Centennial – Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Willow Creek Elementary shows signs of age. But the school has something like a cult following among picky parents.
It has won big national awards twice, long held its own in a pack of high-performing richer and newer schools, and its children really are well above average.
At least 90 percent of students attained “proficient” or “advanced” level on state assessments in reading and mathematics (more than 94 percent in math) in each of the past three school years.
But Willow Creek isn’t merely accomplished, it’s beloved.
Meredith Quarles, who moved from Texas three years ago with three small children, chose to live in the Cherry Creek School District. After further research, she found that Willow Creek students outscored her neighborhood’s kids on standardized tests and many other schools in even more affluent ‘burbs.
“The principal is terrific. The teachers are especially committed. The parents are incredibly invested,” Quarles says. “For some reason, this neighborhood got it all right.”
Shannon Clay says her family moved from Broomfield so her sons, Connor, 3, and Tyler, 6, could attend Willow Creek, located at 7855 S. Willow Way.
“I am a research junkie,” Clay says. “Willow Creek was by far the best overall in every category when we moved here in summer 2005. Everyone who lives around here is big into this school. It’s amazing.”
The school building is not posh. The furnishings are a little shabby, but the computers are up to date. The art room is impressive.
And walking into Willow Creek is a little like entering the Magic Kingdom. Everyone, from principal Craig Belshe to the children, is having fun.
The 1977-vintage Willow Creek neighborhood is well-maintained. But its inhabitants are aging, and so elementary school enrollment has dropped. To stave off decline, the school began accepting students from outside the neighborhood and school district. Only 65 percent of its 533 students are from within the Willow Creek enclave. But the neighborly feeling never has diminished.
“They feel pride in their school. They feel a part of it,” Belshe said.
It isn’t just a matter of perception and pride. Willow Creek is a two-time National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, the only school in Colorado to receive the award under two different sets of criteria, in 1999 (for programs) and 2006 (for test results).
The school has earned the highest rating, “excellent,” of the Colorado Department of Education School Accountability Report every year.
“What it boils down to is that you have to look at education child by child. You have to follow the assessment data,” Belshe says. “You can’t copy other schools. You have to know what your students need. They all need different things.”
