CCSD questions (cul-de-sac, for sale, rental)

[aurora bound]

I am trying to find out when the different tracks start the new school year for the year round schools in CCSD. I found the calendar on the website http://www.ccsd.k12.co.us/documents/...-info10-11.pdf, but not too sure of the start dates. If I am reading the chart correctly, A starts July 6th, B on July 27th, C on August 17th, and D on Sept. 8th, but like I said, I am not sure...

Our date to move has been pushed back to October, so we will be moving after school has started. My son will start K there, but not here (GA's cutoff is Sep. 1st), and school starts the first week of August where we are. My daughter will be in 3rd; I want to make the transition as smooth as possible for them both (and the teachers). I know it will take a little time to settle on a place to live when we get there, and they cannot be enrolled until we have rental papers or proof of purchasing a home (still undecided in that are area too).

Also, if anyone has any persnal experience with a particular elementary school, I'd love to hear what you have to say. We are pretty set on living in the CCSD, but there are so many different schools out there. I know how leadership and teachers (as well as parents) can make the difference, so any insight would be helpful!

[2bindenver]

Where is work?

[aurora bound]

Buckley AFB

[formercalifornian]

We've been very happy with our CCSD elementary school, which is located in the western portion of Centennial. We're on the traditional schedule, and the first day of school is August 23rd.

[aurora bound]

fromercalifornian, would you mind telling me which one (DM if you're more comfortable)? I see there are quite a few in the area, and perhaps they are all similar. Thanks!

[formercalifornian]

I sent additional information via DM, but, commute-wise, I think you'd be better off staying in the eastern portion of the district.

[2bindenver]

What would you like in a community?

[aurora bound]

I would like the usual- safe, kid and pet friendly area with a good elementary and middle school. My dream sheet is: a culdesac or dead-end street (my kids are always outside playing and riding bikes, so no heavy traffic and definitely no major road next to the house (I have dogs, which get mad occassionally and run out the door after us- would like to keep them in one piece :>). I would like to know my neighbors, but not be expected to participate in every event- my husband works a very odd schedule and I like to work mine and my kids around his so we can have family time when he is home. The last place we lived was like this and we really enjoyed having friendly people around (it's not like that where we are now). With that said, I would prefer a little space between houses or not one behind (for when he works nights and is trying to sleep during the day- no noisy trampoline kids- haha).

I don't care for too many restrictions, but don't mind what there has to be to keep the area appealing. I would love a community park and pool, snow removal, those types of things that HOAs cover and am willing to pay slightly more for it, but will do without if I can find the right community. I looked at houses near the Quincy Reservoir with no HOAs, what's this area like? We do like to fish, and being close by would be cool... I want a newer home (1980 or newer, so we don't have to worry about lead paint if we do work).

Now, the kicker... I would like to keep it under $200k if we buy or $1400 if we rent. We usually move a lot (only been here 2 yrs, 3 at the last place), so we don't want to get waste-high in mortgage payments, but do love owning our own home and there's no telling- we may be there a lot longer! I don't mind spending up to $250k for the right house, but not having to work would be great , especially with having to find a job (if only mine would transfer). I have found some beautiful homes in what seem to be great communities, but they are closer to $300k, which I am not comfortable with, so I have come to realize I have to set my expectations a little lower, but the school is the main priority.

I have looked at houses online in the Mission Viejo school area, which seem to be cheaper than others in the CCSD, how does this school compare to others? Thanks for the help!

[ebeth79]

There are some homes for sale near my current elementary school in your price range - both for purchase and to rent, in that range they won't be the biggest homes, but you will find some that are nice. In fact, our subdivision is a little out of that range to purchase, but my son's babysitter two doors down from me rents her home (about 3000 sq ft on a cul-de-sac for $1450/month) - so it can be found. We are in CCSD, and my son goes to Antelope Ridge. It is year round. Tracks A, C, and D all start on July 6. Track B starts July 27. C track goes from 7/6 until 7/22 and then has a 3 week break. Starting up solidly on August 17.

We've been here a year, and I really like our school. there's good parental involvement and the administration is very open and responsive to parent's input. In fact, we started out on C track and it was great, but since we have one daughter in high school and a son in 1st grade, we needed to switch tracks so they would have similiar spring and summer vacation times to allow us to visit families overseas. They were very easy to work with and accommodating to the switch. They were upfront about not being 100% sure if they could do it and asked me to give them a couple different choices - we got our first choice to change to.

I would highly recommend Antelope Ridge to parents, but I've heard great things about a lot of different schools in the area, too.