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This is excellent info. and Thanks very much! I'm a tad familiar with some of what you discuss, but this far greater detail gives me a much much better sense of things. Great to hear straight from the locals!
Very interesting to get the lowdown on DPS's history...
I've read the awesome reviews of Slavens K-8. Sounds like you have great access to everything! Yes, maybe TJ will improve.... I read the 5280 article purporting that there's a real movement of families heading back to the city. If this is true, it might bode well for DPS. Let's hope!
I'm wondering, was Morey too rough for the families you know? What were their complaints?
Glad to help!
Like I said before, hanging out in the neighborhood parks and striking up conversations with other parents is also a good way to get info.
The Morey complaint was similar to the others - their kids were basically left alone to manage their learning while the teachers managed the classroom.
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We've extensively looked into Stapleton and have ruled it out. It's not quite for us and we need to be closer to ageing parents in Lakewood...They're near Yale & Wadsworth - not far from West & Central Denver, but too far from Stapleton considering all the back & forth we'll need to do.
Hm...if you think Stapleton and 70 aren't good access to that location, I don't think Congress Park would be either. Getting from Congress Park to Yale and Wadsworth is not an easy trip during rush hour.
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Thanks for the tip about the Englewood area within the CCSD - Worth considering. We can afford a home in Greenwood Village, altho' on the lower end of their housing prices, and I'm just not sure about the vibe in that area for us..... If we wind up in the 'burbs, we'd love to be near lightrail and not too far from my parents. So, we've mainly considered Greenwood Village, North Centennial, and Littleton. Have also considered Golden & Applewood (lightrail will run West near 6th soon).
I know folks in N. Centennial and they love it - we looked at the Cherry Knolls neighborhood and really liked it. It has several pools, big parks, near light rail, near a nicely renovated shopping area at University and Araphaho. Here's an idea:
And I know folks in Congress Park who love it, but don't let their kids run around unsupervised. Because it's more urban with a huge mix of types of people, there is steady stream of different kinds of people who you wouldn't want being around your kids unsupervised.
Congress Park isn't actually too problematic a drive from my folks since one can hop on 6th Ave to Sheridan. Southwest Denver is closer to them, however, so we're still considering that too - your info. has been GREAT.
Glad to know that you know people in N. centennial who are happy. Thanks also for those links.
Glad to hear about Cherry Knolls too.
You've been such a great help and I can't thank you enough! It's really heard to do this from out-of-state and my folks are kind of out-of-touch. It's really heartening when others are willing to share information like this and helps us a great deal during our exciting, but somewhat stressful, relocation.
Congress Park to 6th/Sheridan wouldn't be horrible. 8th Ave Westbound jams up some before Broadway in mornings, but 13th is a good alternative. 6th/8th and 13th/14th move traffic well through that area (Congress Park to East Denver) and keeps cars to a minimum on the quieter streets.
I actually see more kids and families at Cheesman and Congress Park than at City Park, but maybe it's because the latter is more spread out. Wash Park is much better maintained than City Park in my opinion too. My coworker and family live a few blocks from me and I see and recognize many of the regular families and kids out and about, including kids paired up walking to school unsupervised. It's not Highlands Ranch but many more families (with kids) than you'd find in LoDo or Uptown. And I'd say on most blocks everyone knows other homeowners and residents-and I don't think anyone moving here with kids would feel out of place.
I'm still surprised at how quaint and small town some neighborhoods here in the city feel (all the ones in this thread.) Gaylord street has a block party every month in summer, there's a regular lemonade stand on the corner near 7th I see biking home from work, and a few years back some kid was selling kittens out of a box in front of the 12th Ave group of shops. It reminded my of something out of "Leave it to Beaver."
The negatives to this area: (Congress Park more than Wash park) are property crime. Being in the city there's an element of opportunistic theft from cars, garages and such. There was a car stolen from my block last fall - (Honda I think.) And a while back I found a backpack of stolen stuff in my bushes and managed to get some of the items back to their owners. However being proactive with deterrents and knowing your neighbors (to watch out for strange activity) certainly mitigates it.
One other negative is they do a terrible job plowing the side streets, so alleys get rutted and streets that are in shadows stay icy too long. And one last negative (if that) is the occasional dumpster diver looking for stuff to recycle/sell - so I make sure I shred any personal info when throwing out the trash.
If you visit check out the Botanic Gardens which has a new childrens area. If it's a weekend you can usually find soccer games at Congress Park (There's a bunch of soccer fields built over a reservoir that they use on weekends.) Just listen for the sounds of parents and coaches yelling over kids who are having fun. Easy to strike up a conversation there, or check out some of the shops along 12th Avenue (and Columbine then further down at Monroe.)
Last edited by jamesdenver; 01-14-2012 at 10:26 AM..
Wow, this is great feedback and we appreciate your insights - Helps alot - Thank You!!
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Originally Posted by jamesdenver
Congress Park to 6th/Sheridan wouldn't be horrible. 8th Ave Westbound jams up some before Broadway in mornings, but 13th is a good alternative. 6th/8th and 13th/14th move traffic well through that area (Congress Park to East Denver) and keeps cars to a minimum on the quieter streets.
