Elementary school students living in northeast Denver will be part of enrollment zones next year, which means they will no longer be guaranteed a seat at the school closest to them but will be asked to choose from several nearby schools.
To alleviate an array of school boundary concerns, the Denver school board voted 6-to-1 Thursday to create three new enrollment zones: two in the growing far northeast Green Valley Ranch and Gateway neighborhoods, and one in the gentrifying near northeast neighborhoods of Five Points, Cole, Whittier and City Park West.
The vote brings to 14 the number of enrollment zones in Denver Public Schools. The zones are big school boundaries with several schools inside them. Students are guaranteed a spot at one of the schools but not necessarily their first choice or the school closest to where they live.
However, after learning lessons from previous zones, the district will give students in the new zones “enhanced priority” to get into the schools nearest to them.
The new elementary zones include a mix of district-run schools and charter schools.
The two zones in far northeast Denver will be divided by Tower Road, a major thoroughfare in the area. The zone west of Tower Road includes Archuleta Elementary, SOAR at Green Valley Ranch and KIPP Northeast. The zone east of Tower Road includes Omar D. Blair, Highline Academy Northeast and Florida Pitt Waller.
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