Good Public School Districts

[steveindenver]

IMO the best schools are in Jeffco.

Jeffco is the largest district in the state, they also have some major funding problems as voters have refused their latest efforts to raise additional money. This likely demonstrates the changing demographics, i.e. aging of the district as a whole.

Two schools that come to mind:Bromwell Elementary and East High School.

Don't forget the nationally ranked IB program at George Washington.

DPS had a tough time of it from the 60's through the 90's. Population changes, white flight to be specific radically changed the demographics. The district has improved greatly but remains very top heavy in terms of administration to teacher ratio.

The reality is all districts have good and bad schools, all schools have good and bad teachers and some kids have good and some kids have bad parents. It takes parental involvement to educate a child well -- and educational greatness begins and ends at home. Schools are not daycare facilities.

Off track but interesting is the fact that the fear of Denver performing further "land grab" annexations into the suburbs for the purposes of improving school performance lead to an amendment to the Colorado Constitution in 1976 (?) that required all residents of an affected county must approve the annexation before any portion of their county could be annexed. This in effect solidified the boundaries of Denver City and County proper forever.

[KateG7669]

Originally Posted by Shino306

Cherry Creek Schools, Littleton Schools, Douglas County schools. Those are what come to mind first as being "good" school districts, however everyone has their own opinion on what "good" entails.
As a whole, as I'm sure there's exceptions, DPS is not known for having outstanding schools, but that's generally the case with urban areas vs. the suburbs.

I am going to have to agree with you, I have heard nothing but good things about the Cherry Creek Schools. There are also a lot of really good private schools in that area but it all depends on what exactly you are looking for! Good Luck!

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by steveindenver

ct as a whole.

Don't forget the nationally ranked IB program at George Washington.

My older son graduated from George.
He began in IB, but did not yet have the maturity to handle the workload, so finished out his high school years with the regular kids.
GW is a fine school.
I have posted all this stuff before; I guess I just don't want to sound like a broken record to the board regulars, which I probably already do.

Steve, I did not know that about the Jeffco funding problems, but I definitely have heard what you say about DPS' top-heavy administrative staff.

I lived through the desegregation stuff. I voluntarily bused to East.
It was an interesting time. I guess we all, parents and kids, learned a lot from it, along with our curriculum.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by steveindenver

Jeffco is the largest district in the state, they also have some major funding problems as voters have refused their latest efforts to raise additional money. This likely demonstrates the changing demographics, i.e. aging of the district as a whole.

<snip>

Off track but interesting is the fact that the fear of Denver performing further "land grab" annexations into the suburbs for the purposes of improving school performance lead to an amendment to the Colorado Constitution in 1976 (?) that required all residents of an affected county must approve the annexation before any portion of their county could be annexed. This in effect solidified the boundaries of Denver City and County proper forever.

I beieve it has been Douglas County more recently that has turned down funding votes.

You were close, It was 1974, the Poundstone Amendment.
This article has a good paragraph on it.

Greenwood Village Official Website! (http://www.greenwoodvillage.com/index.aspx?NID=513 - broken link)

[chilicheesefries]

Originally Posted by Katiana

I beieve it has been Douglas County more recently that has turned down funding votes.

You were close, It was 1974, the Poundstone Amendment.
This article has a good paragraph on it.

Greenwood Village Official Website! (http://www.greenwoodvillage.com/index.aspx?NID=513 - broken link)

I personally don't buy the argument that because voters turned down funding that the school district isn't good or that the voters don't care, especially if it's an already well-funded district. While it can certainly provide better facilities, materials, etc., more isn't always better.

The Poundstone amendment has certainly done what it was intended to do. It should be noted that the annexation of DIA and the DIA Gateway had to be approved by Adams County for that very reason. Also it seems Broomfield would have required votes from Jefferson, Adams, Weld and Boulder counties as well when it became a county.

[chilicheesefries]

Originally Posted by yodi

I agree that "good schools" is much more subjective then any test score can tell us. IMO the best schools are in Jeffco. They have some excellent charter options.

Regarding charter schools - I'm curious how they work. I hear good and bad things. Does anybody have experience with them? Does the student get a diploma that says 'xxxx Charter School' or is it attached to one of the regular high schools (for high school level or course)?

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by chilicheesefries

I personally don't buy the argument that because voters turned down funding that the school district isn't good or that the voters don't care, especially if it's an already well-funded district. While it can certainly provide better facilities, materials, etc., more isn't always better.

The Poundstone amendment has certainly done what it was intended to do. It should be noted that the annexation of DIA and the DIA Gateway had to be approved by Adams County for that very reason. Also it seems Broomfield would have required votes from Jefferson, Adams, Weld and Boulder counties as well when it became a county.

The entire state had to vote when Broomfield decided to become a city-county.

[chilicheesefries]

Originally Posted by Katiana

The entire state had to vote when Broomfield decided to become a city-county.

You're right - since it required an amendment to the Colorado constitution.

[Dorthy]

Originally Posted by chilicheesefries

Regarding charter schools - I'm curious how they work. I hear good and bad things. Does anybody have experience with them? Does the student get a diploma that says 'xxxx Charter School' or is it attached to one of the regular high schools (for high school level or course)?

Some charter schools are good and others are not. The ones that I like in Jeffco have been around for a long time and have excellent reputations and because of that they would be hard to get into even if we lived next door to one. I once worked with a charter school in another state and it was HORRIBLE. I felt so bad for the students there.

Students get a regular diploma for attending.

Closing the Achievement Gap . Charter School FAQ | PBS

> What is a charter school?
A charter school is an independent public school that operates independently of the district board of education. In effect, a charter school is a one-school public school district. A group of people — educators, parents, community leaders, educational entrepreneurs or others — write the charter plan describing the school's guiding principles, governance structure, and applicable accountability measures. If the state approves the charter, the state funds the charter on a per pupil basis. In most cases charter schools operate under a clear agreement between the state and the school: increased autonomy in exchange for increased accountability. Because they are schools of choice, they are held to the highest level of accountability

[Katarina Witt]

In Colorado, charter schools are supposed to provide something "different" from the regualar public schools. This link give a brief overview of that; search the DOE site for more information.

Colorado Charter Schools Introduction (http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:tYwybLOWIe0J:www.cde.state.co.us/cdechart/chintro.htm+colorado+charter+school+law&cd=2&hl=en &ct=clnk&gl=us - broken link)

In reality, most charter elementary schools in CO are either Montessori or Core Knowledge. Some of the high schools do offer innovative stuff, like the Denver School for Performing Arts, etc.