We are relocating very soon! Please Help! (Denver, Arvada: apartment complex, rental market)

[gertiemom]

We received word today that my husband is being hired for a new job opportunity in Denver! His first day is going to be September 30th! We need recommendations for either reputable apartment complexes (i.e. maintenance of apartments is reliable, repairing things quickly when broken or damaged, no bugs and in good areas for children). I have already been doing lots of research on my own but according to apartmentratings.com every apartment building in existence has roach, bed bug and drug problems! I seriously don't know whether to believe anything on that site! Or reference to a local rental agency with lots of homes available to rent. We are looking in the Arvada area right now.

Also, I am hoping to get a run down from someone in the area about the Public School system there. I believe Arvada is in the Jeffco district. They appear to have some type of open enrollment where you can exercise choice to not attend your assigned school but I have a few questions about this. 1. If I would like to enroll my child in a school other than our assigned school, how likely are we to actually receive placement in a school of our choosing? 2. They make the process seem simple enough but is it actually a big game with lots of hoops to jump through dooming you into attending your assigned school regardless? 3. We are being told that Charter schools are a good option in Jeffco but how difficult is it to get into one? 4. There seem to be lots of highly rated public schools mixed in with lots of very low rated schools and not a lot of in between. Are the lower rated schools really bad schools or are their low scores really attributed to the fact that there are high percentages of ESL students in some of the areas? TIA any help is greatly appreciated!

[davidv]

Here are answers to your School of Choice (SoC) questions.

You may apply to have your child attend any public school in Colorado you want, as long as there is space available at that school, and you provide transportation for your child to and from that school. First priority for SoC is children within the same district, and then children from outside the district. A school may be "closed" to open enrollment if it is projected to be full.

However, the SoC application process is closed for this school year. The application process will open up again sometime from November - January. After the application process is closed, the spots are usually chosen via lottery.

Several thousand students (even my own children) attend different schools each year.

Lower rated schools are usually in areas with higher concentrations of: 1. poverty and/or 2. language problems. Test scores do not show a complete picture. You should visit/talk to administrators, teachers, and parents of students of any school you are considering.

[davebarnes]

Rental budget?
Kids - # and ages? Special needs?
Hubby's work location? Address or cross streets.

[2bindenver]

I would guess the job is in Arvada - I could be wrong.

Find the work location on a map - then look for a good school nearby. Then, try to find a rental north, south or east of work.

Not every apartment complex has drug/bugs/crime - people like to report they do.

[gertiemom]

@davebarnes Our rental budget is appx $1300 a month. We have 2 kids one is 6 and one is 18 months. My husband is going to be working for Denver Wastewater Reclamation District. I think it is in the northern part of Denver.

@davidv So when we first arrive my daughter will have to attend the neighborhood school until the next application process opens? But they do the process more than once a year so we may be able to change schools after starting?

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by gertiemom

@davebarnes Our rental budget is appx $1300 a month. We have 2 kids one is 6 and one is 18 months. My husband is going to be working for Denver Wastewater Reclamation District. I think it is in the northern part of Denver.

@davidv So when we first arrive my daughter will have to attend the neighborhood school until the next application process opens? But they do the process more than once a year so we may be able to change schools after starting?

work is at 64th and York.

Maybe something like this:

https://www.padmapper.com/show.php?t...74207&src=main

It would put you in a good area around a lot of kids.

[reed303]

Some of your open enrollment questions are answered here. Read carefully, as not all schools have the same criteria, time frames. deadlines, etc.

Colorado Public Schools | School Choice For Kids

Re job, is it at main office at 64th & York; or Brighton treatment plant ??

[davebarnes]

1. Postal addresses' city names have a vague relation with the city's boundaries. There are bits of unincorporated counties everywhere.
2. School boundaries are not 100% correlated with city or county boundaries.
3. Look at living west of York Street. Arvada would be good, in my opinion.
4. Adams County 50 is one of the worst school districts in the state.
5. https://coloradoschoolgrades.com/ is useful
6. Padmapper.com is useful (be warned, the rental market is very tight)

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by reed303

Some of your open enrollment questions are answered here. Read carefully, as not all schools have the same criteria, time frames. deadlines, etc.

Colorado Public Schools | School Choice For Kids

Re job, is it at main office at 64th & York; or Brighton treatment plant ??

Good information. Here is the OE criteria for Boulder Valley School District. (Click on the 4th link.)
Search Results : Open Enrollment Policy

Districts have a lot of leeway in the criteria they set, as long as they are not violating anti-discrimination laws. I have said this many times, but it bears repeating: Do not move into an attendance area thinking you can "always" open enroll somewhere else. It may not always be possible, and you don't always get your first choice.

[gertiemom]

@reed303 Not sure he may be at either but he said they are in close proximity to each other...?

@Katiana I am trying to find housing in an area that is already zoned for a school with as high a rating as I can find that looks good for us on the chance that we don't get to open enroll somewhere. I have a feeling the open enrollment isn't going to be the dream possibility they make it sound like! Out of curiosity though, since they boast this open enrollment policy everywhere what reasons besides overcrowding if any will they usually give for rejecting your request for placement in another school? (I am going to explore your link now sorry if the answer is in your link.)

@davebarnes I have been using any potential housing addresses I find and double checking them on the school websites to see if they truly are zoned for a particular school. I have noticed how difficult it is to predict what school you may be in and that the actual zones seem very small making chances of finding a place in an area which guarantees you entrance into a high rated school next to impossible. Even finding a place in Cherry Creek, which apparently is very well known for it's schools seems to have quite a few pitfalls! (It may also be farther than my husband is willing to drive to work everyday!)

Thanks for the links to padmapper I had not heard of it before!

BTW in case anyone was wondering we are relocating from Florida. Not sure of the relevance but maybe someone has had experience in both places. Florida tends to catch a lot of flack for it's school systems but something I read recently said that Florida actually rates higher nationally for it's public school system then Colorado. Not sure of the validity of those claims or what exactly it was based off just something I read.