Jefferson County Public Schools (Colorado)

Jeffco Public Schools
The sign at district headquarters
Location
West Pleasant View (2000 US Census) , Colorado United States
Coordinates	39°44′20″N105°09′53″W / 39.73876°N 105.16473°W / 39.73876; -105.16473
District information
Grades	Pre-K to 12th Grade
Established	1950(74 years ago) (1950)
Superintendent	Tracy Dorland [1]
School board	School Board Info (web site)
NCES District ID	0804800 [2]
Students and staff
Enrollment	81,088 (January 2021) [3]
Staff	4,700.91 (on an FTE basis) [2]
Student–teacher ratio	17.04 [2]
Other information
Website	www.jeffcopublicschools.org

Jefferson County School District R-1 (a.k.a. Jefferson County Public Schools or Jeffco Public Schools) is a school district in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The district is headquartered at the Jeffco Public Schools Education Center in an unincorporated area of the county near Golden in the Denver metropolitan area. ^{[4] [5]} Jeffco Public Schools serves almost 81,000 students ^[6] in 166 schools. It is the second-largest school district in Colorado, having been surpassed in 2013 by Denver Public Schools, which has an enrollment of approximately 81,000.

The district covers the entirety of Jefferson County, ^[7] and also includes a section of Broomfield. ^[8]

History

The South School, Golden, Colorado, when it originally served all of Golden School District #1. Photo taken around 1874.

Beginnings

The first school in Jefferson County and the second school in Colorado opened in Golden on January 9, 1860. It stood at around today's 1304 Washington Avenue and was a rented log cabin, with school taught by Thomas Daughterty, with 18 students, financed through tuition and subscription. Its second term was taught by Miss M. F. Manly. When Jefferson County was organized by the Territorial government in 1861, the capability of organizing public schools became reality, and George West became the first superintendent of Jefferson County schools. After a mill levy was created in 1862, the first two school districts, Golden and Vasquez (roughly today's Wheat Ridge/Arvada area), were organized in 1863. That September the first public school in the county opened in Golden. ^[9]

Original school districts

Over time, as the population grew and spread across the county, more and more school districts were organized, each with its own elected board to govern them. They were a diverse variety of schools, from the stately brick edifices of urban Golden which operated through the traditional school year, to the rural one-room wooden schoolhouses that operated during the summer months because winter in the mountains made it difficult for students to attend. Some school districts only rented buildings for class; others shared into neighboring counties. The first building constructed as a Jefferson County public school, around the area of 14th and Arapahoe Streets in Golden, was never completed and eventually sold in 1866 to Colorado Territorial Governor Alexander Cummings for $2,700 for use as the Territorial Executive Building. Its replacement, the first completed public school building in Jefferson County, still stands today at 1420 Washington Avenue in Golden. After the completion of its successor at today's 1314 Cheyenne Street in 1873, later known as the South School, Jefferson County's first senior high school, Golden High School, was organized. The first public school graduations in Jefferson County were held in the 1880s.

By 1894 Jefferson County school enrollment was around 1,500 students, with 54 high school students. By 1939 Jeffco had blossomed to 3,883 students with 1,426 high schoolers. In the early 20th century, however, population shifts and other factors began to spur consolidation. The Lorraine School District of Jefferson County merged with the Mandalay School District of Boulder County (Broomfield) in 1917. In 1920 the Montana, Lakeview, Midway and Mt. Carbon districts merged to become Bear Creek District C-1. In 1923 several mountain districts merged into Evergreen District C-2, while in 1945 Washington Heights and Bancroft merged to form School District 52. However, some school districts went by the wayside including South Platte in 1944, Pleasant Park in 1946, and Pine Grove. By 1950 only 39 of the 54 individually organized school districts remained.

List of historic school districts

Note: several districts have different identities over time.

