Thunder Mountain Elementary School

Summary:

Thunder Mountain Elementary School is a public elementary school in Grand Junction, Colorado, serving 443 students from pre-kindergarten to 5th grade. The school is part of the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51, which is ranked 52 out of 116 school districts in Colorado and has a 3-star rating.

Despite its small class sizes, with a student-teacher ratio of 15.5, Thunder Mountain Elementary consistently ranks in the bottom 25% of Colorado elementary schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's proficiency rates in CMAS tests are significantly lower than the district and state averages across all grades and subjects, with only 24.3% of students proficient in English Language Arts, 19.5% in Math, and 24.6% in Science, compared to the district averages of 41.1%, 31.8%, and 34.3%, respectively. The school's performance is particularly low for certain student subgroups, such as female students, white students, and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

When compared to nearby elementary schools in the same district, such as Tope Elementary School and Orchard Avenue Elementary School, Thunder Mountain Elementary consistently underperforms academically. The nearby schools with the lowest academic performance, such as Rocky Mountain Elementary School and Clifton Elementary School, have even lower proficiency rates and rankings than Thunder Mountain Elementary. Addressing the underlying factors contributing to the school's performance and implementing targeted interventions will be crucial in improving educational outcomes for the students at Thunder Mountain Elementary School.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 3063 F1/2 Road
       Grand Junction, CO  81504-5546


(970) 254-5870

District: Mesa County Valley School District No. 51

SchoolDigger Rank:
768th of 943 Colorado Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $13,865 Help


Students who attend Thunder Mountain Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Bookcliff Middle School
High:    Central High School

Student/teacher ratio:  15.5 Help
Number of students:  443

Racial breakdown:

White:
66.6%
Hispanic:
27.5%
Two or more races:
2.9%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  50.6% Help


 See top rated Colorado elementary schools

 Compare Thunder Mountain Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Thunder Mountain Elementary School ranks worse than 81.4% of elementary schools in Colorado. It also ranks 23rd among 27 ranked elementary schools in the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51. (See more...)
Help
Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 17.99. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a high school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Thunder Mountain Elementary School has the largest elementary school student body size in the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51.  (See more...)
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Thunder Mountain Elementary School is $13,865. 19 elementary schools in the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51 spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Thunder Mountain Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Thunder Mountain Elementary School 768th of 943 Colorado public elementary schools. (See Thunder Mountain Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
White students:


Mesa County Valley School District No. 51:

SchoolDigger ranks Mesa County Valley School District No. 51 52nd of 116 Colorado school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Your rating for Thunder Mountain Elementary School?

Rank History for Thunder Mountain Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Thunder Mountain Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 47.32 463rd 808 42.7%
2005 63.76 328th 823 60.1%
2006 56.28 396th 829 52.2%
2007 51.29 466th 852 45.3%
2008 44.94 513th 849 39.6%
2009 55.70 425th 872 51.3%
2010 53.84 474th 925 48.8%
2011 44.43 564th 935 39.7%
2012 39.21 608th 935 35.0%
2013 42.84 582nd 954 39.0%
2014 39.78 609th 962 36.7%
2015 31.02 615th 938 34.4%
2016 24.36 674th 914 26.3%
2017 26.41 663rd 929 28.6%
2018 22.90 694th 917 24.3%
2019 32.56 618th 965 36.0%
2021 17.74 610th 710 14.1%
2022 22.36 692nd 921 24.9%
2023 19.61 739th 933 20.8%
2024 17.99 768th 943 18.6%
See the entire list of Colorado Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Thunder Mountain Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 31.36 232nd 308 24.7%
2019 42.86 186th 332 44.0%
2022 18.65 187th 203 7.9%
2023 30.07 202nd 265 23.8%
2024 15.92 336th 365 7.9%
See the entire list of Best Colorado Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Thunder Mountain Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 16.17 606th 690 12.2%
2019 26.29 542nd 758 28.5%
2022 14.53 528th 595 11.3%
2023 9.67 612th 642 4.7%
2024 10.97 635th 684 7.2%
See the entire list of Best Colorado Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Thunder Mountain Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 18.11 580th 693 16.3%
2019 28.44 531st 764 30.5%
2022 17.77 488th 594 17.8%
2023 18.53 541st 649 16.6%
2024 14.15 599th 683 12.3%
See the entire list of Best Colorado Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for White students at Thunder Mountain Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 9.49 325th 337 3.6%
2019 15.61 540th 596 9.4%
2022 4.13 452nd 454 0.4%
2023 3.34 523rd 525 0.4%
2024 2.08 538th 539 0.2%
See the entire list of Best Colorado Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Colorado Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Thunder Mountain Elementary School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 






