15476 W 64th Loop
Arvada, CO 80007

On one hand, Drake does a very good job with what they have to work with internally: learning, teaching, social-emotional support and safety. Better than many other middle schools in Arvada.On the other hand, there is an ongoing public safety issue with the masses of motorists cramming the parking lot and neighboring roadways during rush hours. The school asks parents to respect neighboring businesses by staying out of their parking lots. What are we left with? A tiny parking lot with poor signage and a daily pressure cook on parents and students in Drake's traffic zones. How many parent hearts are hardened because of the rigors of these daily population bottlenecks? I don't have exact metrics but the ripples are felt and passed along. Community trust from this chaos is broken away one day at a time.Also, I HOPE a government run institution would kindly direct it's paid employees to do parking lot duties and beyond but ultimately accountability is shifted onto parents. Who offers the directive templates? A district running a bad policy framework quietly meanders the many loopholes visible to them, not the public while those below their purview suffer moral dilemmas no paid public servant should ever have to face.It gets to the point where caregivers silently unsubscribe their children to this environment–which logistically hasn't worked for years to gain time, space, peace and hopefully a longer life!

I engage with the staff and administration at this school regularly and feel I have a good sense of Stott. The Principal The principal weighs the family perspective as a top priority when making decisions. If a decision doesn't sit well, she always has excellent reasoning for why decisions are made a certain way, and makes sure everyone wondering understands the reasoning. She has always made time to sit down and talk with families who have questions and concerns. The TeachersThe teachers care firstly about student well-being, growth, and engagement. They seem happy at Stott and to be in their positions, and this positively affects my child's overall experience. Happy teachers have happy classrooms. The teachers I know are cheerful, know about their students beyond just test scores, and there's little turn-over. Many teachers have been at Stott long enough to see entire families start in kindergarten and move on to middle school, high school, and beyond. They always look for ways to support and challenge students' abilities. EngagementStott has come a long way with student and family engagement over the years by hosting implementing weekly STEM classes during the school day, fundraising activities like the Fun Run and Read-a-Thon, after-school extracurricular options like Robotics, Art Club, Dance, and more that I'm probably forgetting. The teachers communicate frequently in a number of ways -- in person at school events or at the door during arrival and dismissal, e-mail, phone calls, apps like Class Dojo, newsletters in Friday Folders, and even postcards when students really go above and beyond in behavior or academics. There is a small but mighty cadre of consistently involved families who support through the PTSA or other means as they're able, and this is a HUGE part of Stott's improvement over recent years. StudentsThe students at Stott are generally hardworking, kind to others, and respectful. All schools see conflicts between students, but Stott seems to have the kind of kids who treat each other with kindness without much in the way of bullying. The mental health awareness and support at Stott is fantastic with responding to concerns and communicating with families about issues students might be experiencing. Stott recently adopted an Autism Spectrum Disorder center from a school that closed, and its presence has certainly raised my child's awareness and acceptance of differences among her friends, and her empathetic skills.

If you have the option do not attend here.