West Las Vegas

The West Las Vegas school district in New Mexico serves 10 schools, including 5 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 2 high schools. While the district as a whole faces significant challenges related to low academic performance and high rates of economic disadvantage, a few individual schools stand out as bright spots in the area.

Tony Serna Junior Elementary is the top-performing school in the district, with 43% proficiency in language arts and 21% in math, outpacing the district and state averages. Valley Middle is another high-achieving school, ranking 118 out of 239 New Mexico middle schools and earning a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger. Meanwhile, Wlv Family Partnership, a small high school with just 32 students, maintains a strong 76.7% four-year graduation rate.

However, the majority of West Las Vegas schools struggle with low academic performance, with proficiency rates ranging from 4-45% across language arts, math, and science. This is likely exacerbated by the extremely high rates of free and reduced-price lunch recipients, which indicate substantial economic disadvantages faced by the student population. The district as a whole is ranked 109 out of 119 in New Mexico by SchoolDigger. While the challenges are significant, the success of a few individual schools suggests there may be opportunities to learn from their practices and strategies to help improve outcomes across the West Las Vegas district.