Data source: Colorado Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)
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100%

  

by a teacher
Thursday, February 8, 2018

Open Quote This school is staffed by emotionally unstable teachers. There are a few exceptions or some of the teachers are there for the kids and do an excellent job but there are several teachers who have multiple complaints from parents and other staff members who have been violent in front of students or threatened to physically harm students and the principal to help keep the children in a safe environment. Members in the HR department have publicly said they would never put their children in the school and if they allow the abusive teachers to still be employed shame on them. Close Quote



Enrollment information for Thunder Mountain Elementary School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 561 3 5 22 1 n/a n/a 0 592
1989 551 3 5 27 0 n/a n/a 0 586
1990 536 2 6 27 0 n/a n/a 0 571
1991 560 5 4 24 0 n/a n/a 0 593
1992 561 5 7 17 2 n/a n/a 0 592
1993 564 7 6 20 3 n/a n/a 0 600
1994 635 5 6 21 5 n/a n/a 0 672
1995 620 4 4 29 4 n/a n/a 0 661
1996 620 4 4 29 4 n/a n/a 0 661
1997 611 2 6 38 5 n/a n/a 0 662
1998 554 2 5 36 4 n/a n/a 0 601
1999 524 3 4 40 2 n/a n/a 0 573
2000 519 3 1 62 2 n/a n/a 0 587
2001 518 4 1 58 8 n/a n/a -6 583
2002 525 8 2 70 10 n/a n/a 0 615
2003 525 8 2 70 10 n/a n/a 0 615
2004 522 6 5 80 12 n/a n/a 0 625
2005 491 8 5 85 7 n/a n/a 0 596
2006 517 6 6 72 9 n/a n/a 0 610
2007 497 7 6 77 8 n/a n/a 0 595
2008 498 7 8 81 9 n/a n/a 0 603
2009 522 7 6 91 9 n/a n/a 0 635
2010 482 11 12 98 7 n/a n/a 0 610
2011 467 12 2 122 6 2 13 0 624
2012 450 8 4 127 3 1 17 0 610
2013 441 4 4 115 3 0 12 0 579
2014 417 5 3 107 0 0 20 0 552
2015 395 3 3 114 1 0 20 0 536
2016 402 5 1 113 1 0 22 0 544
2017 381 4 3 112 3 0 18 0 521
2018 358 5 4 122 4 0 18 0 511
2019 354 4 6 125 5 0 26 0 520
2020 346 4 10 131 5 0 20 0 516
2021 317 3 8 118 6 0 13 0 465
2022 299 3 6 119 3 2 15 0 447
2023 295 4 5 122 2 2 13 0 443

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Thunder Mountain Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 592 35.3 16.7 n/a
1989 586 33.2 17.6 13.5
1990 571 31.6 18.0 12.3
1991 593 32.0 18.5 10.5
1992 592 33.6 17.6 11.8
1993 600 33.6 17.9 14.5
1994 672 36.0 18.7 15.8
1995 661 33.6 19.7 26.2
1996 661 33.6 19.7 26.2
1997 662 35.3 18.8 30.5
1998 601 35.8 16.8 18.8
1999 573 33.6 17.1 16.4
2000 587 33.7 17.4 29.5
2001 583 35.5 16.6 26.8
2002 615 32.9 18.7 30.4
2003 615 32.9 18.7 30.4
2004 625 34.1 18.3 16.3
2005 596 33.3 17.9 29.2
2006 610 31.9 19.1 31.8
2007 595 29.9 19.9 22.7
2008 603 30.5 19.8 25.9
2009 635 27.9 22.8 25.2
2010 610 32.1 19.0 33.4
2011 624 30.2 20.6 35.7
2012 610 29.9 20.3 39.8
2013 579 29.5 19.6 39.6
2014 552 28.5 19.3 36.8
2015 536 30.0 17.8 43.1
2016 544 30.0 18.1 50.6
2017 521 28.6 18.2 53.4
2018 511 28.0 18.2 47.6
2019 520 27.7 18.7 50.8
2020 516 29.4 17.5 48.3
2021 465 27.2 17.0 60.9
2022 447 28.8 15.4 53.7
2023 443 28.4 15.5 50.6

