For those who use the blanket statement that all Cherry Creek Schools are great (Denver: low income, rentals)

[outside1]

Denver metro districts enroll diversity - The Denver Post

It has been said before. The teachers and principle make the school, the schools make the district.

[maciesmom]

I read the article...where did it say anything against Cherry Creek schools? Granted, I just skimmed it quickly, but it seems to be addressing diversity and how schools are adapting - including Cherry Creek. I didn't see anything that indicated that Cherry Creek schools were or were not "great" just that they were having to make adjustments based on a more diverse population than they have had in the past. The fact that they are addressing the issue and making adjustments speaks well of them IMO (and I do not live in that district)...But, as I said, I skimmed quickly so maybe I missed it.

[Dorthy]

The article basically says that the Cherry Creek District is becoming more and more diverse (as are most districts in metro Denver). It doesn't say anything about it going downhill.

I agree that it doesn't make sense to make blanket statements about districts as they all have there good and bad schools. Check out the link to Great Schools. It shows a wide range of test scores for the Cherry Creek District.

Schools in Cherry Creek School District | GreatSchools (http://www.greatschools.org/colorado/greenwood-village/Cherry-Creek-School-District/schools/?p=1&pageSize=25 - broken link)

[outside1]

The article basically says that the Cherry Creek District is becoming more and more diverse (as are most districts in metro Denver). It doesn't say anything about it going downhill.[LEFT]

This same "diversity" is the sub-text of arguments against DPS made by lazy people looking to say a district is better than another, namely DPS. What they are really saying is that non-white equates to a lower educational score. Racist, lazy and untrue but a consistent reality on this forum regardless.

Q. Where should I move if schools are important?
A. 99 times out of 100. Cherry Creek has excellent schools!

Now that these outer 'burb schools are seeing an influx of ESL and lower income students similar to those that DPS experienced 30+ years ago it will be interesting to see how things fall out.
[/LEFT]

[maciesmom]

Well, it sounded to me like the districts were addressing the changes. Plus, the point was made that some of the influx was due to people leaving DPS out of dissatisfaction. Now, rightly or wrongly, any family who is willing to move to what they feel is a better district means they are most likely a family who values education. That is more significant than the ethnicity of the students and most likely those students will continue to do well.

[outside1]

Plus, the point was made that some of the influx was due to people leaving DPS out of dissatisfaction.

It does not say that at all. The closest the article comes to that statement is the vague statement The statistics suggest that some of the minority students in suburban districts might have left Denver to get there or chosen the suburb over Denver.

On the other hand the article DOES say:

"Kids are leaving because (their families) can't afford to be around here," said Pam Linan, Bryant-Webster's principal. "The neighborhood has become more expensive. It's difficult to find rentals that people can afford."

"It's affordability. Folks have been pushed out from areas like northeast Denver, the Cole and Whittier neighborhoods," said Matthew Barry of the Piton Foundation. "Northwest Denver, for sure, has changed."

What the article DOES say is that more white students than any other time are entering DPS which is also seeing more economic integration while the suburban districts are seeing a large influx of lower income english as a second language students. This same scenario took DPS a number of years to adjust to and was the main cause for many whites to label any school with low income or black and brown as bad and those with whites as good.

Now that the tables are turned and Cherry Creek is becoming the new low income minority district while the central core of Denver sees in influx of wealth it will be interesting to see how things play out.

[Dorthy]

Originally Posted by outside1

This same "diversity" is the sub-text of arguments against DPS made by lazy people looking to say a district is better than another, namely DPS. What they are really saying is that non-white equates to a lower educational score. Racist, lazy and untrue but a consistent reality on this forum regardless.

Q. Where should I move if schools are important?
A. 99 times out of 100. Cherry Creek has excellent schools!

Now that these outer 'burb schools are seeing an influx of ESL and lower income students similar to those that DPS experienced 30+ years ago it will be interesting to see how things fall out.
[/color][/left]

I hear what you are saying and I agree that it will be interesting to see how things pan in out in the future.

[the3Ds]

Originally Posted by outside1

Now that the tables are turned and Cherry Creek is becoming the new low income minority district while the central core of Denver sees in influx of wealth it will be interesting to see how things play out.

