Opinions on Cherry Creek High School (Denver, Castle Rock: house, transfer, neighborhood)

[Frazzledmomofboys]

HI to all. I have read through hundreds of posts here on schools (thanks to all that posted), and still feel like I haven't come across solid feedback on Cherry Creek High School. Our Denver house hunting trip is in two weeks. I have detailed information on the academics, and they seem very solid. My concerns are

the size of the school (has anyone had a kid there who just got lost in the shuffle?)
the sports program (is it true that if they are not the absolute best in a sport, they won't play)
and what happens to kids that either are average academically or even below average and need help (everything I have read talks about how great their program is for above average students).

My kids are only 10 and 8, so its really hard to project out and know how they will handle a school that size. The only thing I do know is that they are solid students now, and I think they will be heartbroken if they didn't get to play a sport or two in high school.

I appreciate any thoughts, good or bad. Even if you didn't have a student there, but know of people who did, please let me know their experience.

[BillRadio]

I am facing the same time line you are but I live in the district.

Originally Posted by dawnburke

My concerns are
the size of the school (has anyone had a kid there who just got lost in the shuffle?)

All Cherry Creek high schools are larger than I'd like, but they all excel regardless. Nobody has mentioned this as an issue.

the sports program (is it true that if they are not the absolute best in a sport, they won't play)

I haven't heard this. I have heard of students who transferred to CCHS from a smaller school to have a better sports opportunity.

and what happens to kids that either are average academically or even below average and need help

I think this is where the school's size helps. There are more teachers available to students who need help in specific areas. A student weak in one subject can get extra help that isn't available elsewhere.

Many students in my neighborhood switched to CCHS due to greater opportunities than those from their closer school. They never regretted that decision.

[formercalifornian]

I live in a district that feeds to Cherry Creek High School, and my elementary schoolers play soccer in a rec league. There is a tremendous amount of pressure on these kids to be the best even at a young age. It's really concerning me that my daughter who loves playing, but is not a prodigy by any stretch of imagination, is already worried that she will be locked out of the high school team because she's not good enough. She's not even ten-years-old yet! I'm not sure where she's getting this stuff, but it disgusts my husband and me! When I've gently brought up the subject with other parents, they whisper in agreement, but it doesn't stop them from signing their kids up for every available clinic.

Is it true that average players won't be able to qualify for the high school teams? Who knows, but it is certainly the perception, and it drives parents to allow their children to specialize at an insanely early age. Sports medicine specialists have thriving practices around here.

My advice: proceed cautiously if you're considering moving to this area and your kids want to play on the high school team. That said, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that there are many active rec leagues around here for all sorts of sports, and I strongly encourage you to check them out. Some teams are more competitive than others, so with a little legwork, it's likely that you'll be able to find a good fit for your children's abilities.

Also, I want to say that despite the pressure these kids are putting on themselves, I've found our team parents to be supportive of all players regardless of ability. I have never seen parents harass or disparage players who have limited skills, and I would know, because my daughter is our team's weakest link. The coach plays her in every game, in a position that allows her to contribute at her level. And even when she's screwed up, other players and parents have taken the time to encourage her. I'm proud of their good sportsmanship, and I see similar support from parents and coaches of other teams.

As far as academics: we moved from Douglas County schools (Castle Rock) to Cherry Creek schools. I'm extremely impressed with the academics here at Willow Creek. I was very happy with the academics in our old neighborhood, but our personal experience with Cherry Creek has just blown Douglas County out of the water. I am so glad we moved here!

[Katiana]

Thanks for reading all the threads (or most of them) before posting. It makes it possible to ask more appropriate questions. My kids didn't go to CCHS, but competed against them in gymnastics. Some years, they had one of the best teams, some years not. Because CCHS is one of the biggest, if not THE biggest HS in the state, they tend to have lots of top-rated teams.

[formercalifornian]

I need to add a caveat to my previous post, because I don't want to get yelled at for generalizaing about the quality of different school districts. My statements reflect my family's experience with one particular Douglas County elementary school and one particular Arapahoe County elementary school. Your experiences may vary.

[TeamFoster]

My kids went to LPS schools so they competed with Cherry Creek. It was my understanding that (at least with the sports we were involved in) that there were several soccer or swimteams. For instance the "A" swim team swam against 5A schools. The B and C teams swam against other schools more inline with their abilities. The same applied to Soccer. I don't know if it's that way anymore. I guess it would depend on the attitude of the coaches as to how the kids on the C or D teams are treated. We chose the smaller (in comparison) LPS schools because two of my kids would have gotten lost in a school that size. The third would have been "king of the hill" regardless.