Our friend Liz Easterly, who writes a cool blog about life in Stapleton, is featuring a new series on her blog regarding schools/education in Stapleton. She has a guest blogger, Marissa Ferrari, the Marketing Coordinator for DPS and also a good friend of ours who will contribute to the series.

Marissa’s first interview is with Chuck Raisch, the new principal, at Stapleton’s 3rd elementary school. The school has temporarily opened in the Westerly Creek building for students ECE-1st grade. Next fall, the new school building will be completed and open its doors to more students. Eventually, the school will serve approximately 900 students from ECE-8th grade. Click on the link below to learn more about Chuck and his vision for the new school. We look forward to featuring other interviews conducted by Marissa this fall.

Please visit Liz’s Blog: Stapleton Moms for the interview series.

Celebrate the Construction of a New ECE-8 Campus in Stapleton

You are cordially invited to attend a ceremony and reception to celebrate the start of construction on the new school, opening August, 2011. Join your neighbors, community members, DPS leaders and generous supporters for this momentous occasion.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

9:30 – 10:30am

3480 North Syracuse, Denver, CO 80207

(one block east of 35th and Quebec)

Please RSVP by June 4^th to rsvp@dpsk12.org.

The construction of this school is funded in part by the 2008 Bond Program.

The Board of Education has recommended changes for 6 schools within the Denver Public School system. The recommendations include transforming six low-performing DPS schools into successful schools, proposals for the overcrowding issues at the Stapleton schools, and proposed locations for new schools that would open for the 2010 school year. The board is expected to make their decisions at the end of this month.

Read the entire press release below:

DPS Announces Recommendations for 6 Low-Performing Schools

Denver, CO—The leadership of the Denver Public Schools today made a series of recommendations to the Board of Education for turning around low-performing schools and for locations of new schools that are scheduled to open in the fall of 2010.

“These are critically important decisions that are the result of long conversations, difficult discussions, and careful consideration,” DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg said. “Our absolute focus is on the decisions that will create the very best opportunities and the very best schools for the children and families of Denver.”

Boasberg also pointed to the Obama Administration’s investment in a broad range of turnaround strategies as another factor in the district’s recommendations. In announcing the contribution of billions of dollars of federal support for school-turnaround efforts, President Obama last week emphasized the importance of focusing on struggling schools. The federal government will be looking at “whether a state is focused on transforming not just its high-performing schools, not just the middle-of-the-pack schools, but the lowest-performing schools,” according to the president. “There’s always excuses for why these schools can’t perform. But part of what we want is an environment in which everybody agrees—from the governor to the school superintendent, teachers, principals, and most importantly parents and students—that there’s no excuse for mediocrity. And we will take drastic steps when schools aren’t working.”

There are now unprecedented resources available, through the multibillion-dollar “Race to the Top” program, to invest in struggling schools—approximately $13 million for DPS over the next three years, if the district meets the federal school turnaround criteria.

“This is some of the toughest and most important work we do—making very difficult decisions about dramatic school changes,” Boasberg said. “I understand the sensitivity of these decisions; they have great impact on our students and families, our teachers and our school leaders. In every school in the district we have wonderfully committed and talented teachers and school leaders working to improve opportunities for our students. We must recognize that commitment and talent and at the same time be willing to recognize some of our schools over the past several years have consistently failed to demonstrate satisfactory progress with their students. To recognize the latter is not to undermine the former. Rather it is to recognize that change is sometimes needed to allow our talented educators to establish and develop the kind of school cultures, atmosphere, and structures to best meet the needs of our students.”

In making the recommendations, the district’s leadership looked at the last four years of student growth data on the School Performance Framework. The six schools—three district-run schools and three charters—evaluated for turnaround strategies have each demonstrated student growth far below district averages over these last four years. The three district-run schools—Philips, Greenlee, and Lake—were the bottom-three performing schools out of the 130 schools on the district’s SPF rankings this year. The three charter schools—Northeast Academy, Skyland, and PS 1—are the three lowest-performing charter schools on the SPF.

Additionally, teams from the Colorado Department of Education performed an intensive diagnostic review on each of the schools. These qualitative diagnostics involve a week-long visit and conversations with school administrators, teachers, staff, students and parents and an evaluation of three areas: Academic Performance, Learning Environment, and Organizational Effectiveness. In each of these six schools, the CDE diagnostics emphasized significant shortcomings in each of these three major areas.

