Affluent suburb with top schools 30 minutes from Englewood? (Denver, Greenwood Village: cliquey, houses)

[jjinla]

We're considering moving to CO from NY for a job, but are concerned about schools foremost. We are lucky enough to be in one of the top districts in the country, and my son with severe ADHD gets what I think is great support...albeit at a huge premium. We have 2 other kids...1 that is most likely going to test gifted, so the ideal district would excel at both gifted and special education.

We are looking for what is most universally accepted as the top district that has 9's and 10's all the way from elementary through high school in a somewhat affluent area. A neighborhood with some character vs. Houses that all look the same, lots of families, and a commute of about 30 minutes to Englewood would round out the picture. We definitely do not want to be in an urban district.

Thanks for your help.

[dj32]

Cherry Hills Village Elementary or Greenwood Elementary
Neighborhoods around it that would be very social and family and not cookie cutter would be:
Cherry Hills East, North and Southmoor Vista, also Cherryridge and Cherrydale.

[jjinla]

Thanks. I read the parent reviews on Greatschools and saw a ton of negative reviews from people saying that it was cliquey and snobby, but it sounds like most of the people making these comments transferred from out of district. Does anyone that actually lives there have anything to chime in? People from the outside say that where we are now in NY is snobby, and anything could be further from the truth.

We aren't pretentious or stuck up, but do well enough to live where we want. We don't want a pressure cooker environment, but do want to be surrounded by well educated and involved parents.

I should add that we'd be looking to stay under $1M. When I Googled homes in Cherry Creek, everything is in the multi millions. I thought CO was cheaper!

[2bindenver]

Englewood is a city and a mailing address. Can you get a little more cross street specific?

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by jjinla

When I Googled homes in Cherry Creek

Cherry Creek School District or Cheery Creek neighborhood in Denver?

[jjinla]

The neighborhood. Specifically, Cherry Creek east. Those homes were all outrageous.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by jjinla

The neighborhood. Specifically, Cherry Creek east. Those homes were all outrageous.

The Cherry Creek neighborhood of Denver (which is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the entire city) is in Denver Public Schools, not Cherry Creek Schools. Here is the district boundary map of Cherry Creek Schools (a district which covers many different cities and unincorporated areas, though all are within Arapahoe County). You want to be within these boundaries:

http://www.cherrycreekschools.org/Pl...rict%20Map.pdf.

My suggestion for you, since you want "affluent," but under $1m would be to start searching for homes in Greenwood Village, then expand outward from there. Homes in Greenwood Village typically range from $400-800k. Nearby Centennial is a little bit less expensive, typically in the $300k-$500k range.

[davidv]

Greenwood Village sounds a lot like what you are looking for. There are more elementary schools than just Greenwood and Cherry Hills. Those two schools are in the wealthier area of GV (kids are from homes that cost $1m+). The east side of I-25 is still wealthy, but less pretentious. Try areas that feed into Cottonwood Creek, High Plains, and Belleview Elementary Schools. Homes in these areas range from $400k - $800k.

Both Middle Schools in the area (West MS and Campus MS) are National Blue Ribbon Schools as is Cherry Creek HS. Cherry Creek HS is well-regarded with a national reputation. It is one of the best traditional enrollment schools (non-charter, non-magnet) in the state, region and country. The average ACT score (using ACT because all CO HS students take the ACT) is above 25.

[jjinla]

Great, thanks for the tips, I'll look a bit closer at those areas.