• 1 - Golden
• 2 - Everett/Vasquez/Arvada
• 3 - Mt. Vernon/Kittredge
• 4 - Bergen/Creswell
• 5 - Bear Creek/Mt. Carbon
• 6 - Ralston/Fremont
• 7 - Upper Ralston/Leyden
• 8 - Vasquez/Wheat Ridge
• 9 - Mt. Vernon/Bradford Junction/Conifer
• 10 - Guy Hill
• 11 - Platte/Spruce Park & Sprucedale
• 12 - Ralston
• 13 - Mountain/Rockland
• 14 - Clear Creek/Maple Grove
• 15 - Platte Canyon/Deer Creek
• 16 - Bear Creek/Montana
• 17 - Turkey Creek/Brownville/Medlen
• 18 - Pine & Estabrook
• 19 - Pleasant Park
• 20 - Fairmount
• 21 - Lakewood/Edgewater
• 22 - Mt. Morrison
• 23 - Lothrop
• 24 - South Platte
• 25 - Lorraine & Mandalay
• 26 - Turkey Creek/Hodgson
• 27 - Coal Creek Canyon/Columbine
• 28 - Pine Grove
• 29 - Belcher Hill
• 30 - Buffalo Creek/Evergreen
• 31 - Soda Creek
• 32 - Fruitdale
• 33 - Jefferson City/Plainview
• 34 - Kassler
• 35 - Urmston
• 36 - Lamb
• 37 - Lakeview
• 38 - Parmelee Gulch
• 39 - Semper
• 40 - Buffalo Creek
• 41 - Bancroft
• 42 - Idledale
• 43 - Wagner
• 44 - Prospect Valley
• 45 - Midway
• 46 - Sampson
• 47 - Lakewood - Stober Elementary
• 48 - Daniels
• 49 - Denver View
• 50 - Washington Heights
• 51 - Mountair
• 52 - Washington Heights & Bancroft
• C-1 - Bear Creek Consolidated
• C-2 - Evergreen Consolidated

In 1950, the 39 school districts in Jefferson County were consolidated and reorganized into a single district, Jefferson County R-1 Schools. ^[10] It was so named as the Reorganized School District 1, and ushered in a modern age in a county where some still sent to school in the original one-room rural schoolhouses. Through the course of time several landmark school buildings had been built across Jefferson County, including Golden's North, South, Central and High schools; the stone Morrison school; and Lakewood's 3-school campus. With renewed energy a new generation would be built, and state-of-the-art schools sprouted across Jefferson County as old schools were phased out. By 1999 Jefferson County had an enrollment of 88,793 students.

Today the next wave of school buildings is being created, as Jefferson County schools move forward into the 21st century. However, a good collection of schools from throughout Jeffco's educational history remain. They serve many uses from private homes to museums, and several are designated Jefferson County, Colorado and National Historic Register landmarks. ^[11]

Through Jeffco schools' history, there have been several fatal events which have not been forgotten. In 1887 the original Lamb School, which had just been built the year before, burned down and had to be replaced. (The rebuilt school was later destroyed by the Lower North Fork Fire in 2012.) ^[12] In 1905 Golden's South School, including Golden High School, was saved from explosion by janitor Oscar Nolin when its overheating boiler was minutes away from claiming possibly over 100 lives. ^[13] In 1916 the original Fruitdale School burned as its students marched to safety. In 1919 an attempt to burn down the South School was made by a parent who was frantic to keep the school from reopening in the wake of the Great Flu Epidemic, but the fire smothered itself out. In 1938 the recently built Buffalo Creek School burned while school was in session from an overheated furnace, and teacher Wilma Barnes successfully got all 15 students to safety. ^[14] On April 7, 1982, Scott Darwin Michael was shot and killed by classmate Jason Rocha at Deer Creek Middle School. ^[15] In 1999, two students killed 12 students and a teacher in the Columbine High School massacre.

On February 23, 2010, eighth-graders Reagan Webber and Matt Thieu were shot and wounded at Deer Creek Middle School. ^[16] The incident ended when math teacher David Benke tackled the perpetrator, Bruco Strong Eagle Eastwood, who was armed with a .30-06 Winchester Model 70. ^{[17] [18]}

In September 2014, students and teachers in schools around the district protested the conservative ideology of the school board, which had proposed reviewing the APUSH curriculum set by the College Board, to focus history education on citizenship and patriotism, while condemning civil disobedience and strike actions. ^{[19] [20]} The conservative members of the board were recalled and replaced in November 2015, on a 64-36 public vote. ^[21]

Environmental consideration

Many Jefferson County schools make use of constructed wetlands for managing stormwater and contributing to the health of local watersheds. The wetland project at Oberon Middle School has been lauded by the National Resources Defense Council for setting "an example for local governments seeking new ways to manage stormwater on municipal grounds with some value added. ^[22]

