9 public K-12 schools in Cortez from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.
9 public schools ranked by quality score. NCES CCD 2024-25 data.
The highest-ranked of Cortez's 9 public schools is Montezuma-Cortez High School, scoring 40/100, against a city average of 44.8/100. Computed live across every Cortez campus reporting to NCES.
How the Cortez Public-School Landscape Breaks Down
Cortez, CO enrolls 2,345 students across 9 public schools reporting to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those, 3 are charter schools, giving families genuine alternatives to the traditional neighbourhood assignment model. The average student-teacher ratio across the city is 15.4:1, and the composite quality score, derived from student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted-program availability, and CRDC attendance data, averages 44.8/100. Schools must report at least five campuses in a city to appear in this listing, which is why very small towns may redirect to the broader county or state view.
The most-resourced campus in Cortez on this index is Montezuma-Cortez High School, at 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index with 598 enrolled students. What the index does and doesn't measure; click any school below for its full component breakdown.
Cortez spans 1 district, each filing its own NCES F-33 return, per-pupil spending can vary between neighbouring campuses. Sort the table below by enrollment, level, or district; click any school for its full profile.
Montezuma-Cortez High School accounts for 25.5% of all Cortez public-school enrollment
That concentration means Cortez-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade level: High. A dominant campus often anchors a city's program landscape and absorbs a disproportionate share of district capital and staffing decisions. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Cortez school enrollment varies 8.5× across entities
Cortez school enrollment ranges from 70 students (lowest) to 598 students (highest), a spread of 528 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous school portfolio for a city this size. Per-school staffing, programme depth, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same city based on enrollment shape, a 200-student magnet runs a different operational model than a 2,000-student comprehensive high school.
Cortez has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 52.3% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Areas above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Cortez operates only 1 school district — one of the single most consolidated governance structures in the country
Most Cortez school districts are a single unified district covering the whole city, a structural feature that simplifies inter-school comparison but concentrates policy authority, and the count here is near the floor observed nationally. Consolidation produces narrower variance because resources pool across a large population, but it can also mask intra-school district inequities — sub-school district differences within a single school district are not visible at this aggregation level. Consolidated systems typically rely more heavily on top-down funding formulas than on local revenue variability.
Cortez student-teacher ratio is 15.4:1 — near the typical range (US average ~15.7) — aligned with the U.S. average of approximately 15.7:1
student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Variation between sub-units within Cortez is typically wider than the Cortez-aggregate figure suggests.
Cortez has higher-than-average charter school authorisation eligibility — 33.3% of the population qualifies for charter-school enrollment options
charter-school enrollment options eligibility is the federal threshold for charter school authorisation funding allocations, established under the state-specific charter law. Areas above 30% eligibility — including this one — receive concentration grants on top of the basic charter school authorisation formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Cortez
Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.
The highest-ranked school in Cortez is Montezuma-Cortez High School with a quality score of 40/100. There are 9 public schools in Cortez with 2,345 total students.
How many schools are in Cortez, CO? ▼
Cortez has 9 public schools with a total enrollment of 2,345 students. 3 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 15.4:1.
Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. Quality scores based on student-teacher ratio,
counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance. Schools must have 5+ in the city to be listed.
Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD). Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Read our methodology, which explains how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
