Stedman Elementary School

This is the worst run school in DPS. I was encouraged to send my kids to this school through the positive things I had heard of this school through a Facebook mom group. But having my kids here has been the worst decision. It is clear that the school is so poorly managed. There is high turnover at this school with often times classrooms not having a full time teacher throughout the entire year. Classes relying fully on various substitute teachers coming in and out. On top of all of this. The Principal did not announce that the school would have an additional 5 teachers leaving for next year until AFTER choice round 1 closed. Jenks is the worst principal and clearly does not care about staff, students or families. We have applied for choice round 2 and now because of their incompetency and disregard for families, my kids will be at 2 different schools for the following year. AVOID COLUMBINE AT ALL COSTS.

This is my family's fifth year at Hallett, and we love it! Principal Jefferson leads with love, and it is echoed in every member of the faculty and staff. The children here know that they are valued and respected, and this foundation makes it possible for them to leap into their learning! As a low-income parent, I've never been made to feel like my children deserved any less than any other child. My children are Black, and were not being served well by other schools in the Denver community, and not only are they happier at Hallett, but that joy is reflected in every area of their learning and growth.

Amazing school with great community engagement and support. Teachers have long tenure and it shows….. very experienced and wonderful at their jobs. Specials are well thought out and routinely enjoyed. School supports all learners where they are. The overall feel is that they truly care about the kids, which is the point.

Disappointment when the principal calls my daughter a liar for something her teacher agreed she did wrong. Principal is supposed to advocate for my child instead she plain insulted us!! God forbid it had been something worse she would also call my child a liar. This lady was recently hired and already She is not to be trusted!!!

As parents, we had high hopes when we enrolled our child at MCHD, but unfortunately, our experience has been disappointing on several fronts. My older son attended MCHD 8 years ago and we were thrilled when it came to his experience. He had one teacher, Ms. Itzel, his entire time there. He grew so much educationally and socially. I was excited to send my younger son and enrolled him when he was two. We spent 4 years at MCHD Parkhill and just left mid year because we were beyond disappointed. I am floored when I recall the significant differences from 8 years ago. First and foremost, the teacher retention issue is a serious concern. It feels like every few months, we’re seeing new faces in the classroom, which has created a lack of consistency in our child’s education. It’s difficult to form a relationship with teachers when they’re constantly leaving, and it’s clear that the remaining staff is overburdened. Additionally, communication from the school is abysmal. Important updates and changes are rarely communicated in a timely manner. It’s frustrating to find out about scheduling changes, school events, or policy updates at the last minute or, worse, not at all. As parents, we feel left out of the loop and constantly have to chase down information that should be readily available to us. We’ve also been disappointed by how the school has handled changes. There has been a lack of transparency when it comes to alterations in curriculum, staffing, and even basic facilities. The school doesn’t seem forthcoming with this information, and we’ve been left to figure things out for ourselves, which is not acceptable for the fees we are paying. To add insult to injury, despite paying the same amount as families at the Central Park campus, our child’s campus does not offer the same resources or opportunities. It’s hard to ignore the disparity in facilities, extracurricular programs, and even classroom materials. We understand that different campuses may have different needs, but the quality should not be this uneven when the financial commitment is the same. Overall, we’re incredibly disappointed with MCHD. For the amount of money we’re paying, we expected much better communication, teacher stability, and a more consistent and equitable experience for our child. We hope the school takes these issues seriously and works to address them for the sake of the students.

As a parent of three students at Blessed Sacrament, our family has had a wonderful experience. I am not Catholic, though my husband is, and what drew us to the school was truly the community. The families here come from different backgrounds, but there is a shared commitment to supporting the school and each other.Blessed Sacrament is proudly Catholic, which we appreciate, of course you wouldn’t expect a Catholic school to be anything less. At the same time, they do a great job making all families feel welcome while teaching students strong values like kindness, service, and respect.For our family, it has been a place where our kids are growing academically while also being part of a really supportive and engaged community.