Moving To Colorado Blog

While locating the best schools in Colorado may seem like a daunting task, the resources at your fingertips can help ease the transition for your entire family.

The search for the perfect school doesn't end when you locate the school closest to your home.  Many parents actively seek Colorado schools with the best reputations, the best statistics and the widest range of opportunities and activities for their child.  Due to rapid growth in Colorado school districts, finding the school best suited for your child's particular needs is at the forefront of parents' minds as they relocate to Colorado.   Fortunately, the information you need to locate the best schools in Colorado is right at your fingertips.

Start with the Colorado Department of Education. The Colorado Department of Education is the perfect place to begin your research on schools in Colorado. Its Web site offers information and statistics on Colorado's school districts, as well as information about state standards and assessments.

Gather information on the school district closest to you. The school districts in Colorado present parents with a wide range of possibilities for their child's schooling.  Douglas County public schools, for example, are one of the best public school districts in Colorado.  In 2007, 82 percent of students in Douglas County public schools in grades 3-6 scored either proficient or advanced on the English portion of the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP), with 81 percent proficient or advanced on the mathematics portion of the assessment. And if you settle down in a community such as The Meadows in Castle Rock, you can enjoy luxurious home life matched with the natural beauty of Colorado's landscapes. Gathering information like this on the Colorado public schools closest to you can help you assess the area before you even purchase a home.

Plan visits to local public and private schools. Once you've gathered the relevant information about the public school system in Colorado and your local school district, it's time to get in touch with local schools directly.  If you are moving to Colorado in the middle of the school year, you'll need to make these visits a priority so that you can get your child enrolled in school promptly.  Visit both the school that you are closest to and any additional schools (private schools, too) that you are interested in.  You can view statistics for specific schools online through School Digger, which ranks schools by state, county and district. It provides statistics about schoolwide assessments and student/teacher populations and ratios.  The important thing is to research and visit schools to ascertain which Colorado schools can best meet the needs of your child.

Locating the best schools in Colorado may seem like a daunting task, especially in the midst of a move.  However, the resources at your fingertips can help ease the transition for your entire family.

Written by: Kelly Herdrich

Quiet suburban niches, breathtaking mountain views, snow-capped mountain peaks and an amazing skyline of the Mile High City are only a few of the many reasons new residents are pouring into Colorado. Despite the glorious outdoor activities Colorado has to offer, the educational facilities are even more exceptional.

Ranking 16^th on the nation's best public school systems list, Colorado prides itself in providing excellent educational facilities and opportunities to its residents.

Public education in Colorado is continuing to excel, through the use of technology, highly qualified teachers and special education services. Some of the best districts in the state include Arapahoe County, Littleton, Cherry Creek and Douglas County.

Douglas County School District is based in Castle Rock, a unique historic town of 46,000 residents conveniently located between Colorado Springs and Denver, two of Colorado's largest cities.

Douglas County is one of the top performing public school districts in the state. Each school in Douglas County sets high expectations for its students and strives to help every child succeed. Solid core curriculum and flexible, innovative instructional programs provided by the district ensure that every student is getting the best education possible. Douglas County has open enrollment available during the academic school year, as well as access to a dozen other facilities, including specialized charter and magnet schools.

If you and your family are planning on relocating to The Meadows in Castle Rock, you'll definitely want to check out some of this area's schools. There are three elementary schools: Clear Sky, Meadow View and Soaring Hawk Elementary; one middle school, Castle Rock Middle School; and Castle View High School.

The Meadows has sophisticated architecture and distinctive yet charming neighborhoods. Trails, parks, community amenities and breathtaking views are only some of the many "Colorado Living" experiences associated with living in this amazing part of Colorado.

Nearby Franktown Elementary is ranked as Douglas County's No. 1 public school. The school has a small student/teacher ratio that has resulted in higher test scores. In a statewide ranking of schools, Franktown finished 21st out of 834 schools.

Douglas County secondary schools are among the best in the state, according to state rankings. Douglas County High School has had great standardized test results over the years, ranking the school as one of Colorado's top performing high schools. DCHS focuses on its community, embracing individual growth, collaborative spirit, intellectual curiosity, creativity and lifelong learning skills. They also provide diverse and challenging opportunities in an atmosphere that fosters mutual respect and support.

If you want to live in a place with a small-town feel, but close access to the city; a place with an excellent school system and top-of-the-line educational facilities; and if you want to live in a place where your indoor lifestyle is luxurious and your outdoor lifestyle is adventurous, you should consider moving to Castle Rock, a convenient drive to downtown Denver or Colorado Springs.

SOURCES
Town of Castle Rock Home http://www.crgov.com/
New Homes Colorado, The Meadows http://www.meadowscastlerock.com/explore
Douglas County  Rankings http://www.psk12.com/rating/USindivphp/SchID_65564_year_2007.html

Written by: Celin Childs

When you move, choosing the right school for your child is important. When moving to Colorado, there are many tools and supports for helping you choose which of Colorado's many great schools is the right one for your family.