“It is essential that we engage the entire community in a discussion of the issues surrounding these decisions. Our strategies include turning around our lowest-performing schools in order to ensure that all of our students, in every neighborhood of the city, are graduating from our high schools prepared for college or career,” Boasberg added. “We have listened to the parents, students, teachers, and community members, beginning with regional meetings last spring and continuing this fall. We deeply appreciate their input and their commitment to our schools, and we believe these are the actions that will bring about the best outcomes for our students. We will continue to work with parents and the entire community going forward on these recommendations and more broadly on strategies to improve the performance of struggling schools elsewhere in district. ”

The Board of Education will hear public comment on these recommendations and those made last week at its Nov. 16 and Nov. 19 meetings, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The Board is expected to vote on all of the recommendations at its Nov. 30 meeting.

DPS November 9 Recommendations: A Regional Summary

Far Northeast

Proposed Turnaround of Northeast Academy, Charter School—The district has recommended an intensive school transformation initiative, including a comprehensive reorganization of the school’s academic program, in consultation and partnership with an education-management organization.

Proposed Co-Locations of SOAR, DSST, Multiple-Pathway Center at new Green Valley Ranch E-12 Campus

SOAR (charter school): Grades K-5 (over time); would serve 428 students at capacity; will provide a holistic educational approach with rigorous academic instruction and an extended school day; replication of FLI Academy in Harlem, NY—a proven model that has a school-wide proficiency rate of 85% in English language arts and 84% in math; plans to start with about 230 kindergarten through second-grade students in fall of 2010.

Northeast

Proposed Replacement of Philips Elementary School—The district has recommended that Philips be closed and replaced in fall of 2010 with Odyssey Charter School, which currently resides in Westerly Creek Elementary School. Philips’ neighborhood students in grades K-4, would be offered seats at Stapleton schools (Roberts or Westerly Creek) or Park Hill for the 2010-2011 school year. Students who currently choice-in to Philips would return to their home school or choice to other district schools. The Autistic Special Education Center Programs would be re-located to Stapleton schools. Transportation would be provided according to district transportation policy. Boundary changes would be necessary for all students living in the Philips attendance area.

Proposed Closure of Skyland Charter School—The district has recommended that Skyland be closed and its charter contract be non-renewed. The majority of students live in the attendance areas of Manual, East, George Washington and outside the district. Better-performing options are available for those students in these high schools, as well as in Colorado High School Charter and Community Challenge School.

Proposed Solutions to Stapleton Overcrowding—Rapid growth in student demand requires provision of additional capacity; near and mid-term solutions were developed with strong community input and civic leadership, with a focus on high quality schools that reflect the diversity of the Stapleton ring community; relocation of Odyssey Charter School, construction of third elementary school, temporary ECE center in Westerly Creek facility, and boundary change with Philips would address capacity concerns for near and mid–term.

Proposed location of Denver Language School at former Whiteman—The charter school would serve about 470 K-8 students at full capacity and offer full immersion in Mandarin and Spanish; would open with about 200 K-2 students in fall of 2010.

Southeast

Proposed location of Denver Green School at former Fallis—The Performance School would serve about 550 E-8 students at capacity; will implement a flexible, student-centered, standards-based curriculum that will emphasize hands-on and project-based learning with an emphasis on environmental sustainability; would open in fall of 2010 with about 240 preschool-2 and 6th-grade students.

Northwest

Proposed Turnaround/Restart of Greenlee Elementary School—The district has recommended that Greenlee change from a ECE-8 school to a ECE-5 school and that a comprehensive literacy program be implemented for the 2010-2011 school year. Students currently in ECE through grade four would be able to continue at Greenlee next year without disruption. Students currently in grades five, six and seven would be offered seats at Manny Martinez Charter School, which will become a boundary school, or Dora Moore.

Proposed Turnaround of Lake Middle School and Co-Location with West Denver Prep #3—The district has recommended that:

Lake continue as the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (IBMYP) at Lake International School;
Students currently in grades six and seven be able to continue at the Lake International School in a combined IBMYP 7th and 8th Grade Academy next year without disruption;
The incoming Lake sixth grade class be part of an IBMYP 6th Grade Academy program; and
The Lake facility become a shared campus with West Denver Prep School #3, which would begin operating with sixth grade students in the 2010-2011 school year.

