WHEAT RIDGE —As Wheat Ridge continues efforts to draw a new generation of residents to live, work and enjoy life in the city, a group of community leaders are working to improve student achievement and promote strengths of city schools.
Spearheaded by District IV Councilwoman Genevieve Wooden, members of the recently formed Wheat Ridge Committee for Educational Excellence say one of the main goals is reversing a trend of parents sending their kids outside the city under Colorado’s open-enrollment system.
“Ask most anyone, where’s the place to send kids? They’ll say Cherry Creek,” Wooden said. “Why can’t we have that reputation, and what do we have to do to make that happen?”
The city’s three charter schools enrolled the vast majority of their 1,188 students from outside Wheat Ridge. Meanwhile, the 11 regular public schools in the city suffered a net loss of 55 students out of 4,774 living in city boundaries during the 2013-14 school year. All public schools in Wheat Ridge are part of the Jefferson County Public Schools district.
Schools that failed to meet state standards measured by TCAP scores or had plummeting percentages in reading, writing and math proficiency — including Wheat Ridge 5-8, Everitt Middle School and Stevens, Kullerstrand and Vivian elementary schools — had opt-out percentages as high as 66 percent and a net loss of 532 students.
Eighth-graders at Wheat Ridge 5-8 saw math proficiency scores drop from 23 to 12 percent last school year. Stevens Elementary is the only school in the city deemed a priority turnaround school; as a whole, its scores in reading, writing and math were approximately 25 percent below federal standards.
Wheat Ridge High School along with Prospect Valley and Maple Grove elementary schools either met or exceeded TCAP standards and saw the largest net gains with a total of 390 students opting in from outside the school’s boundaries.
Tenth-graders at Wheat Ridge High dropped from 63 to 59 percent in reading proficiency but saw writing proficiency jump from 39 to 43 percent.
The wide range of proficiency scores reflects the diversity and challenges the city faces, Wooden said.
“While the average income has risen, so has income disparity and the number of underserved and minority students we serve,” Wooden said.
Supporters say a key strategy in convincing parents to enroll their kids in neighborhood schools is bringing top leaders — the mayor, police chief, city manager, council members along with parents and citizens — to conduct outreach efforts.
Wheat Ridge High School Principal Griff Wirth said the hope is to educate parents about school operations and bring awareness to programs like those focused on gifted and talented students or new technology and anti-drug initiatives.
The committee plans on having city officials be more of a presence at schools, principals regularly addressing city council, monthly parent meetings, after-school intramural programs and increased marketing efforts.
“At meetings we want to get these principals on stage,” Wirth said. “Let parents have a chance to talk, ask tough questions, find out about the school from someone who walks the halls.”
The group is currently working on a school information packet for parents packed with statistics, contact information, parent comments and also have an Education Summit planned Sept. 17 at the Rec Center.
A number of parents who sent their kids through decades of Wheat Ridge Schools said they have no regrets.
Nancy Kunz and her husband, Terry, live on the west side of town and had a choice of enrollment in Lakewood, Golden or Wheat Ridge. All three of their kids went from kindergarten through high school in Wheat Ridge. Their daughter Annie was a two-time Gatorade Player of the Yearand is now a soccer and track standout at at Texas A&M University.
“It’s a diverse community and I like that for my schools,” said Kunz, who is a real estate agent. “Sometimes the test scores aren’t amazing because they have special needs kids. I tell clients, don’t look at just the test scores because they don’t give you the full picture.”
Denver Post staff writer Zahira Torres contributed to this report.
Wheat ridge committee for educational excellence
For more information or to attend the Sept. 17 forum at Wheat Ridge High School, call District IV Councilwoman Genevieve Wooden at 303-204-9504.
