Parents have their homework cut out for them

By Janet Simons
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

Back in the days of Dick and Jane, finding a school was no big deal. The first September after their fifth birthdays, their parents would register Dick and Jane at Neighborhood Elementary School. Dick and Jane would stay there through sixth grade, progressing seamlessly all the way through graduation from Neighborhood High School.

IF YOU GO What: The School Fair: A Special Event Matching Students With Schools, preschool through high school. Nearly 160 public, private, parochial and alternative schools will have representatives on hand to answer questions about programs and enrollment procedures. When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday Where: The Ritchie Center at the University of Denver, 2240 E. Buchtel Blvd. A free shuttle will run from the parking lots at South High School, 1700 E. Louisiana Ave. Cost: Free A school sampling Parents must submit applications for open enrollment by the following deadlines. Children who do not get into their chosen schools because of missed deadlines, lack of vacancies or failure to qualify are assigned to their neighborhood schools. In most districts, these children will be put on waiting lists for their chosen schools until the beginning of the school year. The schools listed below were selected to showcase the variety found within the public school system. Many of these programs are available in more than one district; parents whose children are put on waiting lists may want to explore the options in a neighboring district. Adams County District 1, Mapleton, (303) 853-1000 No deadline; choice allowed on a space-available basis. An interesting school in this district: Alternative No. 1, 1200 E. 78th Ave., (303) 853-1660. Seventh- through 12th-graders receive no report cards; the school is designed to serve "individuals who have not met with success in their present school structure." Adams 12 Five Star, (720) 872-4000 First-round choice deadline: Feb. 15. Second round: June 30. An interesting school in this district: Horizon High, 5321 E. 136th Ave., Thornton, (720) 872-4400. Horizon, a Department of Education Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 1996, offers evening classes through its Sundown School. Adams County School District 14, (303) 853-3333 No deadline; choice allowed on a space-available basis. An interesting school in this district: Central Elementary, 6450 Holly St., Commerce City, (303) 287-0327. Central, a neighborhood school, attracts many second-and third-generation residents of Commerce City. Adams County School District 50, (303) 428-3511 No deadline; choice allowed on a space-available basis. An interesting school in this district: Skyline Vista Elementary, 7395 Zuni St., (303) 428-2300. Last month Skyline received a Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Grant in 2000 to improve literacy schoolwide. It is also one of several schools in the district that participate in Lightspan Partnership, a program using Sony Playstations and Lightspan technology to support academic content at home. Aurora Public Schools, (303) 344-8060 No deadline; choice allowed on a space-available basis. Applications encouraged ASAP. An interesting school in this district: Aurora Quest Academy, 482 S. Wheeling St., Aurora, (303) 343-3664. The 2001-'02 school year will be the third for this magnet school for gifted and talented children in first through fifth grades. Boulder Valley School District, (303) 447-1010 Open enrollment deadline: 4 p.m. Jan. 31. An interesting school in this district: Bear Creek Elementary, 2500 Table Mesa Drive, Boulder, (303) 499-8555. Bear Creek is a "focus school" with an emphasis on mathematics, science and music. Its guiding philosophy is that children learn best by doing. Brighton Public Schools, (303) 655-2900 No deadline; choice allowed on a space-available basis. An interesting school in this district: Express Preschool, various sites; for more information call (303) 655-2945. Express Preschool offers language, social, motor and thinking skills education to children ages 3 to 5 with and without special needs. Cherry Creek School District 5, (303) 773-1184 Open enrollment deadline within the district: Feb. 14. Out-of-district applications accepted on a space-available basis April 1 to Aug. 1. An interesting school in this district: Smoky Hill High School, 16100 E. Smoky Hill Road, Aurora, (303) 693-1700. Smoky Hill offers an International Baccalaureate program, a rigorous and highly structured program that, when completed, gives college credit to graduates. Denver Public Schools, (303) 764-3200 Open enrollment deadline: Feb. 16. Second-round applications accepted through the start of the school year. An interesting school in this district: Denver School of the Arts, 150 S. Pearl St., (303) 722-4669. Applicants must audition in one of eight art forms: creative writing, dance, vocal music, instrumental music, drama, visual arts, stagecraft and design, and video and cinematography. Academic subjects also are taught. Douglas County Schools, (303) 688-3195 Open enrollment deadline: Feb. 1. An interesting school in this district: DCS Montessori Charter School, 311 E. Castle Pines Parkway, Castle Rock, (303) 814-4950. Besides a curriculum based on the open-classroom educational philosophy of Maria Montessori, this program for preschool through sixth grade also offers lessons in Suzuki violin and French. Englewood Schools, (303) 761-7050 No deadline; choice allowed on a space-available basis. An interesting school in this district: Colorado's Finest Alternative High School, 2323 W. Baker Ave., Englewood, (303) 934-5786. Redbook selected the school as one of America's best in 1994 and 1996. Many students come to the school with a troubled academic past; it guarantees that graduates will be ready for (at least) a community college. Jefferson County Public Schools, (303) 982-6500 Open enrollment deadline: March 1. An interesting school in this district: Jefferson County Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenting Program, 13600 W. Second Place, Lakewood, (303) 982-7497. The school offers middle school and high school courses for students who are pregnant or who recently delivered a child. Mothers take courses on child care; there's an on-site nursery. Littleton Public Schools, (303) 347-3300 First-round choice deadline: Jan. 31. Second-round deadline: April 30. An interesting school in this district: Littleton Academy, 1200 W. Mineral Ave., Littleton, (303) 798-5252. Littleton Academy is one of several charter schools in the metro area that offer a core-knowledge curriculum. Sheridan District 2: (303) 761-8640 No deadline; choice allowed on a space-available basis. An interesting school in this district: Sheridan High School, 3201 W. Oxford Ave., Englewood, (303) 761-6307. This is the smallest public high school in the metro area; it offers small classes and has a closed campus, a dress code and a strict attendence policy. Ten questions to ask when visiting a school, composed by consultant Margerie Hicks: What are two or three components of your program that demonstrate commitment or action to achieve your school's mission statement? How does your program address the perceived weaknesses of the method? For example, if your program is core curriculum, how do you promote creativity? If it's progressive, how do you assure achievement? How is the students' achievement of learning milestones assessed? What testing is used? How does the school compare with others? How does the school address special needs of children who achieve differently from the norm? What is the condition of the physical plant? For example, if school starts in August, is there air conditioning? What extracurricular activities are offered? What's the average class size? What in-classroom and out-of-classroom support do teachers have? What changes do you anticipate? What's the rate of staff turnover? Is there an active parent group? Whom may I call from that group? What are the school's biggest challenges and how are they being addressed?

