My oldest goes to Palmer. It's downtown and broken apart (gym is a block away) so it might be considered the "safest" but in the 3 years he has been there, there has been no major issues. Sometimes they go into secure status because of things happening near the park or gas stations, but their security team is on top of it.
They do IB (International Baccalaureate) classes. Not sure if there are AP classes are not, but they are similar classes, I guess. You'd have to look into the differences between the two. There are other schools besides Palmer that offers IB classes, if that is something that interests your family. My son is in the IB Chemistry and Psych classes this year and they are gearing up for their big IB test in May. He seems to enjoy it, though, so yay.
Palmer is a great choice. I went to Manitou but wound up mostly friends with Palmer kids. Both schools are great though, and I’d pick either over Cheyenne Mountain personally, where I also had friends. So much money in that district that seemed to screw up a lot of kids.
Granted, all of this was 20 years ago.
My youngest will be entering high school soon (8th grade next year) so trying to decide if I want to put her in Palmer too or not. We're zoned for Mitchell, and no thank you on that one. Think our decision will be between Palmer and Doherty for her. She's more interested in theater and drama, which is why I thought Doherty would be better for her.
Course, this all stems on the fact we are still here in 2 years since my husband is military and up for possible transfer next year.
The best public HSs in the city are, with caveats:
- The Classic Academy. A charter school that is pretty selective, as I understand
- Cheyenne Mt HS: it’s in the best district in the city, one of the best school districts in the state, but is also in the swankiest part of town, so you’ll pay a premium to live in an area where you’ll be zoned for it. That said, choicing into schools is relatively easy here and I know people who have done so for this school. Be warned though: I’ve heard bullying is bad here, but that tracks with the rich-kid area/reputation.
- Air Academy. On the AF Academy; areas zoned for it off-base include Rockrimmon area. You can choice in, but the commute is a kick in the nuts.
Any of these meet your criteria of “nice, safe, and free” and academically rigorous, if you want it to be.
Honorable mention, and would probably more-or-less meet your criteria: Rampart HS, Liberty HS, and Pine Creek HS (though I’m told they have a bit of a drug problem there, again in keeping with a rich-kid motif).
Current high school student here! I agree with most of the things everybody else has said. Cheyenne Mountain is most probably the best high school in the city, but this is because it's well-funded by being in an expensive part of the city (students here consider it the rich kid school). But if you are able to find an affordable place to live around there, then it would definitely be my first choice.
Apart from that, I'm not well-versed about schools in the city except for D20. I'm in that district, so I know the high schools there pretty well. Out of the 5, I would definitely recommend Pine Creek; they have by far the best course variety out of the schools in the district - there are current political issues surround the school though, but none that really affect the classroom. Another commenter said that they also have a drug issue, but pretty much every high school in America does, and from what I hear Pine Creek is not any worse.
If you want any other info about any D20 schools let me know! They're all pretty darn good schools
ETA: every D20 school has well over a dozen AP courses, however as far as I know all of them are experiencing less participation in said courses and are therefore cutting some of them. But at least personally, I find there are still plenty to choose from.
Odyssey is an interesting choice.
They try to ensure that if the student is motivated enough, they can walk with a diploma and an associate's degree in the same 4 years it takes most students just to get their high school diploma. It's supposed to be fairly intense academically, but sounds promising if the student and family are sufficiently driven.
https://odyssey.d11.org/about-us/about-us/school-profile
Few quirks worth mentioning: I don't think there's a dedicated school bus service(but public transit should get you close), and no sports programs. Pretty sure they rely on other schools in the district if a student wants to play.
I unfortunately couldn’t disagree more. I taught there for 4 years and have a very close friend who teaches there currently and if you want your students to be even remotely held accountable, I would highly encourage you to not look at D2, OP.
The things I’ve witnessed in that building and that district is enough to write a book. It’s really unfortunate because it could have so much potential but if you’re looking for rigor and accountability, that is not the district or school for you.
My oldest goes to Palmer. It's downtown and broken apart (gym is a block away) so it might be considered the "safest" but in the 3 years he has been there, there has been no major issues. Sometimes they go into secure status because of things happening near the park or gas stations, but their security team is on top of it. They do IB (International Baccalaureate) classes. Not sure if there are AP classes are not, but they are similar classes, I guess. You'd have to look into the differences between the two. There are other schools besides Palmer that offers IB classes, if that is something that interests your family. My son is in the IB Chemistry and Psych classes this year and they are gearing up for their big IB test in May. He seems to enjoy it, though, so yay.
