• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
SchoolChoice
 Your open-enrollment guide to Boulder Valley, St. Vrain Valleyand Boulder County private schools for 2010-11
OVEMBER 200 SCHOOLCHOICEGUIDE 1
CAMERA 
 
School choice enrollment guide
Open enrollment plays significant role
Parents have options,select schools that area best fit
By Vanessa Miller
Camera Staff Writer
Open enrollment — which allowsColorado families to send students toschools outside their neighborhood —plays a significant role in how BoulderValley students are placed into schoolsannually. And while last year’s open enroll-ment statistics show that Boulder Val-ey received about the same number of applications as it did in 2008 with,427, that number continues a slowclimb and is several hundred appli-cants higher than in 2005, when 3,769people applied. The steady and high numbers showthat open enrollment is a popular op-tion in Boulder Valley and that it ishere to stay, said Boulder Valley as-sessment director Jonathan Dings.Gone are the days when families don’t think twice about staying in theirneighborhood school. Today, morepeople view their children’s school as achoice, Dings said.“Parents view open enrollment as aservice that provides them with op-tions in finding the best match fortheir child,” Dings said. “We’ve doneour best to make the process open toparents and, at the same time, manage-able for our schools.”Parents have between Nov. 30 and Jan. 15 to submit open enrollment ap-plications to the district. The district  will send out its first round of offer let-ters Feb. 3, and parents must respondand accept by Feb. 12. Depending onhow many people accept the first round of offers, Boulder Valley willsend out a second round of offers Feb.24. Acceptances are due by March 5. This year, open enrollment is avail-able online, reducing the cost for somefamilies and streamlining the process.Despite an increase in open enroll-ment applicants, Boulder Valley in2009 placed fewer students into theirfirst-choice school than in 2005. Last  year, 2,336 students — or about 55 per-cent of the applicants — were giventheir first choice compared to 2,469students — or about 66 percent of theapplicants — who received their first choice in 2005.Boulder Valley gives open-enroll-ment preference to applicants who livein the district, move out of a neighbor-hood but want to remain in theirschool, or have siblings at their choiceschool. Employees’ children also get preference, as do students who want toreturn to their neighborhood schoolafter leaving. The most popular reason for re-questing open-enrollment placement into a Boulder Valley school for thepast three years has been that a siblingattends the choice school, according todistrict data.Dings said students who most oftenrequest to open enroll are those transi-tioning to a new school — like highschool freshman or middle schoolsixth-graders.Fairview High was the most request-ed non-charter school during the last open enrollment period, with 371 fami-lies listing the south Boulder school astheir top, second, third or fourthchoice, according to district statistics.Peak to Peak, a K-12 charter schoolin Lafayette, received the most open-enrollment requests overall with 1,523. That, in part, is because all the dis-trict’s charter schools rely solely onopen enrollment, Dings said.
Editor’s Note
Parents in Colorado can enroll their children in any public school in the state, aslong as there is enough room.Boulder Valley’s open-enrollment period for the next academic year runs from Nov.30 to Jan. 15. Schools now are holding open houses and tours for the 2010-11 schoolyear. Open-enrollment applications will be available Nov. 30 at every school in thedistrict and online at
www.bvsd.org
.In the St. Vrain Valley School District, where families apply directly to the school,open enrollment runs from Dec. 1 to Jan. 15.
This Choice Guide
is designed to give parents a snapshot of their school optionsin the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts, as well as their privateschool options.
Information is compiled
from school districts, the Colorado Department ofEducation and Camera staff.
Descriptions
were provided by the schools.
Enrollment figures
and
student demographics
are from fall 2008.
2009 CSAP scores
are from Colorado Student Assessment Program tests taken bystudents in spring 2008. The categories are:
Unsat.,
unsatisfactory;
PP,
partiallyproficient;
Prof.,
proficient;
Adv.,
advanced;
Growth,
median growth percentile.
Peak to Peak Charter School
 AccreditedK-12College Preparatory
Liberal Arts Public Charter School
Operating in Boulder Valley School District
800 Merlin Drive, Lafayette, Colorado 80026 303.453.4600
Locally and nationally recognized public school of choice!
Rated a 2009
Top 100 high school
out of all U.S. public high schools by
US News & World Report 
and
Newsweek 
John Irwin School of Excellence Awards
, K-12(Top 8% of Colorado schools)
One of only two Colorado public schools with
NCA accreditation
as a college prep school, K-12
Excellent and extensive college counseling program
2009
Colorado State School of Character 
andNational Schools of Character Finalist, Character Education Partnership
State-championship-level high school athletics
Extensive arts programs and extracurricular activities, K-12
Challenge for gifted students through flexible, appropriate placement
Random district lottery determines enrollment; no tuition
Located on and near RTD bus lines
100%
of 2009 graduates were accepted into a college of their choice!
Good Scholarship
X 
 