Give it a rest. Seriously. I don't get why people are so offended when someone within Cherry Creek School District recommends the district to someone who posts on C-D that they are looking for a good school district for their kids. If you think your school district is great, then by all means, recommend it and back your recommendation up with facts. Cherry Creek SD isn't an exclusive "club." The price range of most homes within the boundaries is the price of the average house in Denver. I could understand the hostility if you had to have a $750K house to send your kids here, but you don't. I just don't get the hostility or the constant trying to prove that Cherry Creek's reputation is somehow a lie. It's not. I am as involved as I possibly can be and attend one meeting after another for both my school and the district and have been constantly impressed with the efforts by everyone from the district board to the principals to the teachers to the parents to make improvements to our children's education.

I find it bizarre that you seem almost "giddy" at the prospect that Cherry Creek "has to take on minority students." Is it a good thing if the educational quality goes downhill for any students? I certainly don't think so. And I don't think it will because the people moving to these suburbs are doing so to get the heck out of a subpar educational system that has one of the worst dropout rates in the nation (DPS): http://www.dpsk12.org/departments/co...2008-04-02.pdf.

The article you posted was stating a fact that more and more minority parents are moving to the suburbs. What does that have to do with Cherry Creek? A child is a child and their brains work just the same as other kids, whether they have a different skin color or financial background. Cherry Creek EXPECT students to perform up to standards no matter their skin color and that is why I will post an article which is far more pertinent to whatever you thought your article was trying to prove.

http://www.cde.state.co.us/Communica...uationrate.pdf

This information was from last year (about the same time your article was written). It's from the Colorado Dept of Education and it specifically mentions Cherry Creek School District as one of the few in Colorado which has lessened the "achievement gap" between white and minority students.

In Cherry Creek Schools, 12.7 percent of the students in the class of 2007 were black. The graduation rate for black students in Cherry Creek increased each of the past two years—83.9 percent in 2005, 84.2 percent in 2006, and 85.6 percent in 2007. During this same period, Colorado’s black student graduation rate declined by over 8.5 percentage points. The graduation rate for black students in Cherry Creek in 2007 exceeded the state average for black students by over
30 percentage points.

BLACK STUDENTS GRADUATION RATES EXCEEDED THE STATE AVERAGE BY OVER 30% POINTS

I won't apologize for waving the flag for Cherry Creek School District. I am fully aware of the need for parental involvement as much as the student/teacher relationship. We moved to Denver 2 years ago without knowing a soul and my children's education was priority #1. I was going to find the best school district in the metro area, pinpoint an excellent school within that district and start becoming as involved as I could with my children's classrooms, PTO, district meetings, etc. I've done all of those things and I make no apologies for sharing my opinion with parents who were in my situation (moving to Denver and looking for good schools).

Cherry Creek IS an excellent school district. The people who move to our district with children get involved with their schools, they make sure their kids are doing what they're supposed to and we keep our communities as crime-free as possible. I spoke with the Arapahoe County Sheriff's office when I was working with them on our "Say No to Drugs Week" events and the policewoman said she loved this area because the neighbors CARE about what goes on in our neighborhoods. That transfers to our schools too and is another reason the recent bond/levy passed.

Not every kid who is in Cherry Creek SD will be a genius. Some will struggle and some will turn out to be complete losers. But, if you're a parent who's willing to work on the homework required, willing to participate in school activities and fundraisers and wants your child to get a great education, Cherry Creek SD is a great district to enroll your kids in.

It's easier to find a great school within a great district than it is to pinpoint the exact boundaries for a good school within a so-so district.

[Moonwalkr]

When someone asks on the forum which schools are good, I give my opinion based on my own observations. I always preface my remarks by saying one should visit the schools themselves to get an accurate assessment. I also mention that I can only speak for one school, which my kids attend, which happens to be in the Cherry Creek School District, but may not be representative of the district as an entirety. However, there have been people on the forum who misconstrue personal experience as something beyond that. So let me illustrate this logically: do I like my kids' school? Definitely! Is it a Cherry Creek School? Yes. Therefore I must love Cherry Creek district and all that it encompasses, correct?

[bhcompy]

I'd like to see the economic numbers rather than the racial numbers. CC is still a very expensive place to live compared to neighboring districts so I'm willing to bet those immigrants that live there are the self-starting types that went through years of legal red tape to immigrate and probably brought something with them, unlike the illegal type that punish public services in states to the south of Colorado.

I live next to educated Nigerian immigrants and they came here with enough cash to buy a house in an area with good schools while you can go down the street a mile and you have 2 bed apts packed to the brim with uneducated people and schools that rate about as poorly as you can get. Both groups are immigrant minorities, but there is an obvious difference between them economically and in how education is valued.