Hello! My family will be relocating to the Denver area this summer from Plano, TX. We are originally from New England, but have been in TX for 5 years. My husband was offered a job in Denver and after all of the research and conversations we've had, we really think it is a place we will love and a great place for our children to grow up. We have three kids ages 9, 5, and 3.
My husband will be working downtown. So, my questions are around neighborhoods with top schools and lots of children around. Our daughter is currently our only child enrolled in school. She currently goes to an excellent all girls school here in Dallas, but we'd rather her go to public school after we move. We'd love to find a school that has great parent involvement, great academics and arts/music, and a good GT program. A tall order, I know.
The school districts we have been looking at on-line are Cherry Creek and Littleton. We have heard great things about Highland Ranch, but it seems too far out for us. We drive a lot right now and would love to get away from that in our everyday life...save it for fun things on the weekends. We also would love a neighborhoods with LOTS of kids and parks. We are intrigued by the Stapleton area too..that seems just right for us, BUT the schools are all so new that it is hard to know if they are really good all the way through to 12th grade. I know there are magnet school options, but from the research we've done it seems that is a roll of the dice to get in. You are not guaranteed a spot if you qualify.
If it helps with a response we would rather spend in the 600k range for a house, but can spend upwards of 700-800k (and need 4 bedrooms due to the size of our family).
Thank you!! I greatly appreciate your responses.
FYI Denver has really poor public schools! It is ranked 35th in the nation and I have talk to a friend who said her grandkids can't read, write or do math in 3rd and 4th grade! Are you sure you want public school! Westminter, Wheat Ridge, Lakewood are great schools and are somewhat convient to downtown.
C. B
I lived in Plano for a while as a child. The school was terrific there. For a short period we came to Denver so my brother could attend National Jewish for his asthma. The school I temporarily attended here (that was years ago so I'm sure things have changed) was a public school in Denver near the hospital. I remember it was so easy I was put in a grade higher...I think the schools in Texas were just more advanced back then. I have 3 children, also...10, 7 and 2 1/2. We relocated here 4 years ago from Arkansas. My children attended a very good private school and I was nervous about the schools here due to my past experience plus we had no idea where to move...basically the same position you are in. We researched schools and determined that we would look in the Cherry Creek school district or Douglas County. It turned out we found a house just a mile away from one of the best schools in Highlands Ranch. It is in the oldest part of Highlands Ranch and actually I can use Highlands Ranch or Littleton for our address. My husband worked downtown when we moved and it really wasn't bad at all. He actually works closer to us now, but due to the traffic in the area he works, the drive has been just as long which really suprised us. He's always spent about a half hour in the car so it has never been as bad as I feared it would be. We were spoiled...he used to work out of our home which was awesome. Anyway, my two oldest attend Northridge Elementary. Until my middle child was old enough to enter elementary school, she attended an awesome mother's day out program that was run as a preschool at St. Luke's Little School right around the corner from us. It has always landed in the top programs here in Denver and I'm looking forward to my youngest attending there. We were very lucky to get in as there is usually a waiting list (so I hear). The thing I like about Highlands Ranch is that we can leave our door open. Our children can walk or ride their bikes to school safely and I don't worry (too much!). It turned out that my oldest daughter has a learning disability. The school (Northridge Elementary) is only required to give her 30 minutes of help per week, but they help her every day! They go far beyond what they are obligated to do and that has been wonderful. We have been very happy with the school because other than my short time in Plano (3 years) and the short time here in Colorado in my youth, I never went to pulic schools and I was nervous. So happily can I report that not only are the reports wonderful, but our personal experience has been so great. The parental involvement in the school is great, too, which is so important. Also, my middle daughter happens to be gifted and has been placed in a gifted program that is housed in only 4 schools in the county...thank goodness our school happens to be one so we didn't have to move her to a different school! Anyway, I'm so happy we landed where we did. Our experience has been nothing but good so far. Good luck to you and your family...I will warn you, the dry climate can be a shocker to the system when you move from humidity. My children still itch like crazy (dry skin) and we've had to actually look up skin care for children in a dry climate. They used to shower everyday...now they shower every two to three days to protect their skin and we have to use lotions like Eucerin. I've had to turn to taking fish oil and flax oil to try to maintain some moisture plus we drink a ton of water (not bottled...bottled water goes straight through the body rather than staying in and having time to hydrate). Anyway, I've had to do so much research to find out how to successfully live in this dry climate so if you have any questions once you get here, I'd be happy to share all this crazy knowledge I never thought I'd need to know!
I wouldn't discount Denver, there are many beautiful neighborhoods with great neighborhood schools. The Bel Caro neighborhood is near Cherry Creek Mall. The houses range from 3 into the millions(the polo club). Cory is a top rated elem school,as is University Park, and Bromwell is also in the Cherry Creek neighborhood, but is a Denver school. You might also want to look at the Lowry neighborhood, it is a little quieter than Stapleton with lots of young families, and a great pool.(housing range is 4-800) Southeast Denver is nice as well with two good schools: Southmoore (which is a bit crowded) or Bradley which has the Baccaleureate (sp:))The price range in SE Denver is 3-500 All these neighborhoods are much closer to downtown and your husband could take the lightrail. George Washington High school is a top 100 school in the nation and also has the baccaleureate program. Hamilton and Morrey are both descent middle schools. Littleton has a great high school(it is nice and small) and many of their elem schools are adding high quality pre-schools. Denver tech Center is also a good area to look at--it is cherry creek schools(you might want to look near the resevoir. If your husband is trying to lesson his commute you might want to stick with looking at Denver. Good luck.
We moved in Highlands Ranch, from Richardson TX (Plano schools) 2 weeks ago! :-) So far, we love it here!
We went for Douglas County Schools. They seemed to us like they were pretty close to the quality of the PISD schools. Compare to traffic in the Dallas area here it's a lot easier. It might not be as bad as you think to live in Highlands Ranch and work in Denver. But, it's really up to each person...
Besides the schools, we like the fact that we have access to 4 rec centers, each with a pool. There are lots of parks, greenbelts. And tons of kids around! We have an 8 year old boy with no siblings so kids in the neighborhood are very important for us.
Good luck with your move! I'm sure you'll love it here.
Hi R.,
I can put in a plug for Littleton, but there are 2 parts to Littleton- the older part is in Arapahoe county, and the other part is in Jefferson county which is farther west. The schools that you have heard referrance to are probably in Arapahoe county. This is the area where I live, and we love it! The elementary schools are all pretty good, with some being better than others- you can research them individually as there are many. Euclid and Powell Middle schools are top-notch, and you can't go wrong with any of the 3 high schools. My son goes to Heritage High School, and we love it. It's located in a very nice, older, well-established neighborhood. There are a couple decent charter schools in Littleton too, Littleton Academy and Littleton Prep. They are a nice alternative as well. We are in Littleton Prep and have been happy with it, and I know some families in Littleton Academy that are happy also. The western part of Centennial is nice, as well. It used to be part of Littleton, and is in the Littleton school district. My brother lives there and loves it. Good luck to you with your changes, and I hope you find the perfect fit for your family!
P. D.
