City: Denver, CO

Category: Education

Telephone: (720) 423-3200

Address: 900 Grant St.

Description: The Denver Public Schools is the second-­largest district in the state, serving 72,000 students. It is home to many high-­performing schools and programs that serve a diverse population. The district routinely produces graduates bound for the country’s top colleges and universities, and it boasts the 2006 Kinder Excellence in Teaching national award-­winner, Linda Alston, a kindergarten teacher at Fairview Elementary. The no-­strings-­attached, $100,000 grant recognizes an outstanding public-­school teacher who teaches in a low-­income community. The district’s George Washington and East High Schools were ranked among the nation’s top by Newsweek for promoting Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes. They ranked 50th and 84th out of 450, respectively. The district is also home to an array of magnet schools, including the Center for International Students, two high-­school computer magnet programs, and the Denver School of the Arts, the only one of its kind in the region. With the assistance of Collaborative Decision-­Making Teams (school staff, parents, and community representatives) at each school, the district’s neighborhood schools are constantly adapting and reshaping themselves to meet the unique needs of the city’s many neighborhoods.