Douglas County School

ThunderRidge High School’s Peer Intern Program offers an opportunity for students to learn about and assist classmates whose learning abilities are unlike their own. The Peer Intern Program is a semester-long class where students pair with students in the significant support needs (SSN) program.

Students participated in the annual Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Carnival. The carnival is a fun way for DHH kids to make connections.

DCSD’s Bridge Transition Program recently held an Art Show, which also served as a fundraiser, at Union American Bistro in Castle Rock. The Bridge Transition Program serves young adults ages 18-21 with developmental disabilities to prepare them for life after high school. In total, the students created 170 art pieces and sold 147 of them! The Art Show raised close to $4,000 to support the Bridge Program.

Over the past couple of months, our high schools have been participating in Wish Weeks which have become an important tradition here in DCSD. During Wish Weeks, high school students and staff come up with a variety of fundraising activities and events to grant the wish of a child who is battling health challenges.

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) is recognizing several Douglas County School District schools for high academic achievement. The Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award is given to schools demonstrating exceptional student growth. The John Irwin Schools of Excellence awards recognize schools that demonstrate exceptional academic achievement over time.

Mechanics from Christian Brothers Automotive and students from Mesa Middle School teamed up to tear down some engines in a hands-on lab. Students who participated rolled up their sleeves, grabbed some tools, removed some bolts, and even got to take home a souvenir.

For families who are embarking on the homeschool journey with children entering kindergarten next fall, a partnership with Cloverleaf Enrichment School may be just the ticket. One day each week students and families switch up the homeschool routine and join their friends at Cloverleaf. Kindergarten is just the beginning, as the Cloverleaf program extends all the way through 12th grade. The hallmark of the Cloverleaf experience for all grade levels is a strong sense of community, as one day each week students have a change of pace from the homeschool routine and join a close-knit community of learners guided by state licensed teachers. Students take part in project-based learning exploration, strengthen important social and life skills, and build strong relationships. For high school students, enrichment includes opportunities to earn transcript credit, as well as access to concurrent enrollment and career technical education classes, including those provided at DCSD’s new Legacy Campus.

Friendly dogs who calmly travel alongside their handlers are becoming more common throughout the Douglas County School District (DCSD) as Animal-Assisted Intervention (AAI) programs are on the rise. DCSD currently has eight teams of therapy dogs and their handlers assisting students including School Resource Officers (SROs) and school staff (counselors, teachers, and specialists).

DCSD’s Kelli Mueller was named a finalist for the Colorado Association of School Nurses’ 2022 School Nurse of the Year Award. With nearly 750 school nurses throughout the state, it’s quite an honor to be nominated for this prestigious award. “I’m very touched by this recognition,” Kelli said.

As public educators, we have the beautiful opportunity to provide universal access to education, help students fulfill their potential, and prepare for the future. You never know what each year will bring, but one can count on the excitement of learning. Being a public educator is an honor and a huge responsibility.

Northeast Elementary was recently recognized by Solution Tree as a Model Professional Learning Community (PLC) at Work® for its sustained success in raising student achievement. The school’s successful implementation of the PLC at Work process was a major contributing factor in the improved achievement of its students.

I took over the principalship in the midst of a pandemic and in the middle of a school year. I am most proud of being able to maintain the incredible and supportive culture and climate that is Flagstone. Ensuring that people are honored, valued, and trusted as professionals are one of my most important priorities as a leader because staff that feels valued work hard and are committed. And that has an immediate and positive impact on our most valued customers... our STUDENTS!

At Cherry Valley Elementary (CVE), what started as a pilot incubator program with a handful of chickens has hatched into a year-round agricultural program run by the school’s 13 fifth and sixth-grade students.

Sean Patterson, the new ThunderRidge High School principal, loves seeing the students and teachers engaging in learning!

The Colorado High School Activities Association Hall of Fame announced its Class for 2022, and DCSD is proud to have two of the seven members selected for induction: Coach Tim Ottman from Ponderosa High School and Highlands Ranch High School basketball standout Ann Strother Abromaitis.

“No matter how many obstacles you come across, if you push yourself and persevere, you can accomplish almost anything!” This is the message Colorado Rapids player, Diego Rubio, conveyed to Pine Lane Elementary students during his visit for Hispanic Heritage Month.

