7628 Simms Street
Arvada, CO 80005

I have had three (very different) kiddos at Sierra and it has been a wonderful school for all of them so far. The Specials team is fantastic! They have Art, Music & PE and days called ROAR days that my crew absolutely loves. The building is light and bright. Administrators are visible and accessible. Two of my kiddos have had IEPs, and they have been well supported.

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.