Literary mentions

Oberon Middle School is the setting for the novel Define "Normal" by Julie Anne Peters. ^[23]

Facilities

The school district headquarters, which has a Golden postal address, is in an unincorporated area completely surrounded by, but not in, Lakewood. ^{[24] [25]}

In the 1990 U.S. Census, the facility was defined as being in the Applewood census-designated place. ^{[26] [27]} In the 2000 U.S. Census, the facility was in West Pleasant View, another CDP in the county. ^{[28] [29]} In the 2010 U.S. Census and the 2020 U.S. Census, the Jeffco headquarters plot was not defined as being in any CDP. ^[30]

Schools

As of April, 2021 - there are currently 166 active schools in Jeffco Public Schools, as identified by Colorado Department of Education School ID numbers.

• 95 elementary schools (grades PreK + PreK-5 + K-5)
• 8 K-8 (grades PreK-8)
• 20 middle schools (grades 6, 7, 8)
• 4 middle + high schools (grades 6-12)
• 22 high schools (grades 9, 10, 11, 12)
• 7 PreK-12 (grades K-12 + PreK-12)
• 11 option and alternative schools (various grades)
• 20 charter schools (various grades)
• 1 online school (grades 6-12)
• 3 Career Technical Education schools (* Warren Tech South opening in Fall, 2021)
• 2 Outdoor Lab Programs

Elementary schools

Adams Elementary School Allendale Elementary School In 2021 the district decided to close the school. [31] Arvada K-8 School Bear Creek K-8 School Belmar Elementary School (Belmar School of Integrated Arts) Bergen Meadow Primary School Bergen Valley Intermediate School Blue Heron Elementary School Bradford K-8 North School Bradford K-8 South School Campbell Elementary School Coal Creek Canyon K-8 School Colorow Elementary School Columbine Hills Elementary School Coronado Elementary School Deane Elementary Devinny Elementary School Dutch Creek Elementary School Edgewater Elementary School Eiber Elementary School Elk Creek Elementary School Emory Elementary School Fairmount Elementary School Fitzmorris Elementary School In 2022 the district's board of education decided to end the school's operations. [32] Foothills Elementary School Foster Elementary School Fremont Elementary School Glennon Heights Elementary School Governor's Ranch Elementary School Green Gables Elementary School Green Mountain Elementary School Hackberry Hill Elementary School Hutchinson Elementary School Kendallvue Elementary School Kendrick Lakes Elementary School Kullerstrand Elementary School Kyffin Elementary School Lasley Elementary School Lawrence Elementary School Leawood Elementary School Little Elementary School Lukas Elementary School Lumberg Elementary School Maple Grove Elementary School Marshdale Elementary School Meiklejohn Elementary School Mitchell Elementary School

Molholm Elementary School Mortensen Elementary School Mt. Carbon Elementary School Normandy Elementary School Parmalee Elementary School Parr Elementary School Patterson Elementary School Peck Elementary School Peiffer Elementary School Pennington Elementary School Powderhorn Elementary School Prospect Valley Elementary School Ralston Elementary School) Red Rocks Elementary School Rose Stein Elementary School Rooney Ranch Elementary School Ryan Elementary School Secrest Elementary School Semper Elementary School Shaffer Elementary School Shelton Elementary School Sheridan Green Elementary School Sierra Elementary School Slater Elementary School South Lakewood Elementary School Stevens Elementary School Stober Elementary School Stony Creek Elementary School Stott Elementary School Swanson Elementary School Thomson Elementary School Three Creeks Elementary School Ute Meadows Elementary School Van Arsdale Elementary School Vanderhoof Elementary School Vivian Elementary School Warder Elementary School Weber Elementary School Welchester Elementary School Westgate Elementary School West Jefferson Elementary School Westridge Elementary School West Woods Elementary School Wilmore-Davis Elementary School Wilmot Elementary School Witt Elementary School

Middle/Junior high schools

Arvada K-8 School Bear Creek K-8 School Bell Middle School Carmody Middle School Coal Creek Canyon K-8 School Creighton Middle School Deer Creek Middle School Drake Middle School Dunstan Middle School Evergreen Middle School

