Bottom Line on Douglas County Schools... (Denver, Boulder: teaching jobs, public school, median income)

[BacktoCO]

Drew J20--I have also been researching this information quite extensively because we are on the fence about where to buy a house. I like my house choices in Highlands Ranch and also like the community much better than my options in Cherry Creek and Littleton school areas. When I check all the school ranking sites--GreatSchools, School Digger, etc. they show that the schools in the area we are looking are really good. For example-Red Stone Elementary gets a high rating as well as Rocky Heights Middle School and Rock Canyon High School. Actually, many of the Highlands Ranch schools get the best rankings. We are starting to lean more in favor of Highlands Ranch but all the rumblings and banter about Douglas Co. schools still have me doubting my own research. I have heard that most of the dislikes have to do with the voucher system and the administration/ political type issues. One thing I will say that kind of bothered me is the elementary schools do not have a specific Gifted and Talented program. When I called one of the elementary schools she told me they just group them according to ability and try to work with them on their level. I am not really sure how I feel about that.

[BacktoCO]

Also wanted to add that when I called one of the Highlands Ranch elementary schools average class size is 25-28 with max at 29. Not really great but not too bad.

[2bindenver]

Try asking about the Discovery Program. https://www.dcsdk12.org/giftedandtalented/index.htm

[mczabe]

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

Try asking about the Discovery Program. https://www.dcsdk12.org/giftedandtalented/index.htm

My daughter was selected for Discovery, but due to other logistical issues, we opted to keep her in our neighborhood school. (Cougar Run) While not specifically in a gifted program, she was classified as such and the school provided numerous enrichment and extension opportunities for her. We just relocated to WA state, but prior to that her teachers were considering moving her up a grade for math, and clearly had done this for other students in the past. They also gave her some neat opportunities in other areas of strength to help her grown. I felt that despite the lack of a gifted program in each school, my gifted child was very well cared for in this DougCo school.

There does seem to be a current wave of displeasure with some trends in DC schools, but my gut response (for what it's worth ) is that the residents of Highlands Ranch are keeping a careful watch and will do whatever is necessary to ensure their public schools remain excellent. So I suspect the next couple years will be full of lively debate, but that the long-term health of DC schools is a pretty strong bet.

Best of luck in your decision-making. Having just gone through it moving here, I know how hard it can be. Breathe deep, do what research you can, and remember that ultimately, you are going to be the biggest influence on your children's future success.

[Virginiagrrrl]

Originally Posted by BacktoCO

Drew J20--I have also been researching this information quite extensively because we are on the fence about where to buy a house. I like my house choices in Highlands Ranch and also like the community much better than my options in Cherry Creek and Littleton school areas. When I check all the school ranking sites--GreatSchools, School Digger, etc. they show that the schools in the area we are looking are really good. For example-Red Stone Elementary gets a high rating as well as Rocky Heights Middle School and Rock Canyon High School. Actually, many of the Highlands Ranch schools get the best rankings. We are starting to lean more in favor of Highlands Ranch but all the rumblings and banter about Douglas Co. schools still have me doubting my own research. I have heard that most of the dislikes have to do with the voucher system and the administration/ political type issues. One thing I will say that kind of bothered me is the elementary schools do not have a specific Gifted and Talented program. When I called one of the elementary schools she told me they just group them according to ability and try to work with them on their level. I am not really sure how I feel about that.

But Douglas County DOES have the Discovery program, which is very similar to the program that my daughter is in here in Fairfax County. They have Center schools that have classes that will be all GT kids through 8th grade. You just have to qualify for the program. I don't know how the Discovery Program works since we aren't there yet (and it looks like my daughter will be going to a Charter School instead) but if it is similar to the Center program here, it should be great.

[Mike from back east]

New data indicates that Charter Schools are generally NOT cutting it; article here.

Excerpts:

"Despite a growing number of studies showing that charter schools are generally no better — and often are worse — than their traditional counterparts, the state and local agencies and organizations that grant the charters have been increasingly hesitant to shut down schools, even those that continue to perform abysmally for years on end."