The Lake facility’s capacity is 1000 students, which provides plenty of space for both schools to thrive and grow. As part of this recommendation, Lake’s boundary for the incoming class of 6th-graders in the 2010-2011 school year would be changed. WDP is a charter school that provides a college-preparatory focus, rigorous middle grades education of high standards, structure, and accountability; it is a replication of a proven school model—the only middle school rated as “Distinguished” on the SPF and the only “Distinguished” school with more than 50% of its enrollment eligible for free/reduced-priced meals. The school will serve about 300 6-8 students at capacity. A new boundary would be phased-in starting in the 2010-11 school year for incoming 6th-grade students who live in the Lake attendance area. The Board of Education in June unanimously approved West Denver Prep #3 and #4 for a 2010 opening, with approval specifying that both schools be located in Northwest Denver.

Proposed Location of West Denver Prep #4 at Emerson Street facility—Another replication of the successful charter school at the building that currently houses the Emerson Street alternative school. If approved, the Emerson and P.R.E.P. alternative-education programs would be consolidated into one facility located at P.R.E.P.; each program would continue to offer the same educational and social services previously offered. WDP would have an attendance boundary and serve about 300 6-8 students at full capacity.

Proposed one-year renewal of PS 1 Charter School and replacement through the new-school RFP process—The district has recommended that because this school serves a significant population of students with special needs who lack a strong array of other educational options, the Board grant PS 1 a one-year renewal and replace the school through the RFP process with a new school that can serve the existing students in the fall of 2011.

Good news for Stapleton residents–A third school (K-8) is slated to open in the fall of 2011. Learn about who came together in finding the money needed for Stapleton’s new school. Click here to read more: Deal will put third DPS school in Stapleton in 2011

Reminder, tomorrow evening (November 10^th) at 6:30 pm, there will be a meeting at Bill Roberts to discuss mid-term, long-term and diversity initiatives in the Stapleton schools.

Will Stapleton Residents Get Their Answers?

While at first it might seem that the utopian land of Stapleton isn’t all it was marketed to be, there is no doubt that the community will demand a solution. Due to lack of funding, dwindling home purchases in the area and the threat of overcrowded schools, Stapleton is finding itself in quite a pickle.  The children will end up somewhere, though parents surely expressed frustration with the lack of viable solutions presented Wednesday night.  One would think that DPS, DURA, Mayor Hickenlooper’s office, Forest City and folks from the Stapleton Foundation would have come brandishing an arsenal of possibilities to alleviate concerns. They did not.

The Stapleton Community Meeting drew a huge crowd Wednesday night. Scores of parents, TV cameras, reporters and representatives from various organizations and city departments were present at Bill Roberts Elementary to discuss the future of education in Stapleton.

After what seemed like a political filibuster consisting of a presentation of the financial situation by DURA representative Cameron Bertron, Stapleton School Survey data by Brian Weber and Justin Silverstein of the Stapleton Foundation and SUN, demographic data presentation by Ethan Hemming of DPS, the Q&A session opened up with a bang.  Amidst the hissing and booing of some overzealous parents, the mediators finally got the crowd under control and began answering the questions posed in a more orderly fashion.

The bottom line, it seems, is that there is no concrete plan. There isn’t even a liquid plan.  It was promised by David Suppes from DPS Board of Education, that options will be presented this fall so that Stapleton residents can solidify their plans for school choices by the deadlines in January.

We asked Stapleton family members who attended the meeting their thoughts on these issues as they stand today.  One thing is for certain, Stapleton residents are steadfast, they are united and they will get answers. Here are some of their thoughts:

Q: Did you find last night’s meeting to be helpful in gaining a better understanding of the issues at hand in Stapleton?

Parent 1: The most important thing I took away from the meeting is that DPS’s new projections for the number of kids per household (0.26) is so woefully off the mark there is no way TIF funding will be able to keep up (new projections will be based on the Stapleton School Survey).  All of the bellyaching about how development has been slowed by the economy is really just a mask for the underlying problem, which is that we will need more schools that what was originally planned (and provided for by TIF), and DPS will need to find funding outside of the TIF to provide for the educational needs of Stapleton.

Parent 2: Some of the data last night was informative, but I do not think it helped much in terms of clarifying the issues, and actually was somewhat misleading in terms of the focus on the bad economy and lack of ability to issue new TIF bonds.  It should be clear to DURA, DPS, Forest City, and all others that the 4 planned elementary/K-8 schools will not be sufficient for Stapleton’s projected population of 30,000 residents.  More development will only add to the problem.

Parent 3: Yes, I feel as if I understand how DURA runs and how that affects the financial situation in Stapleton.

