anyone know about fort collins public schools?

[Allison]

Just curious. Considering moving in a few years from Arlington, MA, to someplace less expensive!

TIA
Allison

[Alisa]

I don't know if I can help too much, because we moved away from FC almost five years ago, but I taught in Fort Collins for four years so maybe I could answer some questions.

What did you want to know?

[Allison]

Hi Alisa.

Do the public schools attract good teachers? Are innovative, creative learning activities encouraged over drills and worksheets? Is respect for others and anti-bullying discussed in the schools? Is there a drug problem in the later grades? Does anyone complain of a lack of funding for public schools there? Do the kids seem to like or dread school? Are parents actively involved?

THese are questions off the top of my head -- not well thought-out, but a start!

Thanks!
Allison

[CaraboosMama]

Hi Allison - I am from Colorado Springs & noticed your thread. Have you tried asking this question in the finding your tribe board for Colorado? You may get more responses there. Hope this helps!

[BathrobeGoddess]

I have lived in Ft collins most of my life, am a working teacher (though not a public school teacher, I teach early childhood at a non-profit outreach program) and have a child who has been in public school here for seven years.

Do the public schools attract good teachers?

yes, for the most part. PSD is very attractive to teachers.

Are innovative, creative learning activities encouraged over drills and worksheets?

This is school dependent.

Is respect for others and anti-bullying discussed in the schools?

Again, school dependent

Is there a drug problem in the later grades?

I'm not sure but the drop our rate is very low

Does anyone complain of a lack of funding for public schools there?

Yes, Colorado ranks 47th in the USA for school funding.

Do the kids seem to like or dread school?

This question I can't answer.

Are parents actively involved?

This is school dependent.

The thing I really like about our school district is the amount of choice there is. My dd goes to the Lab Shcool for Creative learning and we are very happy there. She has also gone to a very good, well know IB school and it wasn't really a fit for her. There are also quite a few core knowelege schools as well.

[ChristaN]

We're in Ft. Collins, too but our kids attend school in the Thompson School District (Loveland) b/c we are very far south (out of city limits). From what I understand, PSD has more choices and the schools there appeal to me more. We are moving our girls to a charter that it opening within PSD boundaries, but is state run next year -- at least I am about 90% sure! It is an arts magnet.

There are a few charters through PSD so one of them should probably meet your needs, but some are hard to get into (Lab school as mentioned earlier, Harris bilingual, Traut core knowledge). The district has a good reputation and I know a number of people who are happy with their neighborhood schools. I don't believe that we have any major drug or criminal activity problems in the later grades, at least not that I have heard about. In regard to kids liking or dreading school, I think that varies dramatically depending on the school and teacher that the child has.

[Mountaingirl3]

Allison,
We love Fort Collins! Kids are not school age yet, but I have plenty of friends who are very happy with the schools.

You might be interested in the Lab School (an alternative public school): http://schoolweb.psdschools.org/lab/

Our kids will go to kindergarten at the Jewish temple (they have a wonderful, montessori-based, creative approach). In first grade, they'll go to our neighborhood school. Lots of parent involvement.

Here's our neighborhood school's character education program:http://www.psdschools.com/schools/we...racter_ed.aspx

[Alisa]

Allison,

I think that all the other responses were very accurate concerning Poudre School District. There is a large variety of schools and teachers with a lot of choices. It is generally very competitive to get a job in PSD so overall they draw a good bunch of teachers. When living there, I trained in the IB program, as both the schools I taught at were just moving towards becoming certified in IB. I like the wholistic approach that IB takes; however, the nice thing about PSD is that there are a number of different magnets, so the choices are pretty varied. If you like a little more diversity, your more likely to find that in the northern part of Fort Collins.

BathrobeGoddess makes a good point in stating that so much of the information you seek is school dependent and can even be classroom dependent. Overall, Fort Collins is a really nice place to live; a small town feel with a lot of amenities and a large city (Denver) not too far away. Being a university town with a number of tech companies, it draws a lot of educated people. Plus, there's a pretty nice food co-op in Old Town!

I hope that my end of the week, tired ramblings help you with your decision in some way

[ChristaN]

Maybe this is getting off topic, but I'd have to second the recommendation to go north. We are in the far south end of town and wound up with Loveland schools and Loveland culture here. I would much, much rather be in city limits and further north. I wish that I had known that before we bought our house b/c we can't afford to move right now.

Loveland is much more conservative, intolerant of differences and cliquish. We've really had a hard time "fitting in" down here. However, I am quite out of the norm around here -- from San Francisco, very liberal, vegan, etc. I do look pretty average until I open my big mouth !

[Allison]

thanks for all the replies

Wow -- you guys are great! Fort Collins and its public school system sound great. Now let's just see if my husband can get a job in the math dept at CSU. The earliest he could even apply would be next year.

If we do end up there I will definitely check out the north part of FC first!

Thanks again.