I actually see more kids and families at Cheesman and Congress Park than at City Park, but maybe it's because the latter is more spread out. Wash Park is much better maintained than City Park in my opinion too. My coworker and family live a few blocks from me and I see and recognize many of the regular families and kids out and about, including kids paired up walking to school unsupervised. It's not Highlands Ranch but many more families (with kids) than you'd find in LoDo or Uptown. And I'd say on most blocks everyone knows other homeowners and residents-and I don't think anyone moving here with kids would feel out of place.
I'm still surprised at how quaint and small town some neighborhoods here in the city feel (all the ones in this thread.) Gaylord street has a block party every month in summer, there's a regular lemonade stand on the corner near 7th I see biking home from work, and a few years back some kid was selling kittens out of a box in front of the 12th Ave group of shops. It reminded my of something out of "Leave it to Beaver."
The negatives to this area: (Congress Park more than Wash park) are property crime. Being in the city there's an element of opportunistic theft from cars, garages and such. There was a car stolen from my block last fall - (Honda I think.) And a while back I found a backpack of stolen stuff in my bushes and managed to get some of the items back to their owners. However being proactive with deterrents and knowing your neighbors (to watch out for strange activity) certainly mitigates it.
One other negative is they do a terrible job plowing the side streets, so alleys get rutted and streets that are in shadows stay icy too long. And one last negative (if that) is the occasional dumpster diver looking for stuff to recycle/sell - so I make sure I shred any personal info when throwing out the trash.
If you visit check out the Botanic Gardens which has a new childrens area. If it's a weekend you can usually find soccer games at Congress Park (There's a bunch of soccer fields built over a reservoir that they use on weekends.) Just listen for the sounds of parents and coaches yelling over kids who are having fun. Easy to strike up a conversation there, or check out some of the shops along 12th Avenue (and Columbine then further down at Monroe.)
Park Hill has the best bang for your buck, you can get a larger home there for a great price. However, the problem we have with Park Hill is that you see a lot of transients walking around and not everyone takes good care of their houses.
You are lumping all of Park Hill into one, this is not accurate. South Park Hill, roughly anything south of 22nd is one of the nicer, older and more expensive neighborhoods in Denver. I will take a leap of faith and presume you mean black people when you say transients, and yes, North Park Hill is a historically African American neighborhood, dating back to the block-busting that went on in north Denver starting in the late 1950's. And it remains so today, along with Montbello further to the northeast.
All the writing about commute times from Congress Park to wherever, realistically, all of these neighborhoods we are talking about are within a few minutes drive from each other, so it really does not matter.
I would advise the OP to also consider in and around the country club area, generally the southern parts of 80218.
I ride through all of these parks quite frequently. You don't see too many kids in Cheeseman, there are usually quite a few kids in City Park, but they are centered around the playground near the northwest side. Washington Park is hit or miss, personally and without meaning any offense to the Californians here, but you all kind of ruined that neighborhood for us natives. It looks and feels like west hollywood and the surrounding area these days. Slap in a Trader Joe's, some more drive through Starbucks and an In N Out burger joint and your transformation of that area into California would be total and complete.
GEEZ NO That is not a good LEAP at all. What I was saying is that there are a lot people walking through the neighborhood getting to other areas..TRANSIENTS.
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Originally Posted by cycletron
You are lumping all of Park Hill into one, this is not accurate. South Park Hill, roughly anything south of 22nd is one of the nicer, older and more expensive neighborhoods in Denver. I will take a leap of faith and presume you mean black people when you say transients, and yes, North Park Hill is a historically African American neighborhood, dating back to the block-busting that went on in north Denver starting in the late 1950's. And it remains so today, along with Montbello further to the northeast.
All the writing about commute times from Congress Park to wherever, realistically, all of these neighborhoods we are talking about are within a few minutes drive from each other, so it really does not matter.
I would advise the OP to also consider in and around the country club area, generally the southern parts of 80218.
I ride through all of these parks quite frequently. You don't see too many kids in Cheeseman, there are usually quite a few kids in City Park, but they are centered around the playground near the northwest side. Washington Park is hit or miss, personally and without meaning any offense to the Californians here, but you all kind of ruined that neighborhood for us natives. It looks and feels like west hollywood and the surrounding area these days. Slap in a Trader Joe's, some more drive through Starbucks and an In N Out burger joint and your transformation of that area into California would be total and complete.
I agree with your comment about Californians in Wash Park.. part of the reason I didn't like it and I am a recovering Californian.
Mach50, thank you for clearing up my mistake. That of course is one of the problems with reading and writing instead of conversing, it leads to such bad interpretations and misunderstandings.
The best middle school in Denver is Hamilton (SE Denver)....the IPM magnet. It is stellar. From there, most kids go to one of 4 high schools: TJ (computer magnet program, very small but headed in the right direction), George Washington (IB program for super-smart, very motivated kids), East (the most requested school in DPS) or out-of-district to Littleton (also with an IB program).
DPS works. It really does. Lots of families are starting to make the choice to stay in-district to improve things. And remember, a website or scores on a sheet of paper never accurately capture a school. Visit and then make decisions.
Thanks very much for your input and info. on these DPS schools. We really want to make Denver work out. We don't want lenthy commutes to downtown from the 'burbs and we're urban-types anyhow. I've heard that more people are opting to go with their neighborhhod public schools. We're planning to do so!
Nickycoli,
Just came across this post as we are in a similar position of trying to decide where to buy based on future school options. Did you make a decision as to where to live?
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