Good schools in Boulder Valley School District

[Katarina Witt]

I mean, how different is school that ranked a 10 from a school that ranked an 8 or a 9. I detest these ratings, and know only too well how misleading they can be.
Thanks again for all the information - it has been extremely helpful.

First, you're welcome. Secondly, you're right that there's not a lot of difference between an 8, 9, and 10. I'll reiterate that I think you could start with the neighborhood school. Most of these schools have before/after care right at the school, so the distance to work wouldn't be much of a problem.

[unbrand]

Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) is one of the two best districts in the State of Colorado, along with the Cherry Creek School District in Denver. Overall, BVSD is better that most of the school districts in the city of Denver.

Among several schools in BVSD, you may be able to find the school ratings from Boulder Valley School District - Home Page ; get to the school accountability reports.

As for the high school, Fairview High has been known to be the best, its archrival Boulder High used to be the close second. Monarch High in Louisville (covering Superior kids as well) is also an excellent school. Bear Creek Elementary has been known to be the best. This is based on the overall perception among people in the area. It will depend on your appetite and priority and will be hard to pinpoint the difference in terms of rating and points system. It's like trying to see the difference between Harvard and Yale.

Some parents with good experience at Boulder High will say it is better than Fairview. Some say the opposite.

[Katarina Witt]

This is based on the overall perception among people in the area. It will depend on your appetite and priority and will be hard to pinpoint the difference in terms of rating and points system. It's like trying to see the difference between Harvard and Yale.

It also depends on who you talk to. I'll reiterate: there is no one "best" school. I wouldn't even think about high school. Your son is 6, going into 1st or 2nd grade, I assume? The high school my kids went to, Monarch, was a figment of the imagination at that point in time in their educations. The need for a new high school had not even come up.

[bouldergranola]

Katiana/Pittnurse: I really wish you would stop saying there is no "best school." When was the last time your children were actually in grade school?

As a mom of three school-aged children, I can tell you some schools in BVSD are certainly better than others for various reasons and, though the standard is somewhat subjective, there are schools in BVSD that are generally considered "the best" among PARENTS.

We prefer small schools (and small class sizes) with challenging curriculums. Consequently, our children attend Bear Creek, and have a class size of 20 students, instead of attending our neighborhood school, which has a class size of 29 students. A lot of BC students are there through OE and some people come from as far away as Jamestown and Nederland to attend. Bear Creek is one of those "Best Among Parents" schools.

I think the best predictor of a "good school" is the community. By and large, the good BVSD schools have A LOT of parental involvement. Look for those types of schools and go from there. You can easily glean information about the community from newsletters, which are usually available on the school's website.

Instead of CSAP, check out the School Accountability Reports available at School Accountability Report - School Search (http://reportcard.cde.state.co.us/reportcard/CommandHandler.jsp - broken link)
Look at things like "Student Enrollment Stability" and "Professional Experience of Teachers," which I think are both good indicators of school stability.

Sorry, I can't provide any info about Superior/Louisville schools. The people we know who live in Louisville send their kids to Boulder schools. We had a friend who left BC for Coal Creek because it was closer to her Lafayette home and she thought it was a good fit for her children, but she commented there wasn't a whole lot of community involvement at CC. In contrast, Bear regularly collects donations for EFAA and Boulder Homeless Shelter, in addition to lots of other community projects.

[Katarina Witt]

It has been about ten years since I had a child in elementary school. However, I chair a schools commtte for the League of Women Voters of Bouloer Valley, though I have to state here that I am speaking for myself. But I am not "out of it" as you seem to think I am.

Your post acutally verifies a lot of what I said. YOU prefer a certain type of school. Other people prefer other things, or I should say, find other things a higher priority. My kids actually went to Coal Creek which did a lot of community service at the time. I know they have a new pricipal now, so things may be different. But the point is, community service is not just being done at Bear Creek, it is being done at many schools all over the district.

Many people send their kid to the "best" school, only to find out that's not what is best for their kid. Perhaps the kid needs something the school doesn't have. On a different thread in a different forum this issue came up. Someone stated that these "best" schools do not always meet the needs of kids marching to the beat of a different drummer.

BVSD has 55 schools: 29 elementary, 10 middle, 10 high, four K-8, one K-12 and one 6-12. Do you really think you can pick the "best" one out of these. For a parent of an elementary age kid, there are 34 total schools to consider. And one is "best"? For all kids? I don't think so.

Most of the people in my neighborhood send their kids to the neighborhood schools and are very happy with them.

[TreesWalking]

Meturtle,
I am a lawyer and real estate broker who happens to be working with another family on an open enrollment issue in BVSD right now. OE continues to present challenges for parents in the district and competition has increased for some schools. [mod cut]