relocation, preschool + school info (Fort Collins, Indian Hills: for rent, co-op, houses)

[juliainmn]

Hi! My husband I are considering relocating to the Fort Collins area with our 2 preschoolers. I have read a bit about neighborhoods, but wonder if there are any suggestions for private preschools in the area. We are currently in Minnesota and planned to send our kids to a church preschool in the fall.

Also, I am very interested in charter schools in the Fort Collins area (classical or art) Can you live anywhere in the Fort Collins area and enroll? In Minnesota it is open enrollment--if the school has room they will accept your child. I know that it is different for every state.

We live in the city now and love being close to parks, lakes and playgrounds. If you have a neighborhood suggestion for renting/buying I'd love to hear it!

[Mike Weber]

Our youngest attended First United Methodist pre-school and we were very happy with it.

Fort Collins public schools are open to students from outside the attendance area, if there is room. Student have priority depending on whether they reside inside the district, if they have a sibling at the school, of they have attended that school in the past, if they have come from a feeder school with the same curriculum, etc. The southern boundary of the Fort Collins school district (Poudre Schools) is Trilby Road and from there it covers most of Fort Collins up to the Wyoming border.

There are many good neighborhoods in Fort Collins, and the town planners have required a park in nearly every square mile of town. You will find that the town has generally grown to the south over the years. The newest neighborhoods with the clubhouses and swimming pools are typically found in the southern part of town. The homes on larger lots are going to be in the center of town, and the vintage and historic homes more north.

Good luck in your search,
Mike Weber

[juliainmn]

The preschool--thank you so much! It looks like you have a lot of things to do in the area--pools, lakes, ect. We currently live in a mid century home and like the character of pre-1960 homes. I'm guessing that would be closer to Old Town (north?) Are the schools inside the city of the same reputation of schools in the suburbs? Thanks!

[juliainmn]

The preschool looks great. Just what we are looking for (sorry I got cut off before)

[Mike Weber]

Greatschools.com has reviews on all of the schools. Mid-century homes can be found in the University Acres subdivision, South College Heights, Indian Hills, Highlander Heights and Thunderbird neighborhoods, among others. These neighborhoods were built in the 60's and are located near the intersection of Prospect and Lemay.

For pre-60's, you will be looking near Stuart and Stover, near the CSU performing arts center, near City Park or just south of campus.

Good luck!
Mike Weber

[somedaysomeway]

We just moved here and our kids go to an arts-oriented charter school -- TR Paul Academy of Arts and Knowledge. We love it, but it depends on what you are looking for. Yes, open enrollment.

I always wanted to live in an old(er) home but I had to get over that when I moved here. The majority of this town is quite new. We're still renting, but I've accepted the fact that the house I'd probably want to live in, have access to, and be able to afford would be a newer house. Not that the other houses don't exist; they're just not plentiful or in a neighborhood I'd want to live in. (Nothing wrong with the neighborhoods; it's more of a question of tedious things like driving the kids to school, etc.)

[juliainmn]

I looked at their website, TR Paul definitely sounds like something we'd be interested in. Do you know if they accept IEPs (services for special needs)? In Minnesota most charter schools do, but I don't want to assume a different state would.

Also good insight about the older homes. I hope we can find one if we end up moving but we are flexible on era of the home.

[barefootmeg]

We also sent our kids to the First United Methodist Pre-School. It's a co-op and I appreciated being able to be in the classroom with my kids on occasion (but get breaks from them as well).

I would recommend looking through the school district's website to get a sense of the schools. There are IB schools, Core Knowledge schools, charter schools, and several other programs and specialities to choose from. Our kids attended Dunn Elementary, which was only a few blocks from our house. My twins are at Lincoln Middle School which has been excellent. And my son is starting at Poudre High School in the fall. We've had fantastic teachers all the way through.

I'd also suggest that you look up the Recreator. : City of Fort Collins One thing that really impressed me about raising young kids in Fort Collins was the number of city run programs that my kids could get involved in. My girls especially loved all of the classes at Martinez Farm and the Humane Society.