I always knew I would do something in education, even as a young child, and that was confirmed the more I learned about teaching and had opportunities to be in classrooms with children.

We’re excited to announce that Castle View High School will produce Frozen, The Musical in November 2023! Talk about magical! Through a unique nationwide competition, one high school in every U.S. state and territory were granted the rights to produce Disney’s Frozen: The Broadway Musical in their local communities. The winning productions will mark the first-ever school productions of Frozen anywhere in the world. Congratulations Sabercats!

Colorado Proud School Meal Day is held annually on September 20 to spotlight Colorado agriculture and to educate students about healthy eating. In celebration of Colorado Proud School Meal Day, DCSD’s 51 elementary schools featured a Colorado Proud Meal for lunch: mixed melons and honeydew, rainbow carrots, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers on the harvest bar, and fresh roasted fingerling potatoes with broccoli and cheese sauce. Colorado Proud School Meal Day is a great way to introduce fresh produce and food to children who might be unfamiliar with some items. This year, in connection with Colorado Proud School Meal Day, DCSD families and members of the community visited a day-long Farmer’s Market on the front lawn of Arrowwood Elementary in Highlands Ranch. DCSD’s Nutrition Services partnered with Hoffman Farms in Greeley and other local producers, such as Beyond the Hive, Merfs, and Yumbana, which supplied fresh produce and food available for purchase. Attendees had the opportunity to purchase corn, Palisade peaches, shishito peppers, tomatoes, Pueblo chilis, honey sticks, hot sauce and condiments, and gluten-free baked goods.

Welcome to Bellisimo Blu Salon and Academy at Highlands Ranch High School, operated by students enrolled in the cosmetology program. On August 11, Highlands Ranch High School hosted a grand opening ceremony for Bellisimo Blu Salon and Academy.

Join bus driver Larry Dudley and transportation educational assistant Mary Menard as they take us along on their morning route.

Congratulations to 2022 Apple Awards Winners! Check out some of the extraordinary accomplishments of these extraordinary staff.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 44 children in the United States today. No two children with autism are alike, so teachers like Chelsea Krier of Coyote Creek Elementary are taking an individualized approach to learning.

What builds a school? Concrete, rebar, bricks, and relationships. The first three are obvious, but relationships form invisible cultural foundations that define a school as much as its building. Nothing could be more true for Ponderosa High School in Parker. The most remarkable piece of Ponderosa High School’s foundation is Principal Tim Ottmann.

When the Marshall Fire broke out in Superior, CO, on December 30, 2021, businesses and homes were consumed in flames, with many families forced to leave their beloved pets behind. One Douglas County High School graduate, Ellie Creasey, took on an extraordinary role in reuniting families with their furry friends.

Chief Commander Walter is 9 years old. He has Cystic Fibrosis, so much of his day is typically filled with breathing treatments and managing his digestion. Today is not a typical day, thanks to students and staff in the Mountain Vista High School community.

Recess is the time for fun and games, and the playground is often a place where friendships are formed. After a couple of years of remote learning and transitions, coming back together didn't always come naturally, particularly for the youngest learners.

February 7-11, 2022, is National School Counselors Week! Just like teachers, counselors are essential parts of schools as they help students navigate the complex waters of growing up. Thank you, school counselors, for the amazing work you do every day all year round! Take a peek into some counselors' perspectives.

After a year away, the Continental League Music Festival made its return to Boettcher Music Hall in downtown Denver. Musicians from band, orchestra, and choir auditioned for this prestigious honor. This year marked a celebration after the pandemic prevented musicians from getting together to perform.

Riley Gordon had no idea what this would become. The Ponderosa High School alum (Class of '21) was involved in the PeaceJam organization since her freshman year. It was there that the idea for an outdoor learning space was born.

The relationship between humans and computers is pretty simple. In Legend High School's Computer Science class, Mr. Stasiak makes it like a game. After being in the class four years, Legend Alum Lance Schneider has turned the game into a business. His automated attendance taker is saving teachers valuable class time.

