School: PARK HILL ELEMENTARY

Website: http://parkhill.dpsk12.org/

Type: Public-DPS

Tours: Tours take place in the fall. Currently, tours are given each Wednesday at 9am (through December). Be sure to check the website or call the school to reserve a spot.

Main Phone: (303) 322-1811

Principal: Tonda Potts

Location: 5050 E.19^th Avenue, Denver, CO, 80220-Park Hill neighborhood

Hours: 8:15 AM-3:00 PM

Grades: ECE-5^th grade (2 full day Kindergarten classrooms, 1 half day K classroom)

Average Class Size: Approximately 500 students attend Park Hill. This school has an average class size of 25 students per classroom. Many paraprofessionals were seen in the classrooms too.

Before/After Care: Kaleidoscope Corner (before and after school) After school extensions such as Destination Imagination, Chess Club, Junior Great Books are also offered.

Facilities/Playground: The ECE and Kindergartners have their own playground separate from the rest of the school. They also have their own drop-off and pick-up area as well. The playground for the rest of the students (1^st-5^th graders) is located in the back of the building. I saw two separate areas designated with playground equipment for the students. One area had updated equipment while the other looked very dated. There was a blacktop area and a large, grassy field for organized play. An urban garden also can be found on the school grounds.

Special & Core Programs: Park Hill hosts ICOMM (Intensive Communication Center program). It’s a district program providing instruction to students with speech and language needs within the regular classroom. The ICOMM students learn along side the regular ed students along with a full-time speech pathologist, full-time teacher, and full-time paraprofessional. There are three fully-inclusive classrooms. This program attracts children from other neighborhoods.

This school benefits greatly from nearby Park Hill businesses. Park Hill also has many community partnerships outside the neighborhood, including Denver Urban Gardens, CU Boulder, CU Denver, University of Wyoming, and the Denver Zoo. These are some of the programs that enrich the curriculum at Park Hill. Many interns and student teachers can be seen throughout the school.

Impressions: Park Hill Elementary is nestled within the historical Park Hill neighborhood. This school was built in the early 1900’s. It’s had several expansions and renovations since then. The Spanish Colonial Revival design is very unique. As you enter the school, you are greeted within a large foyer with an ascending and descending staircase. On the main floor, the hallways are wide and the lighting is bright. You can also see some of the unique architectural details such as the wood banisters, door trim, and molding.

An enthusiastic parent led us on the tour. She expressed high praise for the principal, staff, and programming offered to the students. As we made our way through the building, I have to admit, from the outside, the school is deceiving in size. Once within, there are 3 different levels with long hallways complete with an east and west wing. There were three secretaries in the office busy working and manning the phones. I found the size of the school and getting around a bit overwhelming and wondered what impact the size of the school has on its students when they first arrive. A positive to a spacious building like this is the designated wing for the ECE and Kindergarten students. They have a separate wing, their own playground area, and separate drop-off and pick-up area. The school recently downsized from a K-8 school to an ECE-5^th grade school. I wondered if more parents would consider this school now that the middle school program was gone.   The student population is minimized of course, but there are still approximately 500 students that attend. The size of each classroom felt different; several seemed oversized while others seemed cramped. Overall, the classrooms were quite spacious and due to the large windows, there was lots of natural light.

I couldn’t help but notice 2-3 adults in many of the classrooms we visited and not just in the lower grades. There are a lot of paraprofessionals, interns, and student teachers assisting throughout the school year. I believe this provides a win-win situation for the student teachers and classroom teachers. The classroom teachers pass on their experiences while the student teachers pass on current teaching methods and innovative ideas. How lucky for these students! Our tour guide told us that on any given day, there are many parent volunteers present within the classroom as well. While taking a peek in one of the classrooms, I recognized the owner of a local Park Hill coffee shop. I got the feeling there was a real sense of community at this school between parents, staff, and students. There is a very active PTSA and a majority of the funding they raise goes towards hiring paraprofessionals, technology support, arts programming, after school activities, and community building activities.

Children from different grade levels interact. Last year, the fourth graders teamed up with the Kindergartners for reading buddies I was told. It was obvious from our tour that there is a very diverse student population. I learned that two thirds of the students were from the neighborhood while the rest of the students choiced in. I couldn’t help but notice the computer lab complete with new apple computers purchased through grant money. How nice to have a separate classroom for computers! It was fun to observe a music class that was underway. The children were actively engaged. Some playing instruments while others sang and danced. And the music class took place in the music room! I may be making a big deal about separate classrooms for subjects such as computer lab or music but in DPS, this is a big deal. Many of the elementary schools are facing overcrowding issues and space is at a minimum.

Tonda Potts, the principal, was gracious enough to answer some of our questions at the end of the tour. She has been at Park Hill for three years and many positive changes have occurred because of her strong leadership. Tonda told us for the last two years the school has been ranked by DPS as a high growth/high status top performing school. She credits the qualified staff, along with the strong support from parents and the community. The partnerships with Park Hill businesses, the collaborations with community partnerships (especially all those colleges) have made the school unique in comparison to others in the district.

We welcome your comments and impressions on your experience with Park Hill Elementary.