Parent 4: Yes and no.  The fact portion wasn’t enlightening and the Q&A session was a bit scattershot.  The primary facts that stay with me are the projection of one child per every fourth house, that there is no plan for over-enrollment in 2010, and that (if I remember this correctly) there is no more bonding capacity until 2024.  One issue that was not addressed at all is the allegation made by the residents that Forest City (or builders) made representations that a school would be built in 2009/2010, unless I missed it…

Parent 5: While the various “players” made good efforts to explain the factors that led to the current crisis of capacity and the present constraints and limitations on solutions, they did not seem to very far along in identifying feasible solutions and quantifying tradeoffs for comparative purposes.

Q: How are you feeling about the future of the Stapleton schools after this meeting?

Parent 1: Unsettled. It was shocking to me that DPS convened such a meeting without having any proposals for how to address the problem.  I plan to take a wait and see approach for now, especially since I have a few years before my daughter will be elementary age.

Parent 2: Encouraged that we have such an active and engaged group of residents and parents. I think we are a very thoughtful community, and I know there is broad support for finding reasonable alternatives to a traditional DPS school in a traditional school building for the short term.

Parent 3: I am unhappy with the lack of planning and foresight that went into the schools in Stapleton. I also feel as if there has been little attempt to fix the problem. I heard a lot of reasons why Stapleton is in the current situation, but I did not hear any options or creative solutions.

Parent 4: There were exactly zero answers and close to zero ideas for resolution from DPS. Suffice it to say this does not engender a lot of confidence.

Parent 5: Not terribly optimistic. As an economist, this is how I would sum it up.  Neighboring schools and Stapleton schools are not close substitutes (i.e. residents are not terribly willing to bus or transport their kids to another neighborhood school, even if it’s a quality program).  Given the size of the impending capacity gap, without an in-neighborhood solution, three things will predictably happen. Some families will choose a private alternative, some will move to another neighborhood for a better public option, and some families that might have moved to Stapleton won’t. This will depress housing prices but will alleviate the demands on our neighborhood public schools. How this will affect the quality of the schools in Stapleton is not clear to me, at this point.

Q: What solution(s) to the overcrowding in the Stapleton schools would you like to see proposed (given the economic and logistical restrictions you heard last night)?

Parent 1: In the long run, as I mentioned above, DPS needs to come up with funding for additional schools to accommodate the much higher than projected number of children per household.  Otherwise, this problem will only get worse as the community continues to grow.  In the short-term, I would like to see DPS (and, and perhaps charters) offer options that will: (1) first and foremost, provide a high-quality education for our children and (2) keep the kids together, to the extent possible rather than bussing them all over town.  Perhaps DPS could create magnet schools (a gifted program, a language program, or an arts-based program for elementary-age children) in East Denver that would attract families.  If charters can get funding to build or expand in the area (perhaps Odyssey), that might alleviate the pressure in the short term).

Parent 2: I would specifically suggest creating a traditional DPS school that is first housed in some form of non-traditional space, like an office building or one of the empty warehouse buildings on Havana/40th.  Trailers could also be an option, but I prefer smaller schools than we have in Stapleton, so that the principals and administrators actually know the students and don’t treat them as cogs in a machine.

Parent 3: A new elementary school would be the best option. A section would be to move Odyssey out and allow Westerly Creek to expand into that space. A third would be to eliminate ECE programs (particularly at WC) in Stapleton or move them to a different location. Another, and less desirable option, would be temporary trailers on the property of each school.

Parent 4: As mentioned above there weren’t any options presented and I simply do not have the knowledge base or time to develop my own public education program for DPS in Stapleton

Parent 5: I can’t take credit for most of these, but a few suggestions follow: FEMA trailers, as a temporary solution; work with Park Hill neighborhood to fill open seats in its school with Stapleton residents and create a joint-community effort to raise quality of those schools; build onto/expand Westerly Creek, if possible; relocate Odyssey within Stapleton; develop adult living communities in Stapleton that will contribute to high value properties and keep down growth of school-age children.

Q: Do you think you’ll continue to, or apply to send your child or children to one of these schools in following years given the circumstances?

Parent 1: Too soon to tell.

Parent 2: Yes. I will work hard to solve this problem and find a great school for my daughter.

Parent 3: Yes. I believe in public schools.

Parent 4: Our plan was to send the kids to the public schools in Stapleton, although we vacillated a bit we thought as long as reports were good we’d give it a shot.  Now we’ll just wait and see.  We have until 2011 so I guess we’ll have a bit of time.

Parent 5: Yes.

Q: If not, what are the other options you are considering right now?

Parent 1: At this point, everything is on the table (public, charter, private, etc.).

