2965 E Bates Ave
Denver, CO 80210

Exceptional school with outstanding leadership. The faculty truly care about their job and have pride in their school. There community is engaged, and they encourage an inclusive environment. All of the staff at our Elena school wanted their children to go to Merrill, it was immediately apparent just why. Kudos!

My daughter has loved her time at TJ. The principal is one of the best I have experienced. The teachers have been amazing. It is a positive environment. Great school spirit. And the school continues to invest in updates to the building and grounds. It’s a place where everyone is welcome.

I cannot warn you strongly enough against attending Slavens. While families with academically average children might have a different experience, ours has been consistently disappointing. Our children have been failed by both ineffective teachers and negligent administration.We hoped things would improve when the previous principal left, but the current principal was promoted from within and has proven ineffective. She's supported by a middle school dean who cannot drive change, create an inspiring learning environment, or address issues raised by multiple parents.The administration maintains only one or two quality teachers per grade level while allowing ineffective instructors to continue teaching year after year. Teacher quality is completely hit-or-miss in each grade. If you know which teachers to request for your children, they might actually have a decent year. Be an advocate for your kids immediately to get out of a class with a terrible teacher. If you end up with one of the problem teachers, your child will suffer under educators who are lazy, poorly trained, or wildly inappropriate.The middle school environment doesn't improve. Students face excessive homework nightly, causing significant stress. Despite repeated parent feedback, the homework load is never addressed. Additionally, middle school teachers lack basic classroom management skills. Students with severe behavioral issues who consistently disrupt instruction face no consequences, while students who want to learn suffer because staff cannot maintain order.Proceed with extreme caution if you're considering moving to this neighborhood for the school. Slavens is not the DPS haven people believe it to be. In hindsight, moving to suburban districts would have been preferable.