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Thunder Mountain Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 592 35.3 16.7 n/a
1989 586 33.2 17.6 13.5
1990 571 31.6 18.0 12.3
1991 593 32.0 18.5 10.5
1992 592 33.6 17.6 11.8
1993 600 33.6 17.9 14.5
1994 672 36.0 18.7 15.8
1995 661 33.6 19.7 26.2
1996 661 33.6 19.7 26.2
1997 662 35.3 18.8 30.5
1998 601 35.8 16.8 18.8
1999 573 33.6 17.1 16.4
2000 587 33.7 17.4 29.5
2001 583 35.5 16.6 26.8
2002 615 32.9 18.7 30.4
2003 615 32.9 18.7 30.4
2004 625 34.1 18.3 16.3
2005 596 33.3 17.9 29.2
2006 610 31.9 19.1 31.8
2007 595 29.9 19.9 22.7
2008 603 30.5 19.8 25.9
2009 635 27.9 22.8 25.2
2010 610 32.1 19.0 33.4
2011 624 30.2 20.6 35.7
2012 610 29.9 20.3 39.8
2013 579 29.5 19.6 39.6
2014 552 28.5 19.3 36.8
2015 536 30.0 17.8 43.1
2016 544 30.0 18.1 50.6
2017 521 28.6 18.2 53.4
2018 511 28.0 18.2 47.6
2019 520 27.7 18.7 50.8
2020 516 29.4 17.5 48.3
2021 465 27.2 17.0 60.9
2022 447 28.8 15.4 53.7
2023 443 28.4 15.5 50.6

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Thunder Mountain Elementary School

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YearTotal Expenditures Per Pupil
2019 $10,495
2020 $12,769
2021 $11,977
2022 $12,863
2023 $13,865

Data source: Colorado Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Thunder Mountain Elementary School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 618th of 965 Elementary schoolsRanks 739th of 933 Elementary schools
 15.2%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Thunder Mountain Elementary School)25.922.2
 3.7%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)32.937.4
 4.5%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Colorado)41.339.9
 1.4%
3rd Grade Math (Thunder Mountain Elementary School)17.519
 1.5%
   3rd Grade Math (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)31.838.3
 6.5%
   3rd Grade Math (Colorado)4140.4
 0.6%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Thunder Mountain Elementary School)40.232.9
 7.3%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)4239.6
 2.4%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Colorado)4843.8
 4.2%
4th Grade Math (Thunder Mountain Elementary School)31.715.5
 16.2%
   4th Grade Math (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)22.928.4
 5.5%
   4th Grade Math (Colorado)33.632.7
 0.9%
5th Grade Science (Thunder Mountain Elementary School)36.421.5
 14.9%
   5th Grade Science (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)2832.1
 4.1%
   5th Grade Science (Colorado)35.933.9
 2%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Thunder Mountain Elementary School)46.125.4
 20.7%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)41.146.7
 5.6%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Colorado)48.447.8
 0.6%
5th Grade Math (Thunder Mountain Elementary School)20.223.4
 3.2%
   5th Grade Math (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)23.536.4
 12.9%
   5th Grade Math (Colorado)35.736.5
 0.8%
All Grades English Language Arts (Thunder Mountain Elementary School)37.727
 10.7%
   All Grades English Language Arts (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)3639.2
 3.2%
   All Grades English Language Arts (Colorado)45.843.7
 2.1%
All Grades Math (Thunder Mountain Elementary School)23.119.2
 3.9%
   All Grades Math (Mesa County Valley School District No. 51)24.429.1
 4.7%
   All Grades Math (Colorado)34.732.9
 1.8%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students520443
 14.8%
African American44
American Indian52
 60%
Asian65
 16.7%
Hispanic125122
 2.4%
Pacific Islander02
White354295
 16.7%
Two or More Races2613
 50%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients50.8%50.6%
 0.2%


Schools Near Thunder Mountain Elementary School









Frequently Asked Questions about Thunder Mountain Elementary School

Students who attend Thunder Mountain Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Bookcliff Middle School
High : Central High School

Thunder Mountain Elementary School ranks in the bottom 18.6% of Colorado elementary schools.

In the 2022-23 school year, 443 students attended Thunder Mountain Elementary School.

Students at Thunder Mountain Elementary School are 67% White, 28% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races, 1% Asian.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Colorado Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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