On December 15, 2021, the Douglas County School District closed and assumed ownership of the CU South Building in Lone Tree. The approximately 175,000 square foot site will eventually be home to DCSD Career and Technical Education (CTE) and other student programming, as well as providing space for conferences, proms, homecomings, and other student and community events.

The 57th annual theater conference drew high school and charter school theater troupes from across Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Nearly a dozen theatre programs in DCSD attended and received accolades.

At the DCSD Early Childhood Center South location in Castle Rock, a regular pre-K playground was transformed into a more enriching outdoor experience. Thanks to a grant from Early Childhood Healthy Outdoors (ECHO) and donations from around DCSD, outdoor learning will continue to blossom one recess at a time.

When life is unstable it's good to have an anchor. At Bear Canyon Elementary, there's a room for that.

Over 100 students at Mesa Middle School received several special visits from an automotive technician and a master mechanic from Christian Brothers Automotive. Student teams worked to disassemble car engines and learn first-hand what a career in automotive could look like.

Gitanjali Rao has an impressive list of accomplishments - innovator, author, public speaker, and TIME magazine's very first Kid of the Year. All of this might be intimidating to other kids her age, but the STEM School Highlands Ranch student has a message - if I can do it, so can you.

Chaparral High School opened its doors 25 years ago. Principals, teachers, students, and superintendents past and present gathered to remember how the Chaparral school culture and community have shaped who they have become.

Eagle Ridge invites students in Significant Support Needs (SSN) programs from across the district to cheer each other on during the field day activities.

Every year, Sky Ridge Medical Center hosts Mini Medical University to provide students interested in the medical field the chance to tour a hospital, see professionals in action, and ask questions along the way.

Douglas County School District celebrates National Children's Book Week with the week long literacy event "One Book, One District." To kick off the week, renowned children's author LeUyen Pham read her book "Outside, Inside" to classes throughout DCSD and answered questions about her work as an author and illustrator. Copper Mesa Elementary 6th Grader Sydney Thomas had the honor of introducing Pham on a Google Meet.

Redstone Elementary has a special tradition for celebrating Veterans Day: students write letters and collect treats for service members at Buckley Air Force Base. These small acts of kindness, along with a special guest speaker, make the annual community outreach project a powerful expression of appreciation.

Thank you to all the DCSD Family members for your years of service to our country and our community!

When he graduated from Eagle Academy in 2014, Kyle McKinney never thought he would return to DCSD. But the beginning of the 2021-22 school year found him as an Educational Assistant for Affective Needs at Plum Creek Academy. There, he finds happiness and inspiration in the familiar alternative education atmosphere.

Students at Ranch View Middle School come from several different elementary schools throughout the Highlands Ranch community. Now it's their turn to give back to that same footprint. Principal Erin Kyllo headed up the school's inaugural Community Service Day. Students took time to write letters to former teachers, clean up their building, and do some work in the schools they came from.

After graduating from Ponderosa High School in 1994, Rochelle Evans returned to Douglas County School District (DCSD) in 2006. She now works as a school psychologist at Gold Rush Elementary in the same town where she grew up. We caught up with Evans for a glimpse at what it has been like to work in her hometown community.

The Douglas County School District (DCSD) is honored to recognize students who exceeded expectations in the Advanced Placement (AP) program. DCSD celebrates the 26 students who earned the AP Capstone Diploma and the 19 students who earned the AP Seminar and Research Certificate during the 2020-2021 school year. The AP Capstone Diploma program helps students develop critical thinking, research, collaboration and presentation skills that are critical to academic success.

Two Douglas County School District teachers have been selected as recipients of the Boettcher Foundation’s Teacher Recognition Award. This annual award honors educators for their exemplary influence in educating some of the state’s top students. Congratulations to Michael Schneider, an English teacher at Castle View High School, and Heather Riggs, a Mountain Vista High School science teacher!

Maddison Wilson graduated from Ponderosa High School in 2016 and now spends her nights working with COVID patients on the third floor of Sky Ridge Medical Center. She says that Ponderosa's loving community helped her understand what it means to be a nurse.

Navigating a new school is difficult for anyone, especially when there is a language barrier between families and staff. That's where DCSD's Family & Cultural Liaisons and Interpreters come in.

