Sandra Konta, Application Processing Representative at DPS, has contributed this post regarding the MANY Preschool and Kindergarten options available through DPS. Parents need to start researching their options, now, for the 2012-2013 school year. This post includes many DPS links where you will learn more in-depth information on the topics mentioned. Sandra will be contributing other DPS related posts throughout the year. 

An Abundance of Preschool and Kindergarten Options at Denver Public Schools

If your child is starting preschool or Kindergarten in the fall of 2012, now is a great time to start your research. Denver Public Schools (DPS) offers an array of options to meet the learning needs of your young student, including the following:

• Three year-old preschool, four year-old preschool, and Kindergarten
• Full-day or half-day programs
• Traditional or Magnet programs
• Advanced Kindergarten
• Charter Schools

At What Age Can My Child Start School?

At DPS, your child’s age on or before October 1 of that academic year is the age the school district considers. For example, to qualify for the three year-old program next year, your child must turn three on or before October 1, 2012. To qualify for the four year-old program, your child must turn four on or before October 1, 2012. To qualify for Kindergarten, your child must turn five on or before October 1, 2012.

Can I Apply to Any Elementary School?

Through the school choice process, you can apply to any elementary school on behalf of your student. Preschool and Kindergarten students may enroll in any school in the district, regardless of where they live, if there is space available. There is only one guarantee — Kindergarten students are guaranteed a half-day spot at their neighborhood school.

When weighing your options at DPS, you may want to break your choices down into the following four categories:

• Traditional neighborhood school
• Traditional non-neighborhood schools
• Magnet Schools
• Charter Schools

These categories will help you manage the application process early next year.

Additionally, the district offers an Advanced Kindergarten Program. For more information, see below.

Traditional Schools

Most DPS elementary schools are traditional schools. These schools follow the curriculum standards set by the school district.  For more information on elementary literacy, mathematics, and science curricula, please visit the Curriculum and Instruction Department’s Website: http://curriculum.dpsk12.org/. These schools each offer a unique environment, different programs, and opportunities.

Traditional Neighborhood School

If you live within the district’s boundaries, your child is assigned to a neighborhood school based upon your address. To find your child’s neighborhood school, visit the DPS School Finder Website: http://schoolfinder.dpsk12.org/. If your child is entering Kindergarten, he/she will be guaranteed a half-day spot at this school.

Traditional Non-Neighborhood Schools

You may find that a traditional school outside of your neighborhood boundary provides a good fit for your child. You are welcome to visit and apply to any of these non-neighborhood, traditional schools.

Magnet Schools

Magnet schools offer a variety of special-focus programs, including the following:

• Dual-language
• Montessori
• Fundamental academies
• Science focus
• Creative arts

Magnet schools establish their own applications and enrollment procedures. Check with your school of interest for details. For more information on available Magnet programs, visit the Office of Choice and Enrollment Services’ Website: http://soco.dpsk12.org/Magnet/Default.aspx.

Charter Schools

A charter school is an independently-operated public school. Contact (http://www.dpsk12.org/schoollist/default.aspx#schooltype5) the school directly for more information on the curriculum, application process, and transportation.

Advanced Kindergarten

Archuleta, the Center for Early Education, Edison, Gust, Palmer, Polaris at Ebert, Stedman and William Roberts currently host Advanced Kindergarten programs. The Advanced Kindergarten curriculum enriches, expands and accelerates state and district kindergarten standards according to student academic readiness and assessed curriculum mastery. If you believe your child may qualify for the Advanced Kindergarten program, contact the Gifted and Talented Department http://gt.dpsk12.org/advanced_kinder or call 720.423.8271.

Online Tools

The following websites are will help you with your research:

• Find your neighborhood school: http://schoolfinder.dpsk12.org/
• Find schools in your area:  http://schoolfinder.dpsk12.org/
• School contact information: http://www.dpsk12.org/schoollist/default.aspx
• 2011-2012 Enrollment Guide: http://www.dpsk12.org/pdf/2011-2012%20Enrollment%20Guide%20English.pdf
• Early Education Website: http://earlyeducation.dpsk12.org/preschool/about

Visit Schools

Before you decide where to apply, it’s important to visit the schools that interest you.  In this way, you have an opportunity to see what each school has to offer and whether it feels like a good fit for your child. Contact http://www.dpsk12.org/schoollist/default.aspx the schools directly to find out when they offer tours and open houses.

DPS Application Process

For the 2012-2013 academic year, the application process will start in January 2012 with Round 1. Applications will become available in early January online http://earlyeducation.dpsk12.org/apply or at your neighborhood school.  For more information, please check back here in November for a post on “Understanding the DPS Preschool and Kindergarten Application Process”.

Questions

For questions about the DPS application process, please call the Tuition Billing and Application Management (TBAM) hotline at 720.424.2639.

It has been our discovery here at ScoopToo.com that we are not alone – that YOU are not alone.  The dark little secrets that we harbor about what-to-do-about-finding-the-right-school-for Johnny or Susie are, more often than not, running through the heads of the majority of parents of 4 year olds out there. Quite possibly the ambitious parents of 2 and 3 year olds as well.  These are people like us, who don’t have a stellar default school option just waiting with open doors to welcome your 5 year old.

