608 Gore Range Dr
Severance, CO 80550

Had high hopes when we moved here. The town itself was perfect. Everyone riding bikes to school, Walking to school and just the ease of kids enjoying themselves after school at local establishments walking distance from school. Having a cross guard for Main Street shows the town officials care. Now get inside the HS….it’s a whole diff issue. They are understaffed, teachers lacking the capability to work w teenagers and they had a principal who was focused on becoming superintendent and her local sing career than doing what it right. They give more rights to criminal kids, fur kids (yep you read that right) FURRIES. Kids who are allowed to come to school in animal costumes, speak in animal sounds and completely disrupt classes. They have a football staff that is total daddy ball and do nothing to stop bullying amongst the team. Parents have tried to step up and complain and their fix-all parties can’t play a game or two. Drugs run wild in the school, fights in parking lot. Countless car accidents in parking lot. Staff walks around w blinders on. There for the paycheck. Had so much hoe for the school but someone needs to come in and do an overhaul. Remember when you move here $$$$ talks!!

Parents, Consider This Your Warning.If you value consistency, fairness, and leadership in your child’s education—run, don’t walk, in the opposite direction of Orchard Hills. Chaos seems to be the main curriculum here. During our time at the school, a principal (yes, the person in charge) literally told us, “We can do whatever we want with your kids.” Comforting, right?The leadership is inconsistent at best, and disturbingly unbalanced. There’s not a single male figure in leadership, and even some of the teachers have quietly admitted they disagree with how things are being handled. In fact, that same principal—who says she can’t do whatever she wants—oddly enough took time to complain to us about a teacher. It’s giving reality TV, not elementary school.If you question the system, don’t be surprised when your child feels the consequences. Retaliation seems to be their go-to move. And the district? Not much help there either. We moved to Colorado for many reasons—quality education being one of them—but this school is actively working to change our minds.Here’s just a glimpse into the nonsense: our 2nd grader was suspended for pretending to shoot a finger gun while playing with friends. Meanwhile, we visited our kindergartener and saw multiple kids doing the exact same thing right in front of teachers—no consequences. The inconsistency is baffling. But wait—it gets better. After returning from suspension, our son had another student expose himself to him. Was that student suspended? Of course not.So if you’re wondering what lessons your child might learn at Orchard Hills, it seems to be: “The rules don’t apply equally,” and “Leadership means doing whatever you want, so long as you smile and say ‘we’re all family.’”Spend some time on campus. Listen. Watch closely. You might hear polite words and friendly greetings—but don’t be fooled. There’s something deeply wrong here.You’ve been warned.

I'll start by saying all other reviews of this school previous to this are from before there was a change in principal. This school has shattered my child's self esteem. Denying supports that might help them succeed when recommended by professionals, constantly making them feel in "trouble" for struggling, teachers take away recess constantly (which is super counterproductive). It's time online reviews reflect the current state of this school, because reviews from before 2020 are not really valid any longer.