Juniper Ridge Community School

Mesa County Valley School District No. 51

Charter School 419 Students

Elementary School K - 8th

School Overview

Juniper Ridge Community School, located in Grand Junction, Colorado, is a public charter school that operates on the principles of **Waldorf education**. Serving students from kindergarten through eighth grade, the school emphasizes a holistic approach to learning that balances academic rigor with the development of the "head, heart, and hands." The curriculum is designed to be developmentally appropriate, focusing on creative arts, physical movement, and experiential learning alongside traditional subjects like mathematics, literacy, and science.

A defining feature of the school is its commitment to building a strong, collaborative community where parents, teachers, and students work closely together. Juniper Ridge places a high value on fostering students’ social-emotional growth, creativity, and connection to the natural world. By utilizing a looping model—where teachers often stay with the same group of students for multiple years—the school aims to build deep, long-term relationships that support both academic progress and the personal development of each child.

419

Total Students

28.0

Full-Time Teachers

15.0

Student/Teacher Ratio

51.8%

Free/Reduced Lunch

Student Demographics

Student Demographics Data Table

Student Demographics for Juniper Ridge Community School
Demographic	Student Count
White	336
Hispanic	52
Black	1
Two or More	26
American Indian	4

White
336 (80.2 %)
Hispanic
52 (12.4 %)
Two or More
26 (6.2 %)
American Indian
4 (1.0 %)
Black
1 (0.2 %)

School Location

School Details

Status:	Open
School Level:	Elementary School
School Type:	Regular School
Charter Status:*	Charter School
Virtual Instruction:	No virtual instruction
Shared Time Status:	No
District:	Mesa County Valley School District No. 51
Phone:	(970)639-0884
Grade Range:	K - 8th
Total Students:	419
Full-Time Teachers (FTE):	28.0
Pupil/Teacher Ratio:	15.0
NSLP Participation:¹	Yes participating without using any Provision or the CEO
Qualified Free Lunch:	185
Qualified Reduced Lunch:	32

* Charter Schools: A public charter school is a publicly funded school that operates independently under a legislative contract (or "charter") with a state, school district, or designated authorizing entity. Charters grant these schools greater operational flexibility over curriculum, staffing, and budgeting in exchange for strict accountability to achieve performance standards established in their charter agreement.

¹ National School Lunch Program (NSLP): The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to eligible children each school day based on household income thresholds or community eligibility options (CEO).

Title I Program Overview: Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) allocates federal financial assistance to local educational agencies and public schools with high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards.

Grades Taught

Kindergarten 56

Grade 1 53

Grade 2 51

Grade 3 52

Grade 4 43

Grade 5 50

Grade 6 42

Grade 7 38

Grade 8 34