MIDDLE SCHOOLS IN PARK HILL-STAPLETON SHARED ZONE

Denver Discovery School

260 students
Principal: Pam Kirk
http://denverdiscoveryschool.dpsk12.org/
Tours at 8:45am:
Jan 11, 25 and Feb 1, 8
Open House Jan 29 at 6pm

At DDS, our motto is “small enough to know you, large enough to serve you.” We are a good fit for students who are looking for a smaller middle school where relationships are valued. We take pride in fostering deep relationships between teachers and families, and our small class sizes allow for a tight-fit culture and personalized approach to education. While we are proud to be a smaller school, we also offer extracurriculars after school, clubs, athletics and other opportunities that you would find at a larger school. The clubs and activities offered are inspired by student input and interest. Some clubs and activities include culinary arts, drama, gaming, lacrosse, dodgeball, yoga and more. DDS participates in the Denver Prep League, and offers year-round girls and boys competitive sports.

Denver Green School Northfield

150 6th graders in 2019-20
540 students at full build-out
Principal: Kartal Jaquette and Erin Miller
kartal_jaquette@denvergreenschool.org
Tour/event info:
Sat., Jan. 12 at Punch Bowl Social, Time TBD
Tues., January 8 at Park Hill Ele., 5:30-6:30pm
Wed., Jan. 9 at Isabella Bird, 6:15-7:15pm
More events to be scheduled.

Denver Green School Northfield, which is opening in 2019-20 with 6th grade, is the newest middle school to join DPS. The school, to be co-located at the Park Street Campus with Inspire Elementary, plans to open with approximately 150 6th graders. The original Denver Green School, located near George Washington High School, is a distinguished or ‘blue’ school. This past year, it had the 2nd highest report card out of 58 middle schools (after Slavens), the 2nd highest literacy growth (after Bill Roberts), and the 2nd highest math growth (after Slavens). Kartal Jaquette, the current school leader of the original DGS, will be leaving that post, alongside fellow leader Erin Miller, to be solely focused on the incoming 6th graders of DGS Northfield. This team has demonstrated themselves to be prepared, organized and passionate, three traits that we expect to shine through in the new school.

While a proven track record of academic success and a high level of organization are defining features of DGS, the true magic of the school is the focus on creating an engaging and relevant learning environment. It is called the ‘Green’ School because students engage in thematic units that focus on aspects of sustainability. Whether 6th graders are criss-crossing the city examining the impacts of gentrification or preparing to cook their own meals for our camping trip to Moab, students always have a relevant project that is guiding their work. For students, the most exciting part of this focus is the excursion program, which gets students off campus to learn at least a dozen times a year.

In many ways, this focus on sustainability, and making learning relevant helps us focus on what education should look like. School should be fun. Students should get their hands dirty in the garden and stained in art class. Sure, we use computers to get our work done, but a dynamic school is so much more than staring at a computer. Our commitment to this dynamic school manifests itself in more than excursions. Friday celebrations have contests ranging from karaoke and 3-pointers to bake-offs. All students will be offered Spanish and we expect our instrumental program, choral music and visual arts to truly engage all learners. After school choices, including a range of competitive sports and clubs, keep students engaged beyond our 8:00-3:30 school day.

Editors Note: With the very recent announcement that Denver Green School will be the newest middle school in the Stapleton-Park Hill shared zone, we offered additional space for them to introduce themselves.

DSST: Conservatory Green

468 Students
School Director: John Clark
https://www.dsstpublicschools.org/conservatory-green-middle-school
Open House: Jan. 17
Tours: Jan. 17, Feb. 5

DSST: Conservatory Green opened its doors in 2014 and has rated as a Top 10 middle school in Denver for each of those years. While strong academics are a hallmark of our school, it is the tight community that is built in our school that is most important. We do this through a robust advisory program where every student is paired with a teacher who serves as a support to them academically and emotionally at school. We also build a tight-knit community through the many extracurricular opportunities we offer. This includes an athletic program that both seeks to be competitive while building sportsmanship. Our sports include soccer, volleyball, soccer, cross country, basketball, and flag football. Additionally, we have nearly 15 clubs that provide students with opportunities outside of our traditional academics. We are currently working to hire an Extra-curricular Coordinator and our clubs are ever changing in order to reflect the needs of our community. Some of our clubs include our teams in Robotics and Speech and Debate, Student Council, Art Club, Anime Club, and much more.

We’re one of the most diverse and integrated schools in all of Denver—students build relationships with students from many different backgrounds and learn what it means to be part of a global community.

DSST:Stapleton

480 Students
School Director: Dan Sullivan
https://www.dsstpublicschools.org/stapleton-middle-school
Visiting: https://info.dsstpublicschools.org/visit-schools
Open Houses: January 16, 24; February 6, 13
Tours: Jan. 14, 16, 23, 28, 30; Feb. 6, 11

DSST: Stapleton Middle School has a track record of success as a small, inclusive, and integrated school that blends a world class education with a commitment to civics and character. We are a STEM-focused liberal arts school that also include arts programming and developing a love of literature and reading into our school. In 6th and 7th grade, students take both studio art and drama in addition to their core classes. Our school community is thriving with a wide variety of clubs including Student Government, Drama, Drumline, Art, Nutrition/Cooking, Science, Math Olympiad, Weight Lifting, Running and more. With high staff retention and veteran teachers with more than a decade of experience, we are poised to continue improving our students’ achievement. Our students come from a wide variety of backgrounds to form a community rich in ideas and perspectives – a community where students get to work with, learn from, and develop lasting friendships with other students and their incredible variety of experiences and ideas.

