2911 Niagara Street
Denver, CO 80207

This is a delightfully diverse school that doesn't deserve its low school report card ratings. My son is in the 5th grade and due to an unusual set of special needs, has experienced six different schools. This is the ONLY one that has been able to meet them. My theory about the F rating is that the school serves a racially diverse population in a low income neighborhood. It's one of the few schools willing to work with challenging kids who are not going to boost any school's ratings. They were a turn-around school that started being successful on paper and were rewarded by less funding. In reality, the staff is top notch. The administration greets every child by name as they walk in the door. Most of the kids seem happy. Mr P. plays the ukelele as he supervises and chats with the kids on the playground. Mr. O. gave my son an extra keyboard after my son poured a drink on our one at home. Ms. F. emails my son's homework to me, since he can't seem to ever get home with it on his own. The principal, Ms E., leads the school with efficiency and patience. She is professional, yet approachable. Dr. G., the acting assistant principal, deals with the tough situations of discipline and difficult parent relationships, in a no-nonsense, yet fair manner. J., in the office, is the perfect person to tie the whole school together as she directs the flow of kids, parents, teachers, specialists to what they need and where they need to go. Please, give Smith a chance. It's so undervalued for the excellent job it does.

We have had a really great experience here. The staff and teachers have made this school great for my son with adhd and dyslexia

This school has pros and cons. This is surprisingly a really diverse school (nothing is wrong with that) and has some very good clubs and activities. Aside from its pros like every school, it has its lists of cons. One thing the school can really improve on is their punishments, they use a system called an “RP” to punish bad kids (which makes you miss either lunch or recess) Which does not really give the students a harsh punishment because the same kids keep getting them over and over again. I suggest that instead of the “RP” system they make the students do something more affective like clean the school kitchen, or help clean the classrooms instead of recess. Another problem I would like to note is the dating, lots of kids in this school make out and have secret social media accounts which ship students with each other. The school also needs a better job of teaching the kids respect and discipline, I am constantly hearing about fights in this school and kids cussing in the hallways. I also am constantly encountering groups of disrespectful girls that laugh at me and talk about me behind my back. The school will probably not listen to this feedback but I will update this review if they consider it.

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE. Best thing would be to close the school.

Can't say enough good things about this school. The best DPS school and one of the best in the state. State champs in so many things and academics are wonderful.

It is a five out of five.