Jennifer Holladay, the former Senior Adviser for Strategic Affairs at the Southern Poverty Law Center, and former director Teaching Tolerance tells us about her family’s Journey to Kindergarten.  Enjoy the read.  There is hope!

School: Carson Elementary

Website: http://carson.dpsk12.org

Type: Public – DPS

Tours: Tours are scheduled beginning October and are usually listed on the front page of the school Website.  Call the main office to schedule.

Main Phone: (303) 355-7316

Principal: Tamara Acevedo

Location: 5420 E. 1^st Avenue, Denver, CO, 80220 – Crestmoor neighborhood

Hours: 8:55 AM-3:45 PM

Grades: ECE-5^th Grade

Average Class Size: There are approximately 400 students at Carson Elementary including 71 Highly Gifted/High Achieving students and 39 Deaf/Hard of Hearing students.  In the two Kindergarten classrooms, student capacity is set at 25 students for the full-day program.  The average in the rest of the classrooms is 26 students.

Before/After Care: Carson does offer aftercare (Kaleidoscope Corner) as well as some after school enrichment programs that vary throughout the year.

Facilities/Playground: The 1950’s style building reflects many of the ranch-style homes in the area.  The inside of building is impeccably clean and orderly.  The traditional classrooms are average in size with a few smaller classrooms assigned to the deaf and hard of hearing students.  The Kindergarten classrooms are in an entirely separate wing of the building and a separate playground directly outside the rooms.  The outside area/playground is enormous and includes a giant grass playing field, large blacktop and several fairly modern play structures (the colorful plastic and metal kind).

Special & Core Programs: Carson is extremely proud of their special programs and facilities for deaf and hard of hearing students.  There are currently 39 students in this category.  Some hard of hearing students are fully integrated into the classrooms while others (deaf students) have their own teaching staff and classrooms.  Teachers wear personal microphones in each of the classes so those with hearing issues can follow along just as any other student would do.

Carson is also one of eight DPS elementary schools that host the Highly Gifted and Talented Magnet program.  There are currently 71 students in this program with specialized instruction for high achievers/highly gifted. These students come from across the district.

The Character Trait program is also very strong at Carson.  The entire community is educated on using Respect, Responsibility, Kindness, Tolerance, Perseverance, Integrity and Courage as key elements of learning.  This isn’t just a program that is posted and forgotten. They truly educate these traits.

Impressions: I was greeted with a very warm welcome from the tour guide who has two children at Carson and lives in the neighborhood. She directed me into the main office where I signed in and received a nicely put together folder of information on Carson, including an evaluation form for the open house/tour.  It seems that they really want to know the impressions of those taking the tour!  After our group gathered and was ready for the tour, the Principal, Tamara Acevedo, shared her feelings about the school.  She told us that Carson chose her as much as she chose the school.  The “fit” was right for her, just as the “fit” must be right for our families, she explained.  It is her first year at Carson as principal and she was very clear that education is her passion.  Principal Acevedo feels that Carson Elementary is a “very unique” place and a “school unlike any other”.  You could see it in her eyes that she meant it.  She invited us to contact her with further questions and then went on her way.

Our tour guide then introduced us to two other Carson parents also part of the tour.  I didn’t notice them at first but they were standing among us with nametags on.  One of the parents had three children who went through the school and one that was about to start ECE next year.  The other had two children in the school, both in the HGT program.  I thought it was a great idea to have multiple parents give the tours and offer different perspectives on the programs as well as tag-team any questions that were asked.  All three parent tour guides were very knowledgeable and passionate about the school.  We were asked to introduce ourselves as well and I came to find that there were a mix of parents from the Crestmoor, Hilltop, Stapleton, Palmer and Teller neighborhoods.

One thing I thought was interesting was that the very active PTA plans their annual fundraiser in the fall instead of the spring.  This is very clever given almost every other school solicits auction items and donations in the spring and wear out businesses in these efforts.  Also, the funds raised by the PTA fundraisers go to school-wide improvement as opposed to specific classrooms, staff or single programs.  I really liked this concept.

As we walked down the long hallway toward the Kindergarten wing, I couldn’t help but notice the impeccable cleanliness of the halls.  It’s almost as if they knew we were coming and had a school wide cleanup session!  The floors were spotless and while there were endless rows of hooks for student’s jackets and lunchboxes, not one thing lay on the floor.  The walls were adorned with student artwork, poster boards to vote for class officers, and a variety of unique student projects.  I noticed projects on symmetry as well as positive and negative battery power.  I thought this was surprisingly different that the typical elementary school projects I’ve seen on walls.  Some classrooms were being led down the hall quietly by their teachers and were expected to use their “quiet voices” and keep their hands to themselves.  This was very reminiscent of my experience with Montessori environments where children were encouraged to be peaceful and respectful during their transitions.