McAuliffe International

1,600 Students
Principal: Kurt Dennis
http://mcauliffe.dpsk12.org
Tours are on Fridays through January. Book at: http://mcauliffe.dpsk12.org/booktour

We believe that McAuliffe’s Distinguished “Blue” rating on the SPF is an accurate reflection of our school’s performance.

William (Bill) Roberts

203 students (adding a third 6th grade section in 2019)
Principal: Patricia Lea
http://billroberts.dpsk12.org/topmiddleschoolinstapletonandparkhill
Tours: http://billroberts.dpsk12.org/parents/take-a-tour/

Opened in 2009, Bill Roberts is the most established Park Hill-Stapleton Middle School. We are ranked in the top 6% in the State; one of few middle schools in the entire district to be considered distinguished. Our program allows students to thrive by focusing on strong relationships in an inclusive community. With both strong GT support and intervention, we pride ourselves on meeting a student where they are on the educational continuum. Our Campos SMARTLab and MyTech 1:1 laptop program allow students to utilize technology and develop 21st century skills.

Beyond our academics, we identify and add programming each year to meet students’ desires and interests. Recent examples include our girls engineering club, student-run tutoring club, and Übergrippen climbing. Our students grow through playing sports and engaging in enrichments, as well as learning through outdoor education at such places as Chatfield Reservoir (Avid for Adventure), Snow Mountain Ranch and a culminating 8th grade trip to the Florida Keys. We are a family and we value every one of our members.

As an E-8 school, our 6th-8th students are leaders. Through their experiences as Buddies, Teacher’s Aides/Assistants and friends, they learn the value of character traits such as role modeling, integrity and leadership while practicing respect, compassion, and generosity.

MORE NE AREA MIDDLE SCHOOLS

Aurora Science and Tech

School Director: Peter Sherman
https://www.dsstpublicschools.org/aurora-science-and-tech
Tours/information: Peter Sherman, peter.sherman@scienceandtech.org or Yunuen Cisneros, 303.802.4117
Open houses: Jan. 10 & 23, 6:00pm at Moorhead Recreation Center

Aurora Science & Tech is a new STEM 6-12 school opening in fall 2019 to be located on the Anschutz Medical Campus. Aurora students will have priority. Applicants from other districts are welcome to apply and will be accepted as space allows for the first class of 150 6th graders. AST will be the first DSST Public School in Aurora Public Schools. This unique location will allow us the opportunity to provide in-depth learning experiences with and alongside scientific and medical professionals. AST will offer a world-class and innovative STEM program partnering with the medical campus. AST students will enjoy hands-on experiential learning opportunities in STEM and the liberal arts. Students will engage in progressively complex and rigorous courses leading to internships and science pathways. AST seeks to enroll a diverse array of families interested in joining and creating a new school community. AST will open with 6th graders in fall 2019 and will grow out one grade level per year until the school is a full 6th-12th grade program. It is fully expected that AST will earn the highest ratings on the state SPF. Applications available January 15 – February 28.

Hill Campus of Arts & Sciences

850 students
Principal Sean Kavanaugh
http://hill.dpsk12.org/
Open House: Jan. 14
Tours: Feb. 1, sign up at
http://hill.dpsk12.org/come-soar-as-a-skyhawk-shadow-hcas/

Hill Campus of Arts and Sciences is a traditional 6-8 school, home to 850 students. Hill will kick-off the choice process, by hosting an Open House on January 14 from 5:30-7:00. Principal Kavanaugh will be speaking to prospective parents and students. Families will then have an opportunity to meet with teachers, current Hill students, and walk the campus.

McAuliffe Manual

330 students
Principal: Jessica Long
http://mcauliffemanual.dpsk12.org
Tours are on Wednesdays.
sign up via out website’s homepage

We believe that McAuliffe Manual’s rating of Meeting Expectations or Green is an accurate reflection of our school’s academic performance.

Odyssey School

78 students
Principal: Marnie Cooke
www.odysseydenver.org
http://odysseydenver.org/enrollment/open-house-schedule/
Open houses: Thurs, Jan 17, 6pm
Thurs, Jan 24, 9:30am
Tues, Feb 12 at 9:30am
Wed, Feb 27 at 6pm

Odyssey School of Denver is a diverse public DPS, K-8 Expeditionary Learning school. We teach students how to learn through a focus on academic achievement, critical thinking and social responsibility, preparing them for high school and beyond. Odyssey opened its doors in 1998 as a shared vision of a dedicated group of parents, teachers, and community members from the Park Hill area. Their specific goal was to design an innovative school based on the principals of Expeditionary Learning to serve a richly diverse community. Our vision for students is they will: take risks and innovate; lead with integrity and compassion; be civically and socially engaged;push themselves to exceed expectations; and embrace learning as a life-long adventure. Our school is small, allowing for deep relationships between student and teacher, staff and families. Adventure is a critical component of our Expeditionary Learning program for every student. Each “crew,” or class, camps twice each school year, with trips ranging from two to eight days. Through adventure, our students reach personal goals, build confidence, learn how to work as a team, and become more supple learners and leaders.

To read our article about thoughtful consumer SchoolChoice, go to:frontporchne.com/thoughtfulschoolchoice/
To learn about NE Denver Elementary School choices, go to: frontporchne.com/elementary-schools2019/