Moving can be very stressful; there are so many things to plan, coordinate and arrange.  For parents of schoolchildren, one of the most important details is what school or school district to move to.  Luckily for families moving to Colorado, there are many resources available to help parents choose which school or school district they wish to have their children attend. Here are some great tips on how to choose the best Colorado school for your family.

Information is Power

When choosing to move to a new community, subscribe to the local newspaper.  Newspapers often carry information on the local school board meetings, school information, school sports and other school news.  Most local newspapers also have a community feature and education section. By reading the education news, features and reader comments, you can begin to develop a good picture of the local schools.

The local school districts should also have Web sites and possibly even a school newspaper. Reading a district's and school's Web site before you move can help you get a sense of the types of activities a school hosts, important dates and times for school decisions, as well as any specific challenges a school might be facing.  Often, the information found on a school district or school Web site provides excellent insight into the pride the school has for itself and the esteem a school has with the community.  For excellent examples of what a well-designed and informative Web site should look like, check out the sites of  Douglas County School District and Castle Rock Middle School.

No Child, Especially Yours, Should be Left Behind

Due in large part to the No Child Left Behind Law, states collect and analyze a tremendous amount of information about schools and school districts, and Colorado is no exception.  The Colorado Department of Education collects information on every school and offers both an annual student achievement report as well as annual school accountability report cards.  The report cards are particularly useful because they offer information regarding test scores, discipline, teacher experience, achievement growth and school climate.  These school accountability reports are available for download from The Colorado Department of Education Web site.  For an example of what a high-performing school's accountability report should look like, visit Castle View High School's Accountability Report: (Warning: PDF link). When you view the report, notice how easy it is to see that Castle View High School is a high performing school, and that many of the schools in Douglas County School District are also rated high and excellent.  All schools in Colorado have an accountability report card.

Weigh Your Options

Colorado is a local control state. Local control means that school and school district policies vary greatly across the state.  Many of Colorado's school districts offer "schools of choice" and "open enrollment."  Schools of choice are public schools with a specific emphasis, grade levels or other specialty. While schools of choice are public and open to anyone within a school district, they often require an application process and have specific timelines or procedures for enrollment.

Open enrollment policies let students transfer or attend a school outside their geographic area.  This might include a student attending a school because of a particular sport or program that is offered, or it might simply be because of parental preference. Regardless of the reason, school districts that offer open enrollment have timelines and procedures for a parent who wants to exercise their open enrollment options.

Colorado also has tremendous support for charter and private schools.  According to the Colorado League of Charter Schools, there are over 62,000 students enrolled in charter schools in Colorado.  Charter schools, much like schools of choice, often have rules, applications and timelines for enrollment.  If sending your child to a charter school is important to you, you must plan your transition as far in advance as possible.  You don't want to let poor planning limit your options.

Talk, Visit and Interview

When you think you have made up your mind about a school, or even if you have simply narrowed down the field, it is important to visit the school, interview the school leadership, and even talk to community members about the school.  When you are talking to the school staff, ask about graduation rates from the district or school, academic options for advanced learners or support for exceptional students, and any other specific concern you may have.  A great resource for finding out the public perception of the school is to interview real estate agents about the school.  Often a real estate agent will be a parent of a child in the local school system, and because school districts affect property values so greatly, he or she will have plenty of knowledge.  Do not be afraid to show up before or after school and ask other parents about the school; when dealing with your child's education, you should do everything you can to make the right decision.

Written by: Chris Matier

Many schools in Colorado are excellent, especially in the Douglas County public school district.

When considering a move to Colorado, a family has to consider the quality of public schools in Colorado. Many schools in Colorado are excellent, especially in the Douglas County public school district. If one is looking for great schools in Colorado, start by looking at GreatSchools.net. The best schools in Colorado are given a rating of 9 or 10 out of 10 in each category.

Looking at the statistics, it is important to examine the schools in Colorado based on certain criteria. One of the most important criteria is the teacher-to-student ratio. According to the National Education Association, public schools in Colorado had a student-teacher ratio of 16.9 in the 2007-2008 school year. This means that for every teacher in the school district, there were 16.9 students. When you compare this number to other states, schools in Colorado come out on top.

Another important criterion is a school's test scores. You can easily access these statistics on the Colorado Department of Education Web site.

Douglas County's statistics are comparatively higher than both Denver County and Colorado as a whole. According to the Colorado Department of Education Web site, 96 percent of high school students in Douglas County ranked "proficient" in reading and language arts, and 83 percent were ranked "proficient" in mathematics. These figures should look very encouraging to any family looking to move to Colorado. And if you settle down in a community such as The Meadows in the Douglas County town of Castle Rock, you can enjoy luxurious home life uniquely blended with the rich, natural beauty of Colorado's landscapes, thus instilling in your children a love and respect for nature that will last a lifetime. This is an education in itself.

Written by: G. Jayashanker