Parents with young students in southeast Denver may soon have a better chance to have their child attend a school of their choice near their home.
Denver Public Schools is proposing a “shared access zone” that would combine the boundaries for Holm, Samuels and the new Hampden Heights elementary schools.
The zone would give families the ability to rank the schools they would like to attend when enrolling. All homes within this area would have transportation provided to each school, unless the school is within walking distance. Families would be guaranteed a spot at one of the three schools.
“As a district with choice, we believe it’s really important for families to have high-quality choices in the neighborhood,” said Susana Cordova, chief academic officer for Denver Public Schools, who added that sometimes having one school in one zone can actually restrict a family’s choice.
Denver Public Schools is a choice district, meaning that families can attempt to enroll in any school, with preference given to the school within the boundary of one’s home. Cordova said that if a family choices out of its home school in the current format, the family would not have any better chance to get into a school near the home than anyone else.
Both Holm and Samuels are considered “green” schools, meaning they are high-achieving. The .
“What is really nice is parents aren’t choosing between two great schools and one not so great,” Samuels principal Erin Trapanese said. “It’s three equally good schools.”
The boundary in question is at the far southeast of the city and borders both Aurora Public Schools and Littleton Public Schools. The new school is being added because of overcrowding at both Holm and Samuels. According to Trapanese, Samuels uses portable buildings and Holm fifth-graders currently have class at Hamilton Middle School.
Hampden Heights is planned to open near the intersection of Havana Street and Girard Avenue with classes for early childhood education through third grade, but possibly having fourth and fifth grade if necessary.
what they considered park land for a building owned by Denver Public Schools.
Diana Romero Campbell, a resident who served on the board advisory group that explored the possibility of the shared access zone, said that Denver Public Schools came to the table with three options, but the board proposed a fourth, which is being proposed to the school board.
She said the main focuses were that students would be able to stay in the same school where they are currently enrolled.
“The things we really wanted to make sure is that if kids wanted to stay in school were in, they could,” she said. “And that people could have that consistency.”
Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or