Parent 2: We will stay in Stapleton, but may have to look at other schools in the area, if DPS cannot get its act together.

Parent 3: NA

Parent 4: Anything and everything EXCEPT home schooling!

Parent 5: Carson, Logan, Montessori K

Q: Do you believe that DURA, DPS, Forest City and the Stapleton Foundation will stick to their promise of proposed solutions by October?

Parent 1: No idea, but it disappoints me that they did not anticipate this problem earlier on, given that the fact that their projections were way off should have been obvious years ago.  How can you build a community specifically designed to attract families with children and then assume that the number of children per household will be the same as the rest of the city?

Parent 2: Yes, because the residents will give them no choice.

Parent 3: Possibly. I am afraid that they will tell us that.  We all agreed that proximity is a priority and the fear is that they will attempt to bus kids to nearby public schools. This would be totally unacceptable to me. Proximity in Stapleton is very different than proximity outside of Stapleton. The schools surrounding this area are not very good and I would not have chosen to move here had I know that might be an option.

Parent 4: I am positive that they will have at least one meeting, that there will be at least three proposed solutions, and that none of them will be acceptable.

Parent 5: They will try, but won’t succeed without considerable involvement, assistance and pressure from residents of the community.

Q: Do you have anything else that you would like to add?

Parent 1: It is important that we work together as a community to address this issue and not wait for DPS to take the lead.  If we stand together, we will have a much greater chance of having our voices heard and the needs of our children met.

Parent 2: We cannot allow DPS, Forest City, and our elected officials pretend this is a problem due to the bad economy. If we had moredevelopment to pay for another school, we would also have more students.  We need another funding stream for extra schools.  DPS issued bonds for to pay for new schools in Lowry and Green Valley Ranch, and will need to do the same for Stapleton.  We should push them to do so as soon as possible.  They agreed to the current TIF funding arrangement that pays for 4 elementary/K-8 schools, so it’s up to them to provide the extra school space that is needed, given that their original projections were bad.

Parent 3: Yes. I would like to re-emphasize that proximity in Stapleton is very different than proximity outside of Stapleton.

Parent 4: One, does DPS even have capacity for all these kids at other schools?  Two, Stapleton parents are getting a bad rap. The school will fall short on capacity by something like double the current enrollment.  Any other neighborhood would be just as upset.

I knew there was an overcrowding crisis in the Stapleton Schools but didn’t realize just how bad it was until I read this article.  The schools are filled to capacity and Kindergarten classes have doubled in attendance from last year to this year. The building of a third school has been put on hold because the land is contaminated by asbestos. Due to the debilitating economy, Stapleton has seen a dramatic decrease of home sales these past couple of years, which means less tax revenues for schools. If I were a parent in this neighborhood whose child was attending school here in the near future, I would be very concerned. DPS is concerned with the Stapleton school situation and so are the hundreds of parents who moved there over the past few years. Who can blame them? Schools in this neighborhood were probably a big draw for a lot of these families. Hopefully, questions will be answered and problems will be solved sooner than later, or like one parent said in the article, people won’t be moving to Stapleton for the schools but moving away from Stapleton because of the schools.

Read the full article here: http://www.denverpost.com/education/ci_12986687

School:  WILLIAM ROBERTS ELEMENTARY – “BILL ROBERTS”

Website: http://billroberts.dpsk12.org/

Type: Public-DPS

Tours: Begin in the fall (check back for updates and more specific information)

Main Phone: (720) 424-2640

Principal: Patricia Lea

Location: 2100 Akron Way, Denver, CO 80238 – Stapleton Neighborhood

Hours: 8:15 AM – 3:15 PM (Fridays are “early release” at 1:00 PM)

Grades: ECE-8^th Grade, Full Day Kindergarten

Average Class Size: Approximately 530 students attend Bill Roberts.  This year the Kindergarten classes averaged about 23 students but given the Stapleton classroom shortage, those classes will likely be at full capacity next fall.  There are five Kindergarten classrooms with two of them being Advanced K.  There are three 1^st grade classrooms.

Before/After Care: Enrichment programs are available to students after school.

Facilities and Playground: The school was built in 2006 so everything is very new and state-of-the-art. There are several playground structures and playing fields.

Special & Core Programs: Beyond Spanish (5^th grade and above), PE, Art and Music, Bill Roberts emphasizes a “Growth and Challenge for All” philosophy that is comprised of four key elements: academic excellence and rigor, differentiated instruction, professional learning communities, and service learning.  Instruction is focused on DPS’s  Literacy Program and Everyday Mathematics (K-5^th grade) and Connected Mathematics (6^th – 8^th grades). There are after school sports and enrichment programs for children to join that include drama, Spanish, art and technology instruction.  These programs change throughout the year.