Ç 
 
Ä 
 
| 
 
 z 
 
 { 
 
à 
 
x 
 
Ç 
 
á 
.
Good Character 
f  
 
 { 
 
| 
 
Ç 
 
x 
 
áA
www.peaktopeak.org
Index
Boulder Valley
Elementary schools .............................. 3K-12 schools ...................................... 16K-8 schools ........................................ 17Middle schools ................................... 18Middle-senior schools ........................ 23High schools ....................................... 24
St. Vrain Valley
Elementary schools ............................ 26K-8 schools ........................................ 33Middle schools ................................... 34Middle-senior schools ........................ 36High schools ....................................... 36
Private schools
............................................................ 38
Camera hosts School Choice Fair on Nov. 18
The Camera is hosting a School Choice Fair from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov.18 at the Millennium Harvest House Hotel, 1345 28th St., Boulder.The fair is open to the public. Exhibitors will provide information to help parents withtheir preschool, elementary, secondary and high school choice selections.Schools that will be represented at the fair include: Alexander Dawson School,Boulder Country Day School, Boulder Jewish Day School, Boulder Valley SchoolDistrict, Bridge School, Broomfield Academy, Eastern Sun Academy, Friends’ School,Jarrow Montessori School, New Vista High School, Options for Education, LLC, Peakto Peak Charter School, Running River School, Sacred Heart of Jesus School,September High School, Shepherd Valley Waldorf School, Shining Mountain WaldorfSchool, St. Louis Catholic School and Watershed School.
2 SCHOOLCHOICEGUIDE NOVEMBER200
CAMERA 
 
