7171 Beech St
Arvada, CO 80004

A new principal starting in 2023 has really been detrimental. Her approach was to jump in and make immediate changes, which in my opinion created confusion and stretched herself thin. For example- there is an issue with parking lot flow. It is a flawed lot and would probably need to expand to make it better. She opened up the area used for bus drop off and created an anxiety inducing safety hazard that added more points of entry and exits that reduce traffic flow. Not well thought through and has made the problem worse.At the beginning of the year our child needed extra help after missing a large portion of the year with a serious medical condition. She brushed off our highly advised attempt for an IEP before the year started, which delayed our child four months of getting the help she needed.Our child’s celiac was not properly handled in the classroom. There were concerning practices by her teacher that year. Communication with that teacher lacked.Next year, the principal sent out an email the WEEK before school started to let us know fifth grade classroom size would be 29!! She failed to hire a teacher and brought class size from 21 to 29. We were not allowed the time to find a new school with acceptable class size. Our children will not get their needs met with such large classrooms. The teachers will get burnt out with the added weight.There’s been other head scratching changes that have left teachers confused. The principal’s short body of work has been a failure. Our two children have had their education stunted and we are left filling in the gaps at home. It’s been a sharp drop of quality from the prior principal to the current. The school district needs to intervene.

The teachers there all love the kids so much and work very hard to make sure everyone feels included and cared for. The faculty will context with kids of all kinds and give anyone who needs help the opportunity to get help. The school counselors are also a huge help to everyone there and are a commonly used resource. There is also minimal to no fighting unlike many other middle schools and everything feels completely safe. Overall the school helps everyone both the special needs, lower academic, and high academic in many ways and is a wonderful middle school.

There is absolutely no way that Ralston Valley is ranked as high as it is, it is a 6.5/10 at best. I attended this school for my freshman year of high school and I was disappointed and unimpressed. Everything at this school is highly competitive and it is hard to try new things. My friend was cut from volleyball even though she made the level 3 team the previous year. She ended up trying out for the musical, but unfortunately didn't make it in. The academics at this school are also made out to be better than they actually are. They are by no means bad, but are nowhere near exceptional either. The choral program at RV is also pretty decent but it is not as good as it claims to be. Schools such as Arvada West, Lakewood, Dakota Ridge, and Columbine have a much better choral program than RV has. The worst part of Ralston Valley is the student culture. If you're not a snobby rich or upper middle class suburban kid whose entire wardrobe consists of lululemon, Nike, and other name brand clothing, then you´ll most likely have a hard time fitting in. In some cases, if you´re wearing something that´s not typically considered trendy amongst teens, you´ll get pictures taken of you and get made fun of on social media ( this has actually happened to me multiple times ). Sadly the administration at this school couldn´t care less about the fact that many students at this school are getting bullied. They defend it and pretend like it doesn´t happen. As a teenager myself, I recommend that all parents avoid sending their teenagers here.