There were 137 Black students enrolled in Mesa County in the 2024-25 school year, 19.1% more than the previous year, according to the Colorado Department of Education.
Data showed that Mesa County welcomed 21,141 students during the 2024-25 school year. Among them, Black students comprised 0.6% of the student body to be the third least represented ethnicity in the county.
Among the 50 schools in Mesa County, Grand Junction High School recorded the highest enrollment of Black students in the 2024-25 school year, with a total of 19 students.
Colorado’s K–12 enrollment has gradually declined each year since the pandemic, with about 3–4% fewer students in 2024 than the state’s peak enrollment in 2019.
The declines are concentrated in the early grades and certain rural areas, while some metro districts are holding steady or growing. Lower birth rates and pandemic disruptions are driving the trend. Colorado’s public schools are now serving the smallest number of students in a decade, a shift that has implications for funding and planning even as per-pupil resources increase to compensate.
Colorado’s teacher workforce faces persistent shortages and pay challenges. In the 2023–24 school year, nearly 7,000 teaching positions were vacant statewide at some point. Districts managed to fill only about 75% of those openings with fully qualified hires, leaving many to be filled by short-term substitutes, retirees, or emergency credentials for the rest, while 9% remained unfilled for the entire school year.
| School name | % Black Students | Black Student Enrollment | Total Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Mesa High School | 21.8% | 12 | 55 |
| Career Center Preschool | 1.9% | 1 | 53 |
| Caprock Academy | 1.6% | 14 | 871 |
| New Emerson School at Columbus | 1.4% | 2 | 138 |
| Pomona Elementary School | 1.3% | 5 | 395 |
| West Middle School | 1.3% | 6 | 468 |
| Thunder Mountain Elementary School | 1.2% | 5 | 432 |
| Nisley Elementary School | 1.2% | 4 | 346 |
| De Beque PK-12 School District 49JT | 1.1% | 2 | 181 |
| Chipeta Elementary School | 1.1% | 4 | 364 |
| Chatfield Elementary School | 1.1% | 4 | 371 |
| Broadway Elementary School | 1% | 3 | 300 |
| R-5 High School | 1% | 2 | 207 |
| Rim Rock Elementary School | 1% | 3 | 292 |
| Grand Junction High School | 1% | 19 | 1,834 |
| Bookcliff Middle School | 1% | 5 | 525 |
| Mount Garfield Middle School | 0.9% | 5 | 569 |
| Palisade High School | 0.8% | 9 | 1,076 |
| Redlands Middle School | 0.6% | 4 | 632 |
| Grand Mesa Middle School | 0.6% | 3 | 476 |
| Wingate Elementary School | 0.6% | 2 | 363 |
| Dual Immersion Academy School | 0.6% | 2 | 310 |
| Rocky Mountain Elementary School | 0.5% | 2 | 395 |
| Tope Elementary School | 0.5% | 2 | 370 |
| Central High School | 0.4% | 6 | 1,352 |
| Scenic Elementary School | 0.4% | 1 | 243 |
| Orchard Avenue Elementary School | 0.3% | 1 | 319 |
| Clifton Elementary School | 0.3% | 1 | 346 |
| Fruita Middle School | 0.3% | 2 | 691 |
| Monument Ridge Elementary School | 0.3% | 1 | 300 |
| Fruitvale Elementary School | 0.3% | 1 | 358 |
| Fruita Monument High School | 0.2% | 3 | 1,434 |
| Pear Park Elementary School | 0.2% | 1 | 428 |