"That is the clear message of continuing analysis from the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University, which tracks student performance in 25 states. In 2009, its large-scale study showed that only 17 percent of charter schools provided a better education than traditional schools, and 37 percent actually offered children a worse education."

[scrapper105]

Originally Posted by davidv

As an educator who is not in the district, but with several friends in the district I can say with some certainty that:

1. Morale among many educators is very low. Many people have left the district because of the atmosphere created by a school board with a highly political agenda.

2. The board continues to fight the state over its pro-voucher agenda, one that has been ruled contrary to the Colorado Constitution, is currently before a court of appeals, and with a promise to end up before the Colorado Supreme Court.

3. Douglas County underperforms when compared to other districts with similar demographics around the country, but outperforms most districts in Colorado. Since income and test scores are so closely correlated, one should expect that DCSD would have the highest scores in Colorado, as it is the wealthiest county in Colorado. That is not the case.

Trying to predict what will happen over the next 10-15 years is nearly impossible. We are not sure what will happen with the next board election, but fixing the damage and animosity created between the board and the teachers will take time.

It is possible to get a great education nearly everywhere you go. If you have a bright, motivated child who loves to learn, then he or she will be willing to go the extra mile. You would probably need to find a program that will consistently challenge him or her. If your child is unmotivated and dislikes school, he or she will have a hard time in any program.

Getting information about schools is very hard. People generally like the schools their children are at and will give glowing reviews. People who don't like the school usually move on to a school that better suits the needs of their child. Online reviews are either glowing or disparaging because those are the two groups of people who feel the need to broadcast their views.

I wish you good luck.

Thank you for this thorough response. Prepping for our trip to Denver tomorrow. Two hours ago, I thought I had it all figured out, then it was back to square one, now I think I have it all figured out again. We'll see . . .

[davidv]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Interesting numbers. Douglas County does have more kids than Denver County.

Denver County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
Denver County percent of kids <18: 21%

Douglas County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
Douglas County: 29%

//www.city-data.com/forum/newre...e=1&p=27969883
Castle Rock, Douglas County: 32%

Highlands Ranch CDP QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
Highlands Ranch, Douglas County: 32%

These are the two biggest areas in DC and they both have almost 50% more kids than Denver. So the per-capita income may not be as skewed, except for the poverty-level kids in Denver.

Douglas County does not have more children than Denver.

Denver has about 135,000 children under 18 (21.7% of 620,000 total people or 620,000 x 0.217).

Douglas County has about 87,000 under 18 (29.8% of 292,000 total people or 292,000 x 0.298).

Denver's population has a lower percentage of children compared Douglas County's population, but Denver has a higher number of children because its total population is higher.

[Katarina Witt]

^^I thought the point that I was talking in percentages was obvious, but I guess not. You definitely SEE more kids in Dougco, especially HR and Castle Rock.

[davebarnes]

Douglas County teachers' union sues district - The Denver Post

Douglas County teachers' union sues district

The teachers' union for Douglas County schools filed a lawsuit against the district Friday, saying it failed to consider teachers who had been laid off to fill new positions.
The lawsuit was filed in Douglas Count District Court. It also asks the school district to reimburse teachers for sick leave days they donated to a sick bank that was terminated by the school district this school year.
According to the Douglas County Federation of Teachers, there were more than 10 teachers who were let go but not rehired. In all, six teachers are named as plaintiffs.

"The teachers who were downsized out of a job are veteran teachers with 60 plus years of teaching experience between them," DCFT President Brenda Smith said in a written statement. " When teaching positions opened up, the district passed them over."

The Douglas County School District issued a response, calling the lawsuit "frivolous."
"The union is trying to gain rights under a collective bargaining agreement that expired last summer due to its unwillingness to work collaboratively with the school district," the district said.

The sick bank was for teachers with long-term illnesses when they had used up their own sick leave. Teachers donated one sick day a year to the sick leave bank. The union says there was about 10,000 days remaining in the sick bank when the school board killed it, or about $850,000, the district said during contract negotiations, according to Smith.