Park Hill Primer- A Guide To Local Schools
By Lynn Kalinauskas
GPHC Education Chair
The first day of school – at least for Denver Public Schools – is Monday, Aug, 20. Living in Park Hill, your children have access to a large number of public schools within and just outside the neighborhood, as well as one private K-8 school.
Traditional public elementary schools typically have boundaries. If you live within that boundary, you can automatically enroll your child in that school.
Families are not limited to neighborhood schools, however. Park Hill residents can attend almost any school within the Denver Public Schools district by using the “choice” system. This allows them to attend a school outside of their designated boundary. Attendance at a desired school is not guaranteed, however, but depends on the availability of spots within each school.
If you have “choiced” out of a neighborhood school, you cannot automatically enroll back into that school. You must go through the Denver Public Schools’ choice process. For more information on the process, visit schoolchoice.dpsk12.org.
Magnet and charter schools operate differently. To find out about their enrollment policies, contact the schools directly or the DPS choice office. The main email for DPS is dpsk12.org.
The following are the names, contacts, and basic information for the many schools in Park Hill:
Elementary Schools
Ashley Elementary (ECE – Grade 5)
ashley.dpsk12.org/
1914 Syracuse St. 80220
Tel: 720-424-9748
Traditional school
Principal: Zachary Rahn
Hallett Academy (ECE – Grade 5)
hallett.dpsk12.org
2950 Jasmine St. 80207
Tel: 720-424-6070
Traditional school
Principal: Dominique Jefferson
Park Hill Elementary (ECE – Grade 5)
parkhillelementary.org
5050 E. 19th Ave. 80220
Tel: 720-424-4910
Traditional school
Principal: Ken Burdette
Stedman Elementary (ECE – Grade 5)
stedman.dpsk12.org
2940 Dexter St. 80207
Tel: 720-424-3800
Traditional school
Principal: Greta Martinez
Smith Elementary School
(ECE – Grade 5)
smith.dpsk12.org
3590 Jasmine St. 80207
Tel: 720-424-4000
Traditional school
Principal: Emily El Moudaffar
Westerly Creek Elementary (K-5)
westerlycreek.dpsk12.org/
8800 E. 28th Ave. 80238
Tel: 720-424-3160
Traditional school
Principal: Jill Corcoran
Odyssey School of Denver (K-8)
odysseydenver.org/
6550 E. 21st Ave. 80207
303-316-3944
Charter school
Principal: Marnie Moody-Cooke
Roots Elementary (K – Grade 4)
rootselementary.org
3350 Hudson St. 80207
720-593-1338
Charter school
Principal: Kathryn Martinez
Middle Schools
The middle school scene is a bit more complicated to navigate because Park Hill does not have a neighborhood middle school. Instead, it shares an “enrollment zone” with Stapleton, the neighborhood east of Park Hill. Both neighborhoods’ students are guaranteed a spot at one of five middle schools within the zone, but not necessarily their preferred school. Only one school, McAuliffe, is located in Park Hill. The others – Bill Roberts, Denver Discovery School, and two DSST schools – are in the Stapleton neighborhood just east of Park Hill.
Denver School of the Arts is a magnet school.
Innovation schools are managed by DPS but, through an innovation plan, have opted out of certain district requirements.
Williams (Bill) Roberts (ECE – Grade 8)
billroberts.dpsk12.org
2100 Akron Way 80238
Tel: 720-424-2640
Traditional school
Principal: Patricia Lea
Denver Discovery School (Grades 6-8)
denverdiscoveryschool.dpsk12.org
3480 Syracuse St. 80238
Tel: 720-424-4790
Innovation school
Principal: Pam Kirk
Denver School of the Arts (Grades 8-12)
dsa.dpsk12.org
7111 Montview Blvd. 80220
Tel: 720-424-1700
Magnet school
Principal: William Kohut
Denver School of Science and Technology, Conservatory Green Middle School
dsstpublicschools.org/conservatory-green-middle-school
8499 Stoll Place 80216
Tel: 303-802-4120
Charter school
Principal: John Clark
Denver School of Science and Technology, Stapleton
dsstpublicschools.org/stapleton-middle-school
2000 Valentia St. 80238
Tel: 303-802-4220
Charter school
Principal: Dan Sullivan
McAuliffe International School (Grades 6-8)
mcauliffe.dpsk12.org
2540 Holly St. 80207
Tel: 720-424-1540
Innovation school
Principal: Kurt Dennis
High Schools
The majority of Park Hill residents live within the East High School boundary. Those living east of Monaco Avenue fall within the Northfield High School boundary.
Denver School of the Arts
(see above)
East High School (Grades 9-12)
east.dpsk12.org
1600 City Park Esplanade 80206
Tel: 720-423-8300
Traditional school
Principal: John Youngquist
Northfield High School (Grades 9-12)
northfield.dpsk12.org
5500 Central Park Blvd. 80238
Tel: 720-423-8000
Innovation school
Principal: Amy Bringedahl
Private School
Blessed Sacrament Catholic School (ECE-8)
Blessed Sacrament Catholic School first opened in 1922, with 57 students enrolled. The school currently enrolls more than 375 students, with two classrooms each for grades K-5, and one classroom for each grade level 6, 7 and 8. The registration process for the following school year typically begins in November of the current year. Tuition and scholarship information is available at the school’s website.
www.bscs-denver.net
1958 Elm St. 80207
Tel: 303-377-8835
Principal: Carla Dire Capstick
Lynn Kalinauskas is chair of the education committee for Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. Additional research for this primer was provided by GPHN intern Adam Uribes.