Where to live and what schools are good (Littleton: public schools, bus)

[littlebug55]

Originally Posted by mic111

Generally schools in Colorado are pretty good. The more you pay for your house the better the schools system is likely to be but you will find satisfied parents in all school districts and pretty much all schools. If you want to see the "Best" you will have to look at one of the ranking systems and locate the top ranked ones in the area you are considering.

https://www.usnews.com/education/k12...hools/colorado


https://www.niche.com/k12/search/bes...ls/s/colorado/


https://www.greatschools.org/colorad...Levels%5B%5D=m


Since you are renting the reality is that you are limited to what will be available as a rental in the area you are looking. Rental homes in neighborhoods with the very top schools are probably few and seldom available. You would have more luck finding an apartment to rent in a top school area.

"Where I currently live is in a suburban neighborhood that is family oriented, close to my kid's school, and not too far a drive from the city, grocery and other stores, and my kid's activities. I'm not saying I need all of these things, but that's the ideal picture. "

This basically describes 100% of the suburbs. The more expensive the nicer everything will be but even midprice range for Denver is pretty nice. If you find a bargain you are either being scammed or there is something seriously wrong with the property that makes it unappealing to locals.

Read the reviews for the schools you are interested in and trust your gut. No one on this forum will be able to provide you with an answer for individual middle schools in the Littleton area. At most a poster will have experience with one or maybe two schools and the info could be years to decades old. Usually if a parent doesn't like the local public school they move over to the free charter school system so there is alot of choice available and people are thus happy with where there kids go.

Thank you so much for all of the information and links mic111, I really appreciate the help and feedback. At least with renting I could move districts, but it's also good to know that there are a lot of options out there. I will definitely be checking out all the sites you listed.

Originally Posted by vunderbar

Not familiar with Aspen Academy. Denver Academy is actually a school for kids with learning disabilities/disorders. Colorado Academy is one of the most respected private schools in the state. Quite country clubbish, but very, very solid academics and extra curriculars. Similar to Colorado Academy is Denver Kent, another respected private with very good academics.

There are very good public schools in the Cherry Creek School district, notably in the Cherry Hills areas. These are not just "nice suburbs" -- they're quite well-to-do (and often very scenic.)

Oh great, good to know these things vunderbar. Still not sure on public or private, but the more information I have, the better. :-)

[vunderbar]

Originally Posted by littlebug55

. Still not sure on public or private, but the more information I have, the better. :-)

There are very good public schools in the areas you're targeting. I had friends whose kids went to St. Mary's Academy (an elite private in Englewood) before their parents moved them to a public school near St. Mary's. They were very pleased with the public.

[ShampooBanana]

ALMOST anywhere within 30 minutes of Littleton is going to be at least decent schools. Only exceptions might be parts of Lakewood, Englewood, and Denver proper. Anywhere in Littleton and unincorporated Littleton (JeffCo schools), Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Parker, Centennial, and Greenwood Village/Cherry Hills is going to have really good schools. If you're looking at publics I'd first check out Littleton Public Schools (LPS) and Cherry Creek district (CCSD) as they're going to be close to where you're family is already so you wouldn't be far. I live in LPS boundary and the school my daughter is in is great, and when she hits middle school in less than a year and a half she'll be going to a really good one (Newton).

I personally like schooldigger.com to check out ratings. You can peruse here: https://www.schooldigger.com/go/CO/search.aspx

[vunderbar]

Originally Posted by ShampooBanana

ALMOST anywhere within 30 minutes of Littleton is going to be at least decent schools. Only exceptions might be parts of Lakewood, Englewood, and Denver proper.[/url]

I politely object to the "Denver proper" exception. As someone whose children graduated from Denver Public Schools, and went on to superb universities and later to elite graduate programs... and whose children's friends matriculated to, among others, Stanford, the Ivy League schools, and other universities of that caliber... I have seen up close and personal the outstanding educational and extracurricular opportunities offered in many public schools of "Denver proper."

[ShampooBanana]

Originally Posted by vunderbar

I politely object to the "Denver proper" exception. As someone whose children graduated from Denver Public Schools, and went on to superb universities and later to elite graduate programs... and whose children's friends matriculated to, among others, Stanford, the Ivy League schools, and other universities of that caliber... I have seen up close and personal the outstanding educational and extracurricular opportunities offered in many public schools of "Denver proper."

