The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in English language arts. The lowest is 28% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Dona Ana Elementary
Dona Ana Elementary sits in the Las Cruces Public Schools district, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade on the north side of a mid-sized southern New Mexico city that anchors the Mesilla Valley. Las Cruces blends residential neighborhoods, a large university presence at New Mexico State University, government and military-adjacent employment, and agriculture along the Rio Grande floodplain. The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and its enrollment is modest for an elementary campus serving its grade band.
The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with a very small number of students identifying as white and a handful identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native. Nearly every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school among the highest-poverty campuses in its district. The data does not report individualized education program counts or English learner rates, so those student-support dimensions are not visible here. A parent who wants to understand special education or bilingual services would need to ask the school directly.
On state assessments, the most recent results tell a mixed story. English language arts proficiency is the strongest area, with roughly half of tested students scoring proficient or above. Math is the soft spot, with fewer than a third of tested students reaching proficiency. Science falls in between, with about a third of tested students proficient. A parent may want to look into the school's math instruction and intervention approach further. The state reported these results for the current year only, so there is no trend data available to show whether proficiency is rising or falling over time. Average scale scores and participation rates were not reported in the available data.
The school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, so there is no graduation rate to report. No civil-rights data on discipline, course access, staffing, or attendance was provided. Program offerings such as dual-language, gifted, or after-school enrichment were not included in the available data, so those gaps are named rather than guessed.
Las Cruces itself is a sprawling, largely car-dependent city of roughly 77 square miles, with walkable street life concentrated in a revitalized downtown Main Street corridor of museums, restaurants, galleries, and the Rio Grande Theatre. RoadRUNNER Transit operates eight fixed bus routes plus two university-serving routes Monday through Saturday, giving basic public transit coverage. The Organ Mountains dominate the eastern skyline about 10 miles away, and the Rio Grande passes west of the city. Major employers include New Mexico State University, Las Cruces Public Schools itself, the city government, two medical centers, Walmart, and the federal government through nearby White Sands Test Facility and White Sands Missile Range. Virgin Galactic maintains its headquarters here, and Spaceport America keeps corporate offices in town. The city has grown steadily, driven by federal jobs, an influx of retirees from out of state, and its position at the crossroads of two interstate highways. Drought and climate pressures on Rio Grande flows remain an ongoing concern for the surrounding agricultural region.
Housing in the school's zip code is relatively affordable compared with state and national benchmarks. Home values sit well below the statewide typical home value and further below the national figure, and rents are modest. The estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home is higher than the typical rent, which means renting may be the more accessible entry point for families moving into the attendance area. Home values have dipped slightly year over year, while rents have risen modestly.
The district brief for Las Cruces Public Schools did not surface specific parent-relevant changes from recent years, such as referendums, curriculum shifts, or property tax adjustments. That means there is little to report here about district-level initiatives that would affect a family's decision beyond what the school-level data already shows.
For a parent weighing Dona Ana Elementary, the academic picture is one where reading is outpacing math and science, the community is tight-knit and predominantly Hispanic, and the surrounding city offers university-town amenities and outdoor access within an affordable housing market. The gaps in available data, particularly around special populations and program offerings, are worth filling through direct conversation with the school before making a decision.
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