Colorado springs relocation (Denver, Pueblo, Fleming: real estate, cliquey, how much)

[newtolou]

Hello all,
I have two options for a job transfer and am considering Boise Idaho and Colorado springs, CO.
I'm interested in any information about Colorado springs.

I road and gravel cycle
I canoe
I backpack/hike

What kind of opportunities are there for these activities that are within 20 minutes of city center?

How are the schools? I'm interested in school districts 12, 20 and 38.

I.e. are schools overcrowded?
How are the academics?
How much competition is there in school athletics?

Thanks in advance

[otowi]

There are bike lanes all over the city and mountain biking all over the hiking trails generally to the West of town but also in town. Canoeing - not so much. Look at Alltrails for an idea of hiking/biking -very popular activity here.

You listed the districts with highest online ratings which typically means higher socioeconomic status. They're getting ready to build a new high school in D38. I haven't heard anything in particular about them being overcrowded in those particular districts, but individual schools might be here and there. D12's high school just had a nice expansion. Academics are probably best in D12 then D20 then D38, but that varies by school. D12 is a one high school district and can be kind of cliquey so not necessarily for everyone. Sports tend to be very competitive - lots of state championships particularly in D20 I think. D12 has great swimming and tennis but can hardly field a football team. So if you care about a particular sport, you'll want to do some research about individual school programs.

[newtolou]

Thank you for the information.

[TCHP]

Biking access on road, dirt, gravel is all over the city. Canoe or SUP will be limited to Quail Lake and Prospect Lake within the city limits. Further up I25 towards the Tri-Lakes area, you might also have some access, but I'm really unfamiliar with what they do or don't allow on those lakes. You'll have to travel at least to Pueblo to hit any bigger water. Hiking and backpacking again, readily available, easily accessible from nearly anyplace, but predominately on the west side of I-25.

District 12, 20, and 38 do rate the best academically in most online resources. D12 had been a top ten performing district in the state for at least 40 years. D20 has been for about the last 20-25. D38 has been climbing up that ramp for the last 10-15.

As otowi states, these districts all have the highest socio-economic status in the region. Academically they are all decent and I'd agree again with otowi's ranking of them. D12 has a 100 year history of extremely affluent students. Its only in the last 30 years their student base has expanded to include more middle class families with the growing south-west parts of the city. D20 was predominately Air Force military and civilian support families until he 1980s when upper middle class families began to grow the fringe of the district. It has since become a solidly middle class area as it has infilled. D38 was all farmers and ranchers until this century when ever increasingly expensive real estate development in the district began attracting upper middle class and affluent families who may be commuting to Denver.

Athletically these three are very mixed.

D12 has always been strong in hockey, swim, golf, tennis, skiing, lacrosse. They have never been very good at football, basketball, baseball, but I believe both their mens and womens basketball teams made state playoff this year. They also, because of their location, worked closely with area skating organizations and their alumni include a number of Olympians to include Peggy Fleming, Jill Trenary, Caryn Kadavy, David Jenkins, Rachel Flatt and more.

D20 athletics have always been an up and down mix based on the national economy and the military situation. Most of their teams are competitive and every 6-8 years they will get a crop of student are are stellar and make them state worthy contenders in numerous sports. Lately their football, swim, and volleyball programs are hot.

D38...this is the decade of D38. Lewis Palmer and to a lesser extent, Palmer Ridge, are regularly making state playoffs in numerous sports and the collection of regional and state title banners in the gyms of these schools are rapidly growing. These two schools are the defacto southern CO powerhouses in many sports. As the area has expanded, this part of the county has also added numerous clubs sports like volleyball, hockey, soccer and others simply because the parent network can support buying the best coaching outside of school and demands it.

However, I'll also add this about academics...nearly any school district in the region is going to give you what you put into it, both academically and athletically. My kids do both school sports and club sports as well as make honor rolls. Our clubs teams typically have players from D11, 12, 14, 20, 38, and 49. What I've discovered by interacting with these students and their parents is that when you are dealing with high performing students, all of these districts have access to nearly identical materials for education. It is not uncommon for the girls on my daughters volleyball team to be comparing homework notes and helping each other out with assignments, despite being in several different districts. I've seen similar conversations occur with my son's sports where he is interacting with some of the areas top private schools as well as a number of Denver schools. Something that is available in this area is a coordinated program withing the districts to include The University of CO to allow these students access to programs for honors and AP classes that are aligned with college level classes and really close the gap in education available between school districts.

Athletically, there are also other schools in the region who do field the occasional powerhouse team within certain sports. Doherty, Coronado, and Palmer in D11, Ftn Ft Carson in D8, and Widefield and Mesa Ridge in D3 do occasionally have athletes and teams that do very well across a range of sports. Many of these schools have teams that will place high regionally and often make at least first round playoffs with the the state system. All have had players win scholarships, win state titles, and go on to Olympic or professional level play. There is also access to numerous club sports within Colo Spgs to won't require you travel to the northern part of the county to get excellent coaching and exposure to national programs.

So, while you may be focusing on 12,20, and 38 due to online research, don't overlook other district or schools if their locations align with other aspects of what you want from living in Colo Spgs.

[newtolou]

Thank you for the great information!

[TCHP]

You're welcome.

Also, so you are aware, schools in CO are ranked 1-5 in student populations. This impacts sports divisions. it typically does not impact education. Most private, charter and rural schools will be down at the 1-2 range. Larger schools in the 4-5 range. Obviously the larger schools have a larger student cross section for athletic choices, so they tend to be higher performing schools in athletics. However, schools may play up or down a division or based on performance. For example, my kids go to Coronado, which is a 4A school. Their football team typically plays down a division in 3A, their volleyball team had previously played up a division in 5A because of their success on court. These types of division rankings tend to impact the larger, more popular team sports like Football, volleyball, basketball, lacrosse, hockey, baseball.

These ratings also get mixed a bit in more individual sports like cross country, golf, swim, track, and tennis. You can have several division teams all at the same meet and while the clock or scores will determine heats and handicaps, you can have someone who finishes 2nd or 3rd in an event overall that actually wins in their division.

Something that I know occurs in D11 and D20 is charter schools. These may also be in other districts, but I'm less familiar with them if they are. These function somewhat like a private school in that they may have a very focused charter they work towards educationally. Because of this and their size, they typically do not have sports teams. However, D11 and D20 have worked arrangements with these charter school to allow their students to select a district public school that they can compete for. This can provide the benefit of providing students with smaller, targeted educations while still allowing them to compete in athletic programs. My oldest daughters volleyball and swim teams have several members who do this. Its a great way to provide a range of educational opportunities of small schools with some of the attributes of larger schools.

[newtolou]

Sorry for the late reply, I was on vacation. Thanks for the information. I will probably be visiting towards the end of April to get a closer look.