Silver Heights

After our first year at CRE, we are so thrilled with this school. The teachers and staff are attentive and student-focused. The leadership is diligent and resourceful. And like most public schools, they are continuously working to serve students and families with fewer and fewer resources. While the Douglas Country School District has some work to do, the faculty and staff at CRE are doing amazing work to overcome the challenges that they’re facing.

I recently graduated from acs.Over the 5 years I was at acs I felt like I was not only being drowned out by school work but also the disrespect of not only students, but also the staff. Starting out at the school I noticed a severe case of bullying from other students which I ended up experiencing myself. Some kids were physically hurt and others mentally, and the schools staff failed to punish or take the situation seriously when brought to them.When I was in 6th grade I was being bullied by multiple classmates and when I brought it to the counselor, nothing was resolved nor did she attempt to speak with the students. I have noticed how much the school lacks in providing a safe environment when it comes to mental health and bullying for students. When I entered middle school the sheer amount of work pressed on us caused constant anxiety of failed grades and teacher relationships.Especially in 8th grade I found myself doing homework from the time I got home till dinner, then starting back up until late at night. Many students found themselves falling behind in classes and not having the time to have fun extracurriculars to enjoy. Spending so long on homework caused lack of sleep for students making it harder to focus. Most teachers didn't seem to have the patience for it. If you weren't passing a class many teachers claimed you just didn't have good time management or didn't pay attention, instead of acknowledging how much work they forced on students. However, giving acs one star goes out truly to the few teachers I found at that school that were really helpful and kind. It wasn't until middle school that I found a teacher willing to listen and provide a safe classroom along with stern advice and good teaching that has helped me become who l am now. He will remain an important mentor in my life. I also found that my 6th grade homeroom teacher helped me get through the tough times of that year. If you are planning on sending a child through acs, please prepare to set them up with therapy or consider moving them into online school. Most students I attended acs with have left the school with a lower self esteem, self worth, pride, and joy than children leaving 8th grade should. I even know a student in my grade who moved schools halfway through 8th grade year because of student and teacher disrespect. That student recently told me how toxic the acs environment truly was and how much better his new school ended up being. Reconsider sending your kid please.

Aspen View Academy is, without question, the worst school in Castle Rock. I say that with absolute certainty after finally pulling my kids out. The contrast with their new school is night and day—my children are actually thriving now, instead of merely surviving.At Aspen View, kids are not protected both physically or mentally. The administration is incompetent and lazy from top to bottom. The entire place lacks any real structure, discipline, or leadership. Everyone, students and staff alike, knows it, so chaos runs unchecked. Bullying is rampant and worse here than at any other school in the area.Teachers are often friends of the weak principal, hired for connections rather than qualifications. Many lack proper teaching degrees or certifications. They play favorites shamelessly because professionalism is nonexistent. Most classroom helpers, “paras”, lunch aids, you name it, are parents of current students. Not the parents you want in the school either. The parents at this school are most certainly part of the problem: entitled families obsessed with status, driving their kids around in expensive cars and drilling into them that money is everything. The whole atmosphere reeks of spoiled, entitled kids and adults who think wealth or popularity excuses bad behavior.Talk to any family that’s left Aspen View, there are plenty, and you’ll hear the same story. Most people I encounter have pulled their children out. DCSD should shut it down for the sake of some of these other kids, whose parents may not understand just how bad things are for them. This school is hands-down the worst one in Castle Rock. Trust me. Avoid it.