husband being transferred to Commerce City, Q's about Denver Area... (Arvada: rent, low crime)

[ebeth79]

My husband will be transferred to Commerce City effective immediately. I will stay behind until the end of school here and then meet him with our kids this summer. I would like to know opinions from some of you who are local to the Denver area about the school districts and good/safe places to live. I do not think we'll want to stay in Commerce City. I have a background in Public Relations/Marketing/Communications and will probably have an easier time finding employment in Denver. However, we will need to live someplace that is an easy commute for both of us.

Also our children are 13 and 6 (will be 14 & 7 by the start of school). They have always attended private schools in the past, but after the move they will have to attend public schools. I am terrified of just dropping them into a school district with no knowledge other than what I can glean off internet searches. In your opinions, what are the best school districts around the Denver area?

Thanks in advance for you feedback. Anxious about moving!

[David Aguilar]

Originally Posted by ebeth79

My husband will be transferred to Commerce City effective immediately. I will stay behind until the end of school here and then meet him with our kids this summer. I would like to know opinions from some of you who are local to the Denver area about the school districts and good/safe places to live. I do not think we'll want to stay in Commerce City. I have a background in Public Relations/Marketing/Communications and will probably have an easier time finding employment in Denver. However, we will need to live someplace that is an easy commute for both of us.

Also our children are 13 and 6 (will be 14 & 7 by the start of school). They have always attended private schools in the past, but after the move they will have to attend public schools. I am terrified of just dropping them into a school district with no knowledge other than what I can glean off internet searches. In your opinions, what are the best school districts around the Denver area?

Thanks in advance for you feedback. Anxious about moving!

Price range?

[ebeth79]

unfortunately low... under $220K.

And, as an insight into my kids they will be in 9th and 1st grades. Good schools are more important to me than anything else and low crime are more important to me than anything else. My kids have always been in private/Catholic schools, but from my internet searches the costs of these schools in Denver will be double what we are paying here so know they will be in public schools once we move.

[bhcompy]

Brighton will probably have stuff in your range and has decent enough schools(testscore wise. my coworker moved there with her daughter and has been very happy), but looking at a map seems farther than I thought. I dunno where else on that side of town to suggest though, and I think your price range limits you when you're looking at neighborhoods closeby with good schools. Others know a lot more about that area here. I only looked at it cursorily in my search as my wifes job is on the other side of town

[Katiana]

You might try looking at Thornton.

[yodi]

Check out Arvada. It has a lot of positive things going for including good schools and affordable homes.

[Osito]

Or Northglenn.

For schools, check out the Adams County Five Star School District and the schools associated with it. I hope this helps.

[Kelfly1]

You should be able to find something in your price range in Adams County district 12 (also referred to has Adams 12, 5 star schools as mentioned in the above post). Look in the areas that feed into Horizon High School, Legacy High School, or Mountain Range (they would have the 'newer' homes). This would also be a fairly easy commute to Commerce City. These would probably be in the city limits of Thornton, Northglenn, and Broomfield. There are also parts in north Thornton which are not in district 12, but you can actually see the district 12 high school from the neighborhood. They get bussed to new schools in the Brighton district, but those schools should also be good.

[the3Ds]

Originally Posted by ebeth79

My husband will be transferred to Commerce City effective immediately. I will stay behind until the end of school here and then meet him with our kids this summer. I would like to know opinions from some of you who are local to the Denver area about the school districts and good/safe places to live. I do not think we'll want to stay in Commerce City. I have a background in Public Relations/Marketing/Communications and will probably have an easier time finding employment in Denver. However, we will need to live someplace that is an easy commute for both of us.

Also our children are 13 and 6 (will be 14 & 7 by the start of school). They have always attended private schools in the past, but after the move they will have to attend public schools. I am terrified of just dropping them into a school district with no knowledge other than what I can glean off internet searches. In your opinions, what are the best school districts around the Denver area?

Thanks in advance for you feedback. Anxious about moving!

Looks like you're moving from Arkansas. We here on this site like to quibble ad nauseum over school districts (I participate and wave the flag for the Cherry Creek School District), but in reality, the entire state of Colorado is a fairly educated one and therefore the education your kids will get will be fairly good. Now, that's not to say to just "drop" them anywhere...there are a lot of factors that go into your child's education...their friends, the school environment, etc. That's where you will want to look carefully. Your kids are not going to learn squat if they are worried about gang fights.

By the way, I put a lot of faith in SAT scores. My children aren't going to necessarily live in Colorado and so the CSAPs don't count for much in my opinion. If they decide to go off to college, they are going to be competing for entry with kids from other states. Sure, there are a lot of factors about SATs that some consider it meaningless. For me, it gives a fairly good account of what your kid learned. According to the 2008 School Board statistics which rank states by SAT scores, Colorado came in at #17. Arkansas came in at #13. I find it interesting that of the top 10 states, less than 8% of high school seniors took the test. In Iowa (which ranked #1), only 3% participated. Colorado had by far the highest participation rate at 21% and still managed to find themselves in the top 20. The next highest in the top 20 was Tennessee at 11%. This can be dissected all you want, but it tells me 2 things: More kids from Colorado intend to continue their education to college level and of those kids going to college, their knowledge level ranks high compared to the rest of the US. Here's the link to that website: SAT Scores - Google Docs.

My only advice (since we moved here less than 2 years ago after my husband got a job) for those who are coming to Denver without any prior knowledge (and likely no one to ask) about the area. Rent first. This will help you find a good area, watch the local news so you can see for yourself what kind of crimes happen where, commute, live here during all 4 seasons...summer here is vastly different (tornado warnings) than winter (snow removal...or not) and send your kids to school. The worst thing in the world would be to find an area you think you like, buy a house (which you won't be able to sell again in any haste) and find out that your kids school is overly focused on their CSAP scores OR sports, or has a serious drug or teenage pregnancy problem. New housing areas do not necessarily equal ideal places to live. Older developments MAY offer you more of what you are looking for. Only renting will give you the opportunity to get your feet wet without committing to a house and a mortgage.

[Katiana]

I agree with the above post, especially the part about renting. I would add, take lots of "Sunday drives". Get to know the metro area. Get a feel for driving distances from place to place.