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Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico - 4 schools
An equity score of 76/100 ranks Chama Valley Indep. Schools #12 of 98 districts in New Mexico (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $17,669 per pupil, Chama Valley Indep. Schools ranks #47 of 141 New Mexico districts by per-pupil spending (New Mexico districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
363
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$17,669
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Chama Valley Indep. Schools operates 4 public schools serving 363 students, placing it among the smallest districts in New Mexico. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 combined, 1 middle schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Rio Arriba County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $17,669 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 141 New Mexico districts by per-pupil spending. See how New Mexico compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 12.9% local, 77.4% state, and 9.6% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 76/100, ranked #12 of 98 in New Mexico against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 235:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 6.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 87.3% Hispanic or Latino, 5.1% White, 2.1% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Escalante Middle/High School, with a diversity index of 30.6/100.
Its largest campus is Escalante Middle/High School, enrolling 134 students (44% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Chama Middle, at 40 students, a 3x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Escalante Middle/High School accounts for 36.9% of all Chama Valley Indep. Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Chama Valley Indep. Schools-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Chama Valley Indep. Schools school enrollment varies 3.4× across entities
Chama Valley Indep. Schools school enrollment ranges from 40 students (lowest) to 134 students (highest), a spread of 94 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Chama Valley Indep. Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 99.5% 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). Eligibility here is a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding 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.
Chama Valley Indep. Schools student-counselor ratio is 235:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Chama Valley Indep. Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 6.4% — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Values this far below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
How many schools are in Chama Valley Indep. Schools?
Chama Valley Indep. Schools has 4 schools, including 3 combined, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 363 students.
How much does Chama Valley Indep. Schools spend per student?
Chama Valley Indep. Schools spends $17,669 per student. The district has an equity score of 76/100, ranking #12 in New Mexico.
What is the demographic composition of Chama Valley Indep. Schools?
Chama Valley Indep. Schools students are 87.3% Hispanic or Latino, 5.1% White, 2.1% Asian, 0.7% African American, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Chama Valley Indep. Schools?
Chama Valley Indep. Schools has an equity score of 76/100, ranking #12 out of 98 districts in New Mexico.