Ninja Nation is one of the most anticipated days of the year at Arrowwood Elementary. The kids love to swing, hang, jump, and climb - but the real fun is watching the adult ninjas in action.

Students at Mountain Vista High School are learning U.S. History like never before. Students in teacher Patrick McGuire’s class are getting a unique look at American History through the lens of music.

Douglas County School District (DCSD) is pleased to announce the names of 20 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists, making them part of an elite group representing less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors. These academically talented students advance in the competition, which awards 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million.

In the 20 years since Eldorado Elementary opened, the school has been known for their community engagement efforts, love of students, and their academic excellence. The staff and students always take the time each year to celebrate the day their doors opened and to spend time reflecting on the moment that happened the day before the day the world changed forever.

Megan Dierker graduated from Highlands Ranch High School (HRHS) in 2014. The former HRHS Falcon now soars on the frontlines of healthcare, lifted up by her education and experiences at the Douglas County School District (DCSD). Stacy Blaylock, DCSD Communications Coordinator, sat down with Dierker to see how she got to where she is today.

Highlands Ranch High School Astronomy teacher Bob MacArthur has always been fascinated by the moon, the sun, and the stars. In June of 2021 he got a closer look at them thanks to NASA's Airborne Astronomy Ambassador’s program. He was the only teacher in all of Colorado to fly aboard SOFIA, an aircraft that utilizes multiple cameras to examine the galaxy under infrared lighting.

When Reagan Seewald was a Rock Ridge Elementary 6th Grader, she accomplished a very big goal.

After two straight years of interruptions from the COVID pandemic, a return to a normal school setting might be daunting. That's why Mesa Middle School's Professional Learning Specialist Erin Gilbert helped to create the first annual ROAR Day. The goal is to build relationships through team building exercises.

It's an incredible story of perseverance, belonging, and social-emotional support.

In March 2021, Sophomore Taylor Witte of Mountain Vista High School (MVHS) received national recognition in the Junior Achievement Social Innovation Challenge for her book vending machine prototype.

Douglas County School District and the Foundation for Douglas County Schools would like you to join us in congratulating the following elite athletes selected by their schools to be honored for National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

As sweet as she sounds! Castle Rock Police Department and the Douglas County School District are proud to introduce the newest team member of the Castle View High School (CVHS) family, Buttercup. Buttercup is a 2-year-old Golden Retriever-Sheltie mix who joins School Resource Officer (SRO) Scott Gillespie in his duties at the school.

DCSD is pleased to announce the 2021 National Merit Scholarship winners. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation released the names of the first group of winners in the 66th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Only 16 students in Colorado are being recognized for their educational excellence with corporate-sponsored awards - with four of those coming from the Douglas County School District.

All across DCSD, earth-friendly school programs and clubs are sprouting up to make a greener tomorrow. Students of all ages are learning to nurture their environments while inspiring wonder.

Sophia Gardner was only five years old when she started skiing the bunny hills at the Loveland Ski Club. What started out as learning skiing fundamentals evolved into a passion for a sport. By the age of seven, Sophia began competing in mini ski races that advanced her confidence and skills. Her father, Bill Gardner, recalls when Sophia had entered a race in Winter Park to try her luck, that standing on the podium as 3rd Place Winner with a metal around her neck was the spark that ignited the fire and love of competitive ski racing.

Cherokee Trail Elementary celebrated World Book Day on Friday, March 5th. We had all kinds of book characters roaming our halls, spinning the Wheel of Reading for prizes and choosing free books! The day was made extra special with in-character book readings by Mr. Bartuska (A Giraffe and a Half), Mr. Major (The Beautiful, Fabulous, Phyllis McFee) and Mr. Miller (On Account of the Gum). We're building life-long learners and readers at CTE!

Mountain View Elementary School has been awarded Level 1 certification in Marzano High Reliability Schools. Level 1 certification means Mountain View Elementary School has created a “Safe, Supportive, and Collaborative Culture,” which is the foundation for every level that follows. Without such a culture, student achievement is compromised, according to Marzano Resources. Day-to-day school operations are addressed and evaluated in Level 1.