City: Denver, CO

Category: Education

Telephone: (303) 982-6500

Address: 1829 Denver West Dr.

Description: Jefferson County makes up Colorado’s largest school district, with more than 84,000 students and a total general fund budget of $922 million. Many people seem to want to get their kids into Jefferson County schools. What is it about Jeffco that makes it so desirable? Well, it’s a nice place to live, right up against the mountains with a lot of upscale neighborhoods and light-­industry, white-­collar employment. Also, the school system has one of Greater Denver’s highest percentages of teachers with master’s degrees or higher and the second-­highest average teacher salary. Jeffco has a “least-­restrictive environment” policy for special-­education students that gives primary responsibility for a special-­needs student’s education to the neighborhood school. The school district also has a Multicultural Learning Center that provides multicultural resources for teachers across the district. Jeffco pursues these lofty goals in neighborhood schools—93 elementary schools, 19 middle schools, and 17 high schools—as well as a wide range of educational-­choice programs. These include open enrollment where space is available, schools within a school, alternative schools, and self-­governing charter schools.