parents who want their child learning through expeditions and fieldwork, and the rural northern New Mexico setting shapes what those expeditions can look like.
The enrollment is small, with just a few students per grade. This means a child here will be known personally by every teacher and will move through a tight peer group. The student body is predominantly white, with a meaningful Hispanic presence and smaller shares of multiracial and American Indian or Alaska Native students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic realities of the surrounding community. Data on English learners and students with disabilities was not reported, so a parent whose child falls into either group would want to ask the school directly about services and accommodations.
State assessment results present a sharply mixed picture. English language arts proficiency is strong, with about half of tested students scoring proficient or above. That is a solid result for a school of this size and economic profile, and it suggests the Expeditionary Learning approach is translating into real literacy outcomes. Mathematics tells a different story. Proficiency in math was very low, with only a handful of tested students reaching proficiency. The state's own annual performance report flagged math growth as unsatisfactory in a prior year, though the most recent available data showed math growth moving into a typical range with improvements for students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, asking specifically how math instruction is structured within the Expeditionary framework and what interventions are in place. Science results were suppressed, likely owing to the small number of tested students, so no read is possible there.
Because this school ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. Students will need to transition to a high school elsewhere, most likely within the Questa Independent School District, which operates a junior and senior high in the village.
Questa itself is a small rural village functioning as a regional hub for even smaller outlying communities like Lama, Cerro, Sunshine Valley, Latir, Costilla, and Amalia. It has a deep Hispanic heritage and a traditional agricultural economy centered on alfalfa, hay, and winter wheat, with acequia irrigation systems remaining central to community life. The now-closed Chevron molybdenum mine, once the largest private employer in Taos County, looms over the local economy. Chevron continues reclamation work on the Superfund site, and the village is working toward a post-mining future built on eco-tourism and outdoor recreation, leveraging its position as the gateway to the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument and its proximity to Carson National Forest. The population has been slowly declining. No housing market data was available for this brief, so a family considering a move should research current home values and rental costs independently. Publicly reported sources note a modest median household income and a meaningful poverty rate.
The village has a compact historic center with a single traffic light, the San Antonio del Rio Colorado Church, two parks, a public library, and free commuter bus service to Taos and Red River. Street life is limited but community-oriented, anchored by events like the annual burning of the ditches. For a parent, this means a child at Roots & Wings grows up in a place where neighbors know each other and where the natural environment is immediate and accessible. The tradeoff is distance from larger services and cultural amenities, with Taos being the nearest town of any size.
This school fits a family drawn to place-based, experiential education and comfortable with a very small school community in a rural setting that is economically transitional. The literacy results are encouraging, the math results are a clear area of concern, and the small size means every family's experience will be shaped heavily by a handful of teachers and classmates.
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