Big questions (Colorado Springs: to rent, how much, house) - City-Data Forum

heatherandlouis · 02-11-2011, 10:09 AM

Hi! We are planning on moving to Colorado Springs in April and are looking for a house to rent. I would love to rent a nice 3-4 bedroom home. We have been asdvised to live in the district 20 area. Is there a big difference in quality of schools in the school districts? What about district 49? I really appreciate the help!

smdensbcs · 02-11-2011, 11:23 AM

Forgive the generalization, but from what I've observed over the years the "quality" of schools in a neighborhood/district roughly parallels the quality of parents in said neighborhood/district. Teacher quality can be identical from "good" school to "bad" school, but what differentiates the two is whether parents are or are not invested in the process, educated themselves, capable of providing proper nutrition, yada, yada, yada. Obviously, socioeconomic factors play a big role in this.

District 20 seems to have overall "good" parents and therefore "good" kids and therefore "good" schools. Is it the only "good" district in town? Not by a longshot. Our family is in District 12 and its almost obscene how excellent the school-experience is compared to other schools my spouse has seen or worked where the socioeconomic factors work against the students rather than for them.

ladyjag45 · 02-11-2011, 11:23 AM

My family is also moving to Colorado Springs in June. I have been doing research about schools in the area and have asked questions on this site as well. My choices for schools are: Districts 12, 20, and 38. My sister in-law and her family lived in District 49 and worked hard to get their son in a school outside the district. From what I have heard on this board and otherwise, the school district has some problems with funding, etc. If you haven't already done so, go to greatschools.com and check out the ratings and especially the reviews made by parents and students. Of course, test scores are not the only criteria for choosing a good fit for your children, it is a valuable tool. Good luck with your choice.

Mary

heatherandlouis · 02-11-2011, 11:46 AM

Anyone have a great realtor or property management company to suggest? We are looking for a house. My husband will be visiting at the end of the month so I would love to be prepared.

Carrera32 · 02-11-2011, 01:13 PM

We just moved to CS about four months ago. We worked with a realtor for about 3 years before making the move. She put us on a computerized and personalized listing that focused on the neighborhoods we were interested in, price range, etc. PM me and I'll give you her name and contact info.

hollyt00 · 02-11-2011, 02:43 PM

I really like what smdensbcs says. I work in d49 and I'm pretty proud of how hard my fellow teachers work. I have worked in a private school as well, and really, when it comes down to it, it depends on how much parents and students will put into the school. A school can do A LOT to change things, but there needs to be a fundamental change in the attitude towards school.

I would look very closely to the after school activities a school may sponsor, their clubs, things like that- I was pretty surprised at how little the vaunted d20 school Air Academy had compared to Cheyenne Mountain SD.

bashep · 02-14-2011, 10:48 AM

There are some great schools in each district. There is alot of stuff going on w/ D-49 right now. But that district has some great teachers too. I would encourage you to go to greatschools.com and see what it says about the schools (as suggested earlier). Don't rule out charter schools either, there is some great one here in C/S too.

rksinco · 02-14-2011, 11:01 AM

I fully agree with what someone earlier said that the quality of schools is related to quality of parents. D49 gets a bad rep because of issues with the board. Our son goes to school in D49 and we have been very happy with the school itsself. I think that most schools in the district are good....problems are at the admin level. I teach in d38 and there are challenges there, too. EVERY district in the state has funding problems, and that is going to worsen in the next 1-2 years as properties are reassessed and thus property tax revenue will decrease. I wouldn't write off an entire district, but look closely at individual schools. Find the "best" district anywhere and there will be folks who curse it and those who love it. Same with the "worst".

heatherandlouis · 02-14-2011, 08:55 PM

Do the school districts charge for preschool programs? My kids will be in preschool this year and next. My son is on an IEP and my daughter is not. Anyone have experience with these programs? What is the birthday cut off for kindergarten?

hollyt00 · 02-14-2011, 09:15 PM

It is worth looking into for your son with the Colorado Preschool Program. My son had speech therapy and if he had qualified, he would have gotten it free (though honestly I had such a hard time understanding the details) at any rate, it's worth looking into for your son if he has an IEP. Your daughter I am pretty sure you will have to pay. My experience was with District 11, but it's a state program, so it likely will be the same if there is preschool offered everywhere.

Kindergarten is a cut off of October 4th.