That was then.

This is now, and Henry Hernandez and his former wife, Tina Marie Hernandez, both 29 and of Denver, are putting a full-court press into finding the perfect kindergarten for 5-year-old Alejandro.

"Tina has done most of the work so far, but I have been asking for ideas from my friends who teach or have children. We plan to go together to visit all the schools we're considering," Henry Hernandez said. "We'll look at the ratio of students and teachers, the diversity, classroom assets such as computers, whether the teachers read to the kids and how much free play they get."

Tina Marie Hernandez said: "We're looking at charter schools, a couple of different neighborhood schools, private schools. We're looking at philosophies of learning, test scores, whether they teach reading with phonics or whole language and what's the school's mission.

"Then I step back and get some perspective: He's only going to kindergarten."

Kindergarten, of course, is just the beginning. When Alejandro is in fifth grade, he and his parents will be faced with an array of middle school programs. In eighth grade, there will be an equally daunting selection of high school programs.

And there will be new choices along the way as new magnet programs and charter schools come into existence. Alejandro will be eligible to transfer to any public school in the state — if there's room.

This diversity was spawned by a perceived educational crisis, as educators and parents keep trying out one idea after another in an effort to serve a broader range of needs. At the beginning of the current school year, Colorado had 80 charter schools; in 1993, the year they became legal, there were two.

The number of students who transfer to other school districts has increased 40 percent in Jefferson County in the past five years and 120 percent in Cherry Creek Schools. And Denver's Board of Education, which fought Colorado's charter-school laws to the state Supreme Court, allowed the number of charter schools to double this school year.

"It's so confusing," said Tina Marie Hernandez. "It's like my college search."

She recently took a class from Margerie Hicks, a former teacher who's made a career of helping parents find their way through Colorado's education maze. Hicks has written three guides: Colorado Private Elementary and Secondary Schools, Child Care & Preschools in Metro Denver and The Guide to Metro Denver Public Schools, which notes on its back cover that "there are 600 public schools in the metro Denver area."

Hicks says that when children are young, parents need to focus chiefly on their own expectations and standards. As children get older, Hicks says, their interests and strengths will emerge and begin to guide the process.

Hicks starts her classes by having parents rank the education issues that are most important to them.

"People are always asking me what the best school is. Of course, there's no way to answer that question, because parents have to find the school that's best for their child," Hicks said. "And that's a difficult job, because there are more and more differences from one school to the next, and every child isn't going to fit into every school.

"A parent who is considering a back-to-the-basics curriculum, for example, needs to make sure the child can learn in a highly structured environment."

Hicks says a child's learning style may need to be independently assessed, and she recommends that parents call their school district to find out what's available.

The most common mistake parents make in selecting schools, Hicks said, is relying too heavily on test scores.

"First of all, I hate the emphasis on test scores because it ties the hands of teachers," Hicks said. "They have to teach with scores in mind, as opposed to teaching what each child needs.

"I also think it doesn't make sense for parents to choose a school for its scores. Sure, it's one piece of information to consider. But if your child has a special interest or a special need and a school has a program available that meets that need, test scores are absolutely irrelevant.

"The overriding issue," Hicks said, "is that each child has different needs. Parents need to find the school that best fits their child."

Hicks teaches her next class on choosing the right school for your child at Gove Community School on Feb. 7. For more information, call (303) 399-6510.

Contact Janet Simons at (303) 892-2547 or simonsj@RockyMountainNews.com.