The top reported proficiency rate is 14% in English language arts. The lowest is 5% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Cesar Chavez Elementary
Cesar Chavez Elementary sits on Jaguar Drive in Santa Fe, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Santa Fe Public Schools district. It is a regular public school, neither charter nor magnet. The enrollment is modest for an elementary spanning that many grade levels, and the student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic. Nearly every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school among the highest-poverty campuses in its district. Data on English-learner status and special-education enrollment was not reported, so those population details are absent here.
Santa Fe is the state capital, anchored by government employment and a cultural economy built on galleries, museums, and annual art events. The historic core centers on the Santa Fe Plaza, with Pueblo Revival and Territorial Revival architecture defining much of the built environment. Cesar Chavez Elementary sits within this broader city but not in the walkable downtown core; it is part of the residential spread extending across Santa Fe's considerable footprint. Housing values in the surrounding area run above the state benchmark and roughly in line with national figures, while rents are moderate relative to local mortgage costs. For families considering the neighborhood, the market is on the pricier side for New Mexico.
Academically, the most recent state assessment results show Cesar Chavez Elementary struggling. Math proficiency is very low. English language arts proficiency is also low, though somewhat higher than math. Science results are reported as a range rather than a single figure, reflecting the smaller number of tested students in the grade band where science assessment occurs. Only one year of comparable data was available, so trend information showing whether performance is improving or declining cannot be established from what was provided.
These results warrant a parent's direct conversation with school leadership. When the great majority of students are not meeting grade-level benchmarks in core subjects, the question is what the school is doing about it. The school serves a student population with substantial economic need, and families may want to ask how resources are being directed to address that reality, what interventions are in place, and what the improvement plan looks like. Participation rates for the assessments were not reported, which is another item a parent could ask about.
Because Cesar Chavez is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to report. The school does not serve grade bands where that metric applies. State testing covers grades three through five, which is the standard elementary testing window in New Mexico.
Several data areas that would help a parent form a fuller picture were not available. There is no reported information on staffing ratios, teacher experience, discipline, attendance patterns, or program offerings such as dual-language or enrichment. Title I status, which many high-poverty schools hold, was not reported in the data provided. The Santa Fe district brief turned up little on recent bond measures, curriculum changes, or capital projects affecting this campus. These gaps mean the picture here leans heavily on academic results and demographics. A parent visiting the school would want to ask about the things this profile cannot cover.
What the available data describes is a high-poverty elementary school in a city with strong civic and cultural identity, serving a predominantly Hispanic student body, with state assessment results that fall well below where most families would want to see their children. The setting is Santa Fe, with its arts economy, government employment, and distinctive architectural character. The school's academic results are the main thing a parent would need to weigh, and the absence of staffing, program, and trend data means that assessment is incomplete. A visit to the campus and a conversation with the principal would fill in what the numbers here cannot.
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