The Kindergarteners have their own separate wing with two classrooms, a common room, a bathroom and an outside play-area all to themselves.  The classrooms were quite large and filled with all the things you’d expect to see in a Kindergarten classroom.  The playground is large but offers very little shade.  I imagine this can be quite hot during summer months and is cause for limited outside playtime.

The playground for the rest of the students was absolutely enormous.  There were several play structures, a gigantic blacktop as well as a grassy area as large as a football field.  Some of the students were being led outside for gym class with the full time Gym Teacher.  The inside gym room is tiny so this must be a welcome respite for the twice a week gym class when the weather is nice.

The library is also small but equally as pristine as the rest of the school.  Each class has the opportunity to use the mobile technology lab with laptops right in their classroom and some rooms have been outfitted with Promethean Boards (electronic interactive white boards) in the rooms.  With incoming technology grant funding from the Federal Government to DPS, the school expects to install these Boards in each of the rooms in the near future.

When the tour was over, the three parent guides expressed their very heartfelt feelings on the new Principal when asked how she compares to the beloved former Principal.  They said that Ms. Acevedo was warm, responsive and approachable to both kids and parents.  In her first year she is observing a school that has had a successful past.  She will wait to make any changes in following years only if necessary.  This seems to be a very intelligent move for a first time Principal.  I walked out of this tour thinking “that is a great school” and wishing it were my neighborhood.  Bravo Carson!

We welcome your comments and impressions on your experience with Carson Elementary.

Although our blog is focused on elementary education, many of our readers also have children in upper grade levels that should be aware of this information.  Denver Public Schools is holding a School Expo that is taking place November 4, 2009.  It’s for families interested in learning about their options for middle school and high school.  Read the flyer below to learn more about this important event.

DPS School Expo Flyer

Choice application-check….favorite glass of wine-check…advil for the headache-check…the headache is not from the wine but from trying to make sense of this whole process!

You are choicing into a school only if you have chosen not to send your child to your neighborhood school or chose private school instead. The choice in process can be a bit overwhelming but hopefully, we can make it a little easier for you to understand. I think the most difficult part of the process is the waiting! I remember becoming quite stressed and trying to remain patient until I heard the news. Will they get their first choice? What about second choice? What happens if they get wait listed? In the end, hopefully it’ll all work out for the best.

Here’s how the process works:

1. You can pick up a school choice form at any DPS school (usually in early January) or you can download it on-line. After completion, it can be returned to any DPS. Be sure to make a copy of it (for your records) after the application is stamped and dated.

2. First Round happens in January…this is when you choose your top two schools! Complete the application. By early March, you should get some answers….if you get into your first choice school-congrats! If you did not, there’s still your  second choice school. DPS tries very hard to accommodate this if the slots are available at the designated school.

3. Again, if you did not get into your second choice school, you will now take part in the Second Round. This usually takes place in March. Here you are able to choose an unlimited amount of schools so you’ll have more options. Again, forms for this round may be picked up at any DPS school.

4. If you get wait listed at one of your schools of choice, you may still want to participate in the second round just to be safe!

5. Remember, if you are choicing into a school, you are responsible for providing transportation for your child to and from school.

6. For more information contact the School of Choice Office at http://soco.dpsk12.org.

• Note: If your child is entering Kindergarten and you want him/her to attend a full-day Kindergarten program, you must complete a separate application for this. You can pick up this form at any DPS. This is a Tuition Based program. The annual tuition was $2,430 for 2008-2009.
• Note: Charter Schools and Magnet Schools have their own applications. Be sure to contact each individual school to inquire about applications and deadlines.
• Note: Advanced Kindergarten applications & Highly Gifted Magnet Programs 1^st-8^th grade applications, are due earlier than choice forms. Be sure to contact the individual schools in regards to this or the Gifted and Talented Education Department at 720-423-8272.

Today, the choicing in process is getting that much more competitive. Since so many public schools are making positive changes and improving their standards, more and more people are choosing their neighborhood schools. And as more schools grow in popularity, it makes it that much harder to choice in. The problem is, only so many slots are left open after the number of spots for neighborhood children are filled. An example of this is in the Stapleton community. They are no longer allowing  “choice in’s” at their schools and instead, allowing Stapleton residents only to enroll. In the future, it looks like some schools may have to do this and take neighborhood children only. I recently spoke to someone at DPS who said that School Choice has been in place for about nine years and it will continue because of its success. However, many of these schools that are becoming more popular are seeing their wait lists grow and choicing in, may not be an option for them in the future. How can you be guaranteed the school of your choice? Good question! I guess the answer is to move to that neighborhood like some people do, so your child is guaranteed a spot! You just have to ask yourself, is it worth it?

“Private Schools-EXPENSIVE….Moving to a new home to be closer to a school you love and a guaranteed spot for your child-VERY EXPENSIVE….Getting into your choice school-PRICELESS!!!”

Age Eligibility

• Your child must be 4 years old on or before Oct. 1st for ECE.
• Your child must be 5 years old on or before Oct. 1st for Kindergarten.
• Your child must be 6 years old on or before Oct. 1st for First Grade.