Everitt Middle School Falcon Bluffs Middle School Ken Caryl Middle School Mandalay Middle School Moore Middle School North Arvada Middle School Oberon Middle School Summit Ridge Middle School Three Creeks Middle School Wayne Carle Middle School West Jefferson Middle School

Senior high schools

Alameda International Junior/Senior High School (1960) Arvada High School (1900) Arvada West High School (1960) Bear Creek High School (1920) Chatfield High School (1985) Columbine High School (1973) Conifer High School (1996) Dakota Ridge High School (1996) Evergreen High School (1954)

Golden High School (1873) Green Mountain High School (1973) Jefferson High School (1955) Lakewood High School (1928) Pomona High School (1973) Ralston Valley High School (2000) Standley Lake High School (1988) Wheat Ridge High School (1886)

Option schools

Brady Exploration School D'Evelyn Junior/Senior High School Dennison Elementary School Jeffco Virtual Academy Jefferson County Open School

Long View High School The Manning School McLain Community High School Warren Tech

Special schools and programs

Fletcher Miller School Mt. Evans Outdoor Education Laboratory School Mount View Youth Services Center Sobesky Academy Windy Peak Outdoor Education Laboratory School

Charter schools

Addenbrooke Classical Academy Collegiate Academy Compass Montessori Wheat Ridge Compass Montessori Golden Doral Academy of Colorado Excel Academy Free Horizon Montessori Golden View Classical Academy Great Work Montessori School Jefferson Academy

Lincoln Academy Montessori Peaks Academy Mountain Phoenix Community School New America School Rocky Mountain Academy Rocky Mountain Deaf School Two Roads Charter School Woodrow Wilson Academy

Former schools

• Columbia Heights Elementary School, Wheat Ridge (closed 1978) ^[33]
• Community Involved Charter School / Center for Discovery Learning Charter School (closed 2005)
• Fruitdale School, Wheat Ridge (closed 1978) ^[34]
• Jefferson County Open High School (merged into Jefferson County Open School, 1989)
• Martensen Elementary School (closed 2011) ^{[35] [36] [37]}
• Mountain Open High School, Evergreen (renamed Jefferson County Open High School, 1978)
• Open Living School, Edgewater (combined into Tanglewood Open Living School in 1978)
• Open Living School, Evergreen (combined into Tanglewood Open Living School in 1978)
• Pleasant View Elementary School, Golden (closed 2017) ^[38]
• Russell Elementary School, Arvada (closed 2010) ^[39]
• Tanglewood Elementary School, Golden (Closed 1978)Tanglewood Open Living School, Golden (merged into Jefferson County Open School, 1989)
• Zerger Elementary School (closed 2011) ^{[35] [40]}
• Washington Heights Elementary (closed in the 1990s, now a Community Art Center) Earl Johnson Elementary. Located on Johnson Rd. Demolished in the 1980's
• Arvada K-8 School (closed 2024)

Demographics

As of January, 2021

Enrollment count for 2020-2021 school year: 80,088

• American Indian 0.5%
• Asian 3%
• Black 1%
• Hispanic 25%
• White 66%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.15%
• Multiple races 4%

Superintendents

• 1997–2002 Jane Hammond
• 2002–2014 Cindy Stevenson
• 2014–2017 Dan McMinimee
• 2017 (Mar–Jun) Terry Elliott (interim)
• 2017–2020 Jason Glass
• 2020–2021 Kristopher Schuh (interim)
• Tracy Dorland - started April 19, 2021