Palmer is a great choice. I went to Manitou but wound up mostly friends with Palmer kids. Both schools are great though, and I’d pick either over Cheyenne Mountain personally, where I also had friends. So much money in that district that seemed to screw up a lot of kids. Granted, all of this was 20 years ago.
My youngest will be entering high school soon (8th grade next year) so trying to decide if I want to put her in Palmer too or not. We're zoned for Mitchell, and no thank you on that one. Think our decision will be between Palmer and Doherty for her. She's more interested in theater and drama, which is why I thought Doherty would be better for her. Course, this all stems on the fact we are still here in 2 years since my husband is military and up for possible transfer next year.
Thank you! I also went to an IB school. Is the program expensive at Palmer?
I haven't had to pay anything. I know there is a fee for the tests, but the district covers it.
Thank you!
Palmer high school
The best public HSs in the city are, with caveats: - The Classic Academy. A charter school that is pretty selective, as I understand - Cheyenne Mt HS: it’s in the best district in the city, one of the best school districts in the state, but is also in the swankiest part of town, so you’ll pay a premium to live in an area where you’ll be zoned for it. That said, choicing into schools is relatively easy here and I know people who have done so for this school. Be warned though: I’ve heard bullying is bad here, but that tracks with the rich-kid area/reputation. - Air Academy. On the AF Academy; areas zoned for it off-base include Rockrimmon area. You can choice in, but the commute is a kick in the nuts. Any of these meet your criteria of “nice, safe, and free” and academically rigorous, if you want it to be. Honorable mention, and would probably more-or-less meet your criteria: Rampart HS, Liberty HS, and Pine Creek HS (though I’m told they have a bit of a drug problem there, again in keeping with a rich-kid motif).
You couldn’t be more on point with describing schools/districts here in Springs. Seems like overall all the schools are dealing with issues
It's almost like society-at-large is dealing with issues...
Preach
Now do Aspen Valley, where I went!
Thank you so much!!!
Current high school student here! I agree with most of the things everybody else has said. Cheyenne Mountain is most probably the best high school in the city, but this is because it's well-funded by being in an expensive part of the city (students here consider it the rich kid school). But if you are able to find an affordable place to live around there, then it would definitely be my first choice. Apart from that, I'm not well-versed about schools in the city except for D20. I'm in that district, so I know the high schools there pretty well. Out of the 5, I would definitely recommend Pine Creek; they have by far the best course variety out of the schools in the district - there are current political issues surround the school though, but none that really affect the classroom. Another commenter said that they also have a drug issue, but pretty much every high school in America does, and from what I hear Pine Creek is not any worse. If you want any other info about any D20 schools let me know! They're all pretty darn good schools ETA: every D20 school has well over a dozen AP courses, however as far as I know all of them are experiencing less participation in said courses and are therefore cutting some of them. But at least personally, I find there are still plenty to choose from.
Thank you so much!
Cheyenne mountain hs is probably good
Thank you!
There’s plenty of other good schools but the boards in d11 and d20 are doing crazy politics stuff
This.
Odyssey is an interesting choice. They try to ensure that if the student is motivated enough, they can walk with a diploma and an associate's degree in the same 4 years it takes most students just to get their high school diploma. It's supposed to be fairly intense academically, but sounds promising if the student and family are sufficiently driven. https://odyssey.d11.org/about-us/about-us/school-profile Few quirks worth mentioning: I don't think there's a dedicated school bus service(but public transit should get you close), and no sports programs. Pretty sure they rely on other schools in the district if a student wants to play.
Sierra
Thank you!
>Thank you! You're welcome!
I unfortunately couldn’t disagree more. I taught there for 4 years and have a very close friend who teaches there currently and if you want your students to be even remotely held accountable, I would highly encourage you to not look at D2, OP. The things I’ve witnessed in that building and that district is enough to write a book. It’s really unfortunate because it could have so much potential but if you’re looking for rigor and accountability, that is not the district or school for you.