Park Hill and the Middle School Question
With the changes Denver Public Schools enacted last spring, the middle school landscape has changed for Park Hill residents. If you have a child entering 6th grade next fall, you MUST fill-out the DPS Choice Form if you intend to enroll your child in a DPS school, and prioritize their top five choices on the form. Forms are due January 31, 2014.
Families can choice into ANY school. Students living within the DPS Park Hill boundary are guaranteed a spot at one of five schools located in the Park Hill Stapleton Middle School boundary zone: Bill Roberts, Denver Discovery School, Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) Conservatory Green, DSST Stapleton and McAuliffe International School.
The GPHN asked the principals of these five schools to provide a summary of their programs in their own words.
Bill Roberts Middle School
Grades served in 2014-15: 6th-8th grades
2100 Akron Way, Denver 80238
720-424-2640
Roberts Middle School is a creative, safe and dynamic community of learners that nurtures and educates the whole child. Our high caliber staff, in partnership with our supportive parents, provides students with challenging and innovative learning opportunities through exploring the arts, educating for character, and fostering vigorous thinking— all essential for success in a changing world.
We offer a variety of unique opportunities for middle school students. Our small middle school allows teachers and students to develop long term relationships that follow the students throughout their middle years at Bill Roberts. We offer a flexible curriculum to meet the individual needs of students, inter-grade level (vertical) collaboration among teachers, and an inquiry-based approach to learning with a focus on 21st Century Learning Skills. We focus on cognitive thinking strategies to promote deeper level thinking – students are expected to be able to explain their thinking. We offer a variety of middle school sports, enrichments and electives including sports (flag football, basketball, volleyball, cross county, baseball, softball and soccer), daily enrichments (Advanced Spanish, Engineering, Shakespeare, Service Learning, Wellness, Math Club, Reading Club, Creative Writing, Yearbook, Global Technology and Culture Club) and electives (Spanish, Art, Drama, Music, Library, Technology, PE and Dance).
Denver Discovery School
Grades Served in 2014-15: 6th grade only
3480 Syracuse Street, Denver 80238, 720-424-4840
Denver Discovery School will be a school where kids can make some noise, express themselves and discover who they are as children, as learners and as people who will be out there functioning in the world as adults. DDS will instill a love of learning through a staff first and foremost, masterful educators, knowledgeable in their content and passionate about teaching and intent on delivering instruction that is data based and differentiated daily. This will be done through an interesting and exciting curriculum that will help kids connect the dots about why the things they are learning are important and will be helpful throughout their lives. Through appropriate structure, hard work and the encouraging of the joyful child, your children will get a strong education, strong sense of self and excitement to learn here at DDS and in the future.
Denver Discovery School will have a sports program, weekly enrichments, and project-based learning experiences that allow our students to construct and deliver projects that are meaningful and directly connected to their learning. We will provide kids with opportunities to connect with younger peers at Swigert, the elementary school below us, through ‘book buddies’ and ‘math buddies.’ We have a budding garden that will allow for an outdoor education science lab as well as connections to ecology, biology, weather, rocks and landforms, and water as a resource. We offer a safe, rigorous, creative place for kids to thrive and develop strong leadership and college preparatory skills.
Denver School of Science and Technology Public Schools (Conservatory Green and Stapleton)
The mission of DSST Public Schools is to transform urban public education by eliminating educational inequity and preparing all students for success in college and the 21st century. With that end goal in mind, all DSST campuses offer grades 6-12 and middle school students are automatically admitted to the high school after completing 8th grade.
DSST provides an outstanding liberal arts education, focused on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). DSST creates a powerful learning community for 6th- through 8th graders, which is centered on six core values (respect, responsibility, curiosity, courage, doing your best, and integrity).
Students engage daily in reading, writing, science, social studies and math. Students also participate in physical education and performing arts classes. DSST offers a wide variety of after-school clubs, activities and sports.
Every student is provided a laptop. Using the power of technology our teachers transform classroom learning by analyzing and acting on student data in real time.
Our high-accountability, high support culture makes it cool to be smart and encourages meaningful interactions among a diverse student body. Our students are asked to live our core values each day, promoting respect, cutting down on instances of bullying, and contributing to 100% student engagement in our classrooms. DSST takes time each week to recognize students for living our values and demonstrating academic effort.
DSST: Conservatory Green Middle School
Grades served 2014-15: 6th grade only
8499 E. Stoll Place, Denver 80238
303-524-6398
DSST’s newest campus will open for the school year 2014-15 and will serve 6th grade students from the Greater Park Hill/Stapleton Community and other Near Northeast areas. We invite you to come and learn more about DSST: Conservatory Green Middle School. Register to attend an Open House at: dsstpublicschools.org/enrollment. Open Houses are scheduled for Thursday, December 5 at 6pm and Saturday January 11 at 12:30pm. Enrollment preferences: 50% of seats are reserved for students who qualify for free or reduced priced lunch. There is a preference for students who live the in Greater Park Hill/Stapleton boundary area. Campus Focus: Computer Programming.
DSST: Stapleton Middle School
Grades served 2014-15: 6th -8th grades
2000 Valentia Street, Denver 80238, 303-320-5570
Register to attend an Open House at: dsstpublicschools.org/enrollment. Open Houses are scheduled for Wednesdays, December 4 at 6pm, January 8 at 6pm, and January 15 at 6pm. Enrollment Preferences: 40 percent of seats are reserved for students who qualify for free or reduced price lunch. There is a preference for students who live the in Greater Park Hill/Stapleton boundary area. Campus Focus and Partnership: Engineering, in partnership with the University of Colorado at Boulder.
McAuliffe International School
Grades served in 2014-15: 6th-8th grades
2450 Holly Street (Smiley campus), Denver 80207, 720-424-4790
McAuliffe offers students a rigorous, well-rounded liberal arts education that emphasizes character education and international-mindedness. As an International Baccalaureate Candidate School, all McAuliffe students take full-year courses in Singapore Mathematics, language arts, social studies, science, engineering/technology, world languages (Spanish or French), the arts (visual art, drama, band, orchestra or choir) and physical education. In addition to our robust course offerings, students have the opportunity to participate in athletics, enrichment programming, service projects, field trips, and student leadership groups.
DPS has granted McAuliffe innovative status, which means that we have a great deal of flexibility in budgeting, curricula, staffing and scheduling. Because our highest priority is to give our students as much time as possible with great teachers, we have a longer school day (8 hours vs. 7 hours) and school year (190 days vs. 172 days). Assignments are expected to be completed at school, so there is minimal homework. McAuliffe provides students the opportunity to participate in a full array of extracurricular activities and athletics where teams compete with other schools in the Denver Prep League.
Our students don’t just survive the middle school years, they thrive. Friendly banter in the hallways, laughter at recess and lots of activity after school are hallmarks of a typical school day. Through creativity, collaboration, and service, we foster a love of learning and positive relationships throughout our community. We are excited to move to Park Hill and be a part of the tradition of Smiley’s beautiful historic campus.
Parents with questions about the School Choice process should contact the schools directly, or the DPS Choice Office by calling 720-423-3493 or emailing schoolchoice@dpsk12.org. DPS is hosting a regional expo for the Near Northeast on December 7, from 10 am to 12 noon at Bruce Randolph, 3955 Steele Street.