oulder Valley elementary schools
Bear Creek Birch
Description:
Bear Creek Elementaryis a focus school that emphasizes thecognitive and conceptual connectionsamong mathematics, science and mu-sic. The program is supported by a part-nership with faculty members at severalschools and departments at the Univer-sity of Colorado. A high priority isplaced on a rich language arts experi-ence as a solid foundation in literacyskills.
Open house/visitation:
Open houseswill be 9:30 a.m. Dec. 1, Dec. 16 andan. 8, 2010
Address:
2500 Table Mesa Drive,Boulder, 80305
Phone:
720-561-3500
Web site:
http://bvsd.org/schools/earcreek/
Principal:
Kent Cruger
Enrollment:
362
Capacity:
355
Daily schedule:
8:35 a.m. to 2:55 p.m.
Student profile in percentages:
Cau-casian, 82.9; Hispanic, 3.3; Asian, 11.3;African-American,1.7; American Indian,0.8; free lunch, 4.1; reduced-price lunch,1.1; English-language learners, 1.9; spe-cial education, 3.0
 Average years of teaching experi-ence on staff:
13
 Average student-to-teacher ratio:
18.5-to-1
State CSAP rating:
Excellent 
Subject Grade Unsat. PP Prof. Adv. GrowthReading 3 1 8 75 16 N/A Reading 4 0 4 63 33 65Reading 5 0 1 66 33 45Writing 3 0 25 49 25 N/A Writing 4 0 6 51 43 76Writing 5 0 10 64 25 58Math 3 0 6 47 47 N/A Math 4 0 2 16 82 76Math 5 0 1 27 72 62Science 5 0 9 46 45 N/A 
Description:
Birch Elementary Schoolhas a well-earned reputation of being acohesive neighborhood school that setshigh standards for all students. Birch of-fers a comprehensive academic curricu-lum supported by classroom extensionsincluding field trips, assemblies, and finearts and physical education programs. A  well-developed positive behavior support system (PAWS) supports students in be-coming personally responsible, makersof wise choices, people who accept andappreciate others, and people who are al- ways safe. Birch celebrates family in- volvement and strives to create a wel-coming environment for all.
Open house/visitation:
Open houses will be at 10 a.m. Dec. 10 and noon Jan.12
 Address:
1035 Birch St., Broomfield,80020
Phone:
303-469-3397
Web site:
http://bvsd.org/schools/birch/
Principal:
Tracy Stegall
Enrollment:
450
Capacity:
465
Daily schedule:
8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Student profile in percentages:
Cau-casian, 74.2; Hispanic, 17.8; Asian, 5.1; African-American, 2.0; American Indian,0.9; free lunch, 21.1; reduced-price lunch,9.8; English-language learners, 8.2; spe-cial education, 10.0
 Average years of teaching experi-ence on staff:
Nine
 Average student-to-teacherratio:
17.7-to-1
State CSAP rating:
High
Subject Grade Unsat. PP Prof. Adv. GrowthReading 3 7 13 65 13 N/A Reading 4 21 18 59 3 37Reading 5 11 11 63 16 61Writing 3 3 35 53 9 N/A Writing 4 10 34 43 13 41Writing 5 0 29 61 9 34Math 3 5 19 55 21 N/A Math 4 15 19 40 26 25Math 5 11 21 29 39 43Science 5 8 36 37 19 N/A 
Boulder Community School of Integrated Studies
Description:
Boulder CommunitySchool of Integrated Studies is a BVSDocus school that opened in the fall of 1996. Our school features an arts-inte-grated, Waldorf-inspired curriculum inwhich teachers and students honor manymodes of expression and celebrate cul-tural diversity. The BCSIS focus programintegrates the arts into a rich, academiccurriculum. Teachers use stories, songs,movement, art, and music from aroundthe world as tools for teaching math, lan-guage arts, science, and social studies.We also emphasize the development of children’s sensitivity to the naturalworld. To that end, classrooms areequipped with natural materials, and chil-dren work with natural fibers such aswool, silk and cotton. Our science curric-ulum supports an understanding of sus-tainable practices, incorporating ourschool’s Solar Panel and Garden-to-Tableprograms. Seasonal festivals create aframework for celebrating the growthand development of each child.
Open house/visitation:
Open houses will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8 and Jan. 7. Classroom visits and introduc-tions to BCSIS will be from 9 to 11:30a.m. Dec. 2 and Jan. 8, and from 1 to 3:30p.m. Dec. 10 and Jan. 12.
 Address:
3995 E. Aurora Ave., Boulder,80303
Phone:
720-561-6500
Web site:
http://schools.bvsd.org/bcsis/
Principal:
Phil Katsampes
Enrollment:
290
Capacity:
230
Daily schedule:
8:30 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.
Student profile in percentages:
Cau-casian, 89.3; Hispanic, 3.8; Asian, 3.8; Af-rican-American, 3.1; American Indian, 0;free lunch, 12.1; reduced-price lunch, 1.4;English-language learners, 0.7; specialeducation, 9.3
 Average years of teaching experi-ence on staff:
Eight 
 Average student-to-teacher ratio:
17.7-to-1
Parent satisfaction:
97 percent of par-ents agreed or strongly agreed that theirchildren have a positive attitude about their school.
State CSAP rating:
High
Subject Grade Unsat. PP Prof. Adv. GrowthReading 3 0 10 80 10 N/A Reading 4 0 9 75 16 64Reading 5 2 8 68 20 65Writing 3 0 22 58 20 N/A Writing 4 0 20 68 11 87Writing 5 2 2 62 32 73Math 3 0 8 52 40 N/A Math 4 0 16 52 32 60Math 5 0 18 24 56 67Science 5 0 16 42 40 N/A 
breakingnews
DailyCamera.com
Getyournewsasithappens.24/7.
OVEMBER 200 SCHOOLCHOICEGUIDE 3
CAMERA 
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...