20 year kindergarten teacher in Arizona looking for a good district in Colorado (Colorado Springs: school districts)

[galvatron]

We are looking to move to Colorado in a month and a half. My wife is a 20 year kindergarten teacher in Arizona with 2 master degrees one in early education and the other in counseling. She is looking for a good district to teach for and also looking for a good safe town to live in. We are driving up there next Thursday to check out some towns. Will will be up there till Sunday. We have never been to Colorado before so does anyone have any suggestions on what towns to look at and maybe know what districts are hiring. I own my own carpet cleaning business and need to be somewhere where i can stay busy. i dont mind driving to far for work. My wife has done all of her application stuff with Colorado department of education she is just waiting for them to review everything but they said she is good to go to start applying for districts.

[otowi]

Check School District 11 in Colorado Springs website for openings - updated weekly.

[TCHP]

Giving up on the mountain town prospect already?

We are at a point in the year where most school districts are going to be looking at next year budgets and teacher hiring, so nearly anywhere. We are full of good districts and safe towns. We need you to put up a few more definitions of what you picture life in Colorado looking like to help us help you narrow the search.

Lets start with town vs city. You've repeatedly said town, what population does that consist of in your mind? You obviously need enough population for carpet cleaning. What are some other features do you require for your residence; sports, art, museums, outdoor activities, indoor activities, shopping, likes, dislikes, politics, etc?

Being you're from Arizona, the dry and heat probably aren't a big concern. That is often a shock for people from lower, more humid climates. For a starter, I'd recommend you read this thread; Fantasy vs. Reality- Our First CO Trip- Questions/ Observations . These people wanted dearly to love Colorado, did a whiz bang tour of several places over a few days, much like you are considering, and then reported on their perceptions. If we still have you after that, consider what added data points you want to give us and then post back.

[galvatron]

Coming from Arizona we are use to the dry hear in the months of May and October but the summer months when it gets to 115 or higher, it is unbearable. I am looking for a big city with small towns surrounding. I love mountains, lots of rain, I love to ride my bike, and I love big pine trees, lakes, and something similar to Pinetop, Arizona. If you look at the scenery in Pinetop, that is what we are looking for. Thank you.

[NW Crow]

Evergreen / Conifer and Woodland Park have some similarity to Pinetop AZ landscape. But as I said in your earlier thread you need to be willing to deal with a lot of snow up there. Down lower on the front range, you could consider bigger places like Littleton, Louisville, Loveland, Castle Rock or outside them. You aren't in the mountains but you are reasonably close. Golden is sorta in-between the flats and the mountains. If you consider Colorado Springs area you could look at Monument and the Black Forest (for pine trees, albeit with a lot of burned ones). These last places get heavier than normal snow despite being on the flats. If you want to look at small mountain adjacent towns on front range, check out Bellvue, Lyons, Roxborough Park, Sedalia and Idaho Springs. Not knowing your preferred town size range and housing budget makes for lots of guessing. Most people won't bother without this guidance.