Castle Rock Area - Schools/Sports (Boulder, Highlands Ranch: real estate, house, neighborhoods)

[bobby2414]

Hi. I am 34 and my family and I will be relocating to the Castle Rock area and I am looking for additional information. I am in the process of looking at real estate, but before I dive too deep on specific areas, I want to make sure that the move will benefit my kids (Kindergarten & 3rd Grade). They are very active in sports and extracurricular activities.

I have found this forum quite helpful in providing feedback & opinions on schools for education (#1 priority), but I haven't heard too much around sports. Can anyone provide feedback on what schools offer the most opportunities in athletics? I understand there's a lot of community activities (such as the rec center), but is there a school (high school or otherwise) that stands out the most? For example, here in Cleveland, Ohio I know that St. Ignatius High School is a top rated private school and are commonly ranked in the state and nation in sports. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
Bob

PS. Some developments I've been looking at include Bell Mountain Ranch and Castle Pines Village, but I'm open to all areas

[2bindenver]

nearly all areas have a pee wee type activities. Fall sports get snowed out less often than spring sports.

[davidv]

What's the rush? Your kids have 6 and 9 years before they head to high school. A lot of things change in that time.

Castle Rock is not a very big community and it is not consistently successful in most sports. There is not a school around that is great in all sports.

It also depends on the sports that your kids play. Most schools are good in one sport and not so good in others. The high school that wins the most championships in the most sports for both boys and girls is Cherry Creek HS. It also conistently has more national merit scholarship finalists and semi-finalists than any other school (both in number and per capita) in the state, but it is in Greenwood Village.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by davidv

What's the rush? Your kids have 6 and 9 years before they head to high school. A lot of things change in that time.

Castle Rock is not a very big community and it is not consistently successful in most sports. There is not a school around that is great in all sports.

It also depends on the sports that your kids play. Most schools are good in one sport and not so good in others. The high school that wins the most championships in the most sports for both boys and girls is Cherry Creek HS. It also conistently has more national merit scholarship finalists and semi-finalists than any other school (both in number and per capita) in the state, but it is in Greenwood Village.

Which has nothing to do with whether an individual student will be a national merit finalist or semi-finalist.

[davidv]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Which has nothing to do with whether an individual student will be a national merit finalist or semi-finalist.

Nope. It just means that it has the highest concentration of kids who do well on the PSAT.

However, since nearly all of the 27 kids who were named as semi-finalists this year went to Cherry Creek HS feeder schools since 1st grade, it does say something about the students, the families, and the quality education they receive in the district.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by davidv

Nope. It just means that it has the highest concentration of kids who do well on the PSAT.

However, since nearly all of the 27 kids who were named as semi-finalists this year went to Cherry Creek HS feeder schools since 1st grade, it does say something about the students, the families, and the quality education they receive in the district.

Since test scores are directly correlated to parental SES, it tells you that Cherry Creek is a high SES area. These are kids who would do well no matter what. Maybe you could provide some documentation for your statement in bold.

[bobby2414]

Thanks for the feedback and discussion. I had to do some research on what SES and PSAT meant. We, as parents, are very involved at home with our kids' education and I think that will hopefully benefit them in the future (tests or otherwise).

I'm in no rush for looking at High Schools. I am inquiring to have somewhat of an idea on the neighborhoods too invest in that will be close to my kids' activities. For example, if we like Cherry Creek Schools, it may not make sense to buy a house in Bell Mountain Ranch, right?

BTW - We (kids) are primarily involved in Swim Team, Soccer (Travel), Basketball, and Baseball.

Thanks again for the feedback!

[davidv]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Since test scores are directly correlated to parental SES, it tells you that Cherry Creek is a high SES area. These are kids who would do well no matter what. Maybe you could provide some documentation for your statement in bold.

CCHS's SES is definitely above average, but so is Douglas County and the students there do not achieve these honors at the same rate. Draw your own conclusions.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by davidv

CCHS's SES is definitely above average, but so is Douglas County and the students there do not achieve these honors at the same rate. Draw your own conclusions.

Dougco is not in quite the same league as CCSD when it comes to money. That's my conclusion. How about Boulder Valley?

[davidv]

Douglas County has the 7th highest median income in the United States. It is the richest county in Colorado.

Among individual communities in both south Arapahoe and northern Douglas counties, here is the comparison:

Cherry Hills (CCSD) and Castle Pines (DCSD) have roughly the same income.

Greenwood Village (CCSD) and Highlands Ranch (DCSD) have roughly the same median income.

Centennial (CCSD) and Parker (DCSD) have roughly the same median income.

Surely family income does not explain the discrepancy in the numbers.

BTW, Fairview HS has the 2nd highest number of NM semifinalists in the state.