Footnotes

1. "Jeffco Public Schools". jeffcopublicschools.org. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
2. "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Jefferson County School District No. R-1". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences.
3. "Jeffco Public Schools - District Profile".
4. 2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: West Pleasant View CDP, CO (Archive). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on April 3, 2015.
5. Contact Us Archived December 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Jefferson County Public Schools. Retrieved on April 3, 2011. "1829 Denver West Drive #27 Golden, CO 80401"
6. "Pupil Membership | CDE". www.cde.state.co.us. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
7. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Jefferson County, CO" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved July 19, 2022. - Text list
8. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Broomfield County, CO" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved July 19, 2022. - Text list
9. The Golden Pioneer Museum 1955 - "Sophie Martin" from A Woman's Life In Golden 1902-1980, Lorraine Wagenbach, ed., 1980.
10. A Chronology of the History of Jefferson County, Colorado Compiled by Jefferson County Archives and Records Management.
11. "Jefferson County". History Colorado.
12. Roeder, Milly (2012). "Farewell to Lamb School" (PDF). Historically Jeffco. Jefferson County Historical Commission.
13. Skiba, Doug (October 2016). "Golden's historic cemeteries". Golden History Museums.
14. Lawson, Pamela (2007). "Passing into history: Jack Green dies at 90". High Timber Times.
15. "Deer Creek also site of a shooting in 1982". The Denver Post . February 24, 2010.
16. Pankratz, Howard; Vaughan, Kevin; Bunch, Joey (February 23, 2010). "2 students shot, 1 man arrested at Deer Creek Middle School". Denver Post.
17. "Teacher describes how he stopped shooting". CNN. February 24, 2010.
18. "David Benke And Matt Thieu On TODAY Show (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post Denver. May 5, 2010.
19. "Hundreds of Colorado students protest history curriculum changes that would promote patriotism". Fox News. Associated Press. September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
20. Wallace, Kelly (September 24, 2014). "Denver students accuse school board of censoring U.S. history". CNN.com. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
21. Layton, Lyndsey (November 4, 2015). "Conservative school board members ousted in bitter Colorado battle". The Washington Post . Retrieved February 4, 2023.
22. Implementing Pollution Prevention for Municipal Operations - Constructed Wetland Becomes Outdoor Classroom, Natural Resources Defense Council
23. Julie Anne Peters, Hachette Book Group, 2007
24. "Official Zoning District Map of the City of Lakewood" (PDF). p. 4/12. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
25. "Home". Jeffco Public Schools. Retrieved July 24, 2024. 1829 Denver West Drive #27 Golden Colorado 80401
26. "1990 COUNTY BLOCK MAP (RECREATED): JEFFERSON County" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p.  19 . Retrieved July 24, 2024.
27. "About Jeffco". Jefferson County Public Schools. Archived from the original on December 1, 1998. Retrieved July 24, 2024. 1829 Denver West Drive ~ P.O. Box 40001 ~ Golden, Colorado 80401-0001 - linked from here
28. "CENSUS 2000 BLOCK MAP: WEST PLEASANT VIEW CDP" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved July 24, 2024.
29. "JeffcoNet". Jefferson County Public Schools. Archived from the original on May 26, 2002. Retrieved July 24, 2024. 1829 Denver W. Drive Golden, Colorado 80401
30. "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: West Pleasant View CDP, CO" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved July 24, 2024.
    2010 map: "West Pleasant View Map" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 6, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
31. Robles, Yesenia (April 15, 2021). "Giving families little notice, Jeffco lays out plan to close small elementary school". Chalkbeat . Retrieved May 15, 2022.
32. Robles, Yesenia (March 18, 2022). "Jeffco votes to close another small school while looking ahead to long-term plans". Chalkbeat . Retrieved May 15, 2022.
33. "Columbia Heights Elementary School". Place Names Directory. Jefferson County, Colorado.
34. "Fruitdale Elementary". Place Names Directory. Jefferson County, Colorado.
35. Jeffco Public Schools 2011-12 Budget Reductions - FAQ School Closures
36. "Martensen Elementary School Holds Open House Before It Closes". CBS Denver. May 14, 2011.
37. Garcia, Peyton (April 24, 2017). "Martensen Elementary becomes first-responder training facility". Denver Post.
38. Klemaier, Josie (March 7, 2017). "Preparing for closure, Pleasant View Elementary in Jeffco looks ahead". Denver Post.
39. Meyer, Jeremy P. (June 1, 2010). "Jeffco's Russell Elementary packs up classrooms as school shuts doors". Denver Post.
40. Fortier, Shanna (March 28, 2017). "Lease agreement approved for Zerger building in Westminster". Westminster Window. Zerger Elementary School closed in 2012 following budget cuts.

Further reading

• Nicky Woolf, "US 'Little Rebels' Protest against Changes to History Curriculum," The Guardian, Sept. 26, 2014.
• Lindsey Bever, "After Weeks of Student Protests, Colorado School Board Gives a Little Ground on ‘Positive’ History Curriculum," Washington Post, Oct. 3, 2014.
• Charles Lane, "What the AP U.S. History fight in Colorado is really about," Washington Post, Nov. 6, 2014.

External links

• Official website