I guess you missed where I said "PARTS" of Lakewood, Englewood, and Denver proper. I was also saying within 30 minutes of Littleton, which would generally encompass mostly the southwest portion of Denver. The schools in that part aren't the greatest. Of course, there are some exceptional schools in other parts of Denver proper.

[vunderbar]

Originally Posted by ShampooBanana

I guess you missed where I said "PARTS" of Lakewood, Englewood, and Denver proper.

And yet it reads like it reads. Perhaps due to that comma. (Usually no comma in a sentence with a sequential list before the word "and" -- otherwise it separates the parts of the sentence after the "and".)

Anyhoo, perhaps I was too quick to jump in. I'm just annoyed by criticism of Denver schools which most often come from people who know little about them, and themselves educate their kids in conservative, lily-white and very "Christian" suburban schools. Where, by the way, most of the Colorado school shootings take place.

[ShampooBanana]

Originally Posted by vunderbar

And yet it reads like it reads. Perhaps due to that comma. (Usually no comma in a sentence with a sequential list before the word "and" -- otherwise it separates the parts of the sentence after the "and".)

Anyhoo, perhaps I was too quick to jump in. I'm just annoyed by criticism of Denver schools which most often come from people who know little about them, and themselves educate their kids in conservative, lily-white and very "Christian" suburban schools. Where, by the way, most of the Colorado school shootings take place.

No worries. I'm well aware there are some excellent schools in DPS. Did a lot of research when deciding where to buy a house a few years back and was looking at various neighborhoods within Denver (but ended up in Centennial and LPS schools for various reasons).

[littlebug55]

Originally Posted by ShampooBanana

ALMOST anywhere within 30 minutes of Littleton is going to be at least decent schools. Only exceptions might be parts of Lakewood, Englewood, and Denver proper. Anywhere in Littleton and unincorporated Littleton (JeffCo schools), Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Parker, Centennial, and Greenwood Village/Cherry Hills is going to have really good schools. If you're looking at publics I'd first check out Littleton Public Schools (LPS) and Cherry Creek district (CCSD) as they're going to be close to where you're family is already so you wouldn't be far. I live in LPS boundary and the school my daughter is in is great, and when she hits middle school in less than a year and a half she'll be going to a really good one (Newton).

I personally like schooldigger.com to check out ratings. You can peruse here: https://www.schooldigger.com/go/CO/search.aspx

Thank you so much ShampooBanana! I will check out all of these schools as well as the site. Can I ask what you like so much about Newton and what puts it on the list for you? I'm not so much interested in test scores as I am in teacher interaction with kids, discipline in the classroom (meaning kids aren't able to just back talk and act out with no recourse), challenging classes, great extra-curricular activities, etc.

[ShampooBanana]

Originally Posted by littlebug55

Thank you so much ShampooBanana! I will check out all of these schools as well as the site. Can I ask what you like so much about Newton and what puts it on the list for you? I'm not so much interested in test scores as I am in teacher interaction with kids, discipline in the classroom (meaning kids aren't able to just back talk and act out with no recourse), challenging classes, great extra-curricular activities, etc.

Well, Newton is basically brand new. Was just completed in 2022, so the facilities are very nice and most modern you're going to find. Feeder elementary schools are all very good. Not the most diverse (not going to get that many places but within parts of Denver and Aurora) but the test scores are excellent and it also scores pretty highly in equity and progress measures. All my daughter's friends' who have older siblings that go there seem to love it.

https://www.greatschools.org/colorad...rogress_Rating

https://www.schooldigger.com/go/CO/s...oogle_vignette

https://littletonpublicschools.net/s...-middle-school

[littlebug55]

Originally Posted by ShampooBanana

Well, Newton is basically brand new. Was just completed in 2022, so the facilities are very nice and most modern you're going to find. Feeder elementary schools are all very good. Not the most diverse (not going to get that many places but within parts of Denver and Aurora) but the test scores are excellent and it also scores pretty highly in equity and progress measures. All my daughter's friends' who have older siblings that go there seem to love it.

https://www.greatschools.org/colorad...rogress_Rating

https://www.schooldigger.com/go/CO/s...oogle_vignette

https://littletonpublicschools.net/s...-middle-school

Do you know anything about the charter schools in the area? Great Schools has listed some pretty high like Littleton Academy, Cherry Creek Charter, and Platte River Charter.