Impressions: Stapleton is often described by those that have yet to drink the Koolaid as a soulless moonscape with cookie-cutter houses and equally homogeneous families occupying those houses.  You know the type, or maybe you are one, with two or three young kids, a dog and an SUV.  Well, from an outsider it may look like the reincarnation of “The Stepford Wives” but I dare say that, while it might not be ethnically diverse, many of the inhabitants happen to be dear friends and I know they have souls!  I find that I am often inviting myself to Stapleton not only to visit my very interesting and non-robotic friends, but also to enjoy its clean parks, massive pools, community events and quiet manicured streets that are a trick-or-treater’s dream.

When it comes to Bill Roberts Elementary, I find that I draw parallels to the neighborhood.  The vast, state-of-the art structure built only a few years ago is more reminiscent of a new alumni endowed college building than a place for small children to spend their days being creative and shaping their future. The facilities were ooooh so pretty; a “cafetorium” for both eating and performances, a gymnasium nicer than any elementary setting I’ve seen, an art room to die for, and pristine classrooms and hallways.  It was exciting, and at the same time daunting, to me for sure…but is it to the children?  I don’t know.

The upper grades don’t interact with the lower grades much – and we were told this was done on purpose.  I witnessed large packs of 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders cruising down the hallway during our tour.  They were not supposed to interface with the lower grades, according to the parent who was giving the tour, for fear of intimidation.  In retrospect, I feel it could have been a great opportunity for some mentorship programs but who am I to suggest such things!  The parent also assured our group that soon, there will only be children from the Stapleton neighborhood occupying the school as they are not enrolling anyone from “the outside” as they once did in order to fill the classrooms.  I found this a bit disconcerting thinking about where all the students from nearby Aurora will now have to go.  The parent probably intended this news to be a selling point, but the thought of the elimination of a vast majority of the diversity within the school did not sit well with me.  On the other hand, it is no secret that Stapleton will be facing a classroom shortage as soon as 2010 so I suppose there is no choice.

*Update: Middle school students do interact with elementary students. Many middle school students work in the elementary classrooms for an hour or so in the afternoon, helping the teachers with various tasks in the classrooms.

Other than the glory of the facilities and equipment (the Music room is flush with instruments and a great teacher), I felt no love from this school.  It could have been the institutional vibe, it could have been that the Assistant Principal was using a “walkie talkie” as a means of communication, and it also could have been the unclear information about where fundraising monies were allocated that turned me off entirely.

*Update: The money raised by the PTA (over $100,000 last year) goes directly to the school, and for the 2009-10 school year, will be used to pay for the equivalent of 2 full time teachers.

I have gotten feedback from several parents whose children will be attending next year, and their initial impressions were not like mine. One parent, whose child just completed a year in one of the Advanced K classes at the school said “I can tell you that overall our experience has been excellent. I love the community, the teachers really teach to the level of the child and not just by a boilerplate grade level curriculum. [Our daughter] is already reading at a first grade level and first grade hasn’t even started yet.” Other parents I’ve spoken to are also pleased with their experience with the teachers. There seems to be a strong community of parents shaping its future, so perhaps they can inject some warmth and inspiration into its halls.

To be clear, my impressions are based on a tour given by a parent (as well as my husband’s impressions of that tour), a brief Q&A interaction with the Assistant Principal and a handful of parents. When I called and emailed the school on several occasions to discuss this profile, I got no response.  I am hoping that someone will call me back to shed some light on the programs that make the school unique.

We welcome your comments and impressions on your experience with Bill Roberts Elementary.

Here’s an interesting news clip about the impending shortage of Kindergarten and Elementary school space in the Denver neighborhood of Stapleton.  Apparently, a third school was supposed to be built, but due to lack of funding as a result of the failing economy, the school will not be built.  Bill Roberts and Westerly Creek are the two DPS Elementary schools currently available and The Odyssey School is a DPS Charter School that is open to all of Denver through the choice process.  With eleven Kindergarten classrooms between the schools,  parents with young children should be wary that they might need to look outside of Stapleton in a year or two.  There are a couple of Charter schools in the area but they have yet to be approved as well as other DPS and Private schools in nearby neighborhoods like Lowry.  Parents will also have a tough time getting children in to some of these as there are fewer and fewer choice and lottery spots available.  What is a Stapleton parent to do?