Denver Suburbs in the press again…

Just a quick post to let you know of yet another media blurb touching on reasons one may want to consider Denver relocation and Douglas County Colorado in particular.

According to CNN Money this month, Douglas County Ranks #4 in the nation as far as Where the Jobs Are – and they specifically make note of Highlands Ranch…  They cite a 56.2% job growth between 2002 and 2009.   Companies mentioned in the CNN article are Avaya, DISH Network and Sprint Nextel, TeleTech and there is a mention of Lockheed / ULA as well.  You can see the whole list here at CNN Money.

On a personal note I loved that the photo used in the article features Highlands Ranch’s Redstone Park – regular readers and those that know me, know this is one of my favorite places that I visit daily and have posted and mentioned it often.

Also in Colorado, Broomfield County is listed as #8 with a 50.1% job growth rate.

There was another recent article in CNN Money that mentioned Colorado areas as Best Places to Live, and Highlands Ranch Colorado was mentioned there as well.

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Steve Scheer, REALTOR®

Denver Realty Partners –

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If you would like more information on the Denver area or more information on Highlands Ranch real estate, contact Steve at 720-849-6101.

Highlands Ranch and all Douglas County Students Will Pay for Bus Rides to School

Beginning in August, the students of the Douglas County School District will begin to pay for their rides to school, if they wish to take the bus in all of the Denver suburbs that the district serves.

For as long as I can remember, the bus has been an issue of discussion where I live in Highlands Ranch. There were years that people wished the bus had extended routes. There were years that people wanted more buses. There were years that those that lived in the neighborhoods wanted less buses. Recently we have seen times where there are fewer buses with fewer stops and more kids being driving to the stops, or having longer walks to get there. This has caused some traffic and safety issues near the stops.

The latest school budget cuts in Douglas County have left the school district incredibly short on their budget to say the least and creative solutions have had to be found to cut costs. Like it or not, the students in Douglas County CO will now pay $.50 per ride if they wish to ride the bus.

Douglas County Schools covers Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Parker, Castle Rock, Castle Pines, Sedalia, Larkspur, and small parts of Littleton.

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Steve Scheer, REALTOR®

Denver Realty Partners

For More Info on Denver & The Suburbs:

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720-849-6101

Back in March 2007, I wrote a post entitled Douglas County Schools: Understanding the School Track Schedule.  I wrote some others here and here on the same topic as well.  That post in particular remains to be one of the most viewed on this site – even 3 years later.  Visitors arrive on that post from all kinds of searches such as Douglas County track system, Highlands Ranch B Track, Douglas County Schools schedule, Colorado school track system and many others similar terms and phrases.

For those unfamiliar, the track system was arranged quite some time ago now to deal with the growing population, especially family & children, in Douglas County – it was an excellent solution during the years that Douglas County was one of the fastest growing counties in the nation.  Basically the kids were divide into 4 tracks in a school – A B C & D and one track was always “off-track” (on vacation) while others were in.  This allowed the elementary schools (did not pertain to middle & high schools) to house 25% more kids at any given time and a year round schedule led most tracks to be 9 weeks on & weeks off.  It was such as successful program that other school districts followed suit such as some schools in the Cherry Creek School District.

Fast forward to the school year that is just ending and the next just beginning.  Things have changed in Douglas County.  Due to a variety of factors – some which may include slowed growth rates and budget cuts – many schools in Douglas County, Highlands Ranch in particular, are no longer – or will no longer be on the track system by next year.  There are a few exceptions and you can see a full list on the Douglas County School District web site. These schools that are not on the track system will either be on a traditional / conventional school schedule or what is called a modified calendar.  Here is a full look at the calendar for this year for both traditional and tracks (this year’s is not published yet.)

I have heard mixed reviews from folks that have recently made a change or about to.  Feelings range from very positive, generally from those enjoying a full summer off – to disappointment – some people have grown to love the year round schedule and have enjoyed vacationing at off peak times of year.  Whatever the case may be, that’s where the track system stands today.

Douglas County School District covers Highlands Ranch, parts of Littleton, Lone Tree, Parker, Castle Rock, Castle Pines North, Castle Pines Village, Sedalia and Larkspur.

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I recently worked with a very nice couple that is going to be moving to the Denver suburbs from out of state.  They had three children and although they are very young right now, they plan on staying here for quite some time so they had a lot of questions about the schools in the Denver area. 

The communities that they were considering were all in the south Denver suburbs – all in Douglas County – they were Highlands Ranch, Castle

Pines and Lone Tree.   They had heard and read a little about the Douglas County Schools - they already knew that it was rated in many different facets as an excellent school district, but they were still a bit confused about the Track System. 

I directed them to several blog posts I have written in the past about the Track School System schedule for Douglas County Schools.  They said that they did help them understand it better and so I link to them for you as well.  You can find them here and here.

In a nutshell, as Douglas County experienced tremendous growth a decision was made to implement a year round school schedule at the elementary grades and split into 4 sections.  3/4  of the students would be in – and 1/4th out – off-track.  This allowed the schools to house 25% more students in a building than they would normally.  Now why?  Well the big reason is – once enrollment levels off – they certainly didn't want unused space in buildings that were too big built during high growth patterns.  Trailers have been used to offset even more growth that the tracks can handle but all in all it seems that things are starting to change.

Last year for the 2007 – 2008 school year – 23 elementary schools are on the track system, 2 are a modified year round schedule and 16 are on the traditional/conventional schedule – so more on track than not.  Now there have been a few more new schools that have opened this year than last, so the total number is not the same however you will see the change. 

For the 2008 – 2009 school year – 16 elementary schools in Douglas County are on a track schedule, 19 are on a modified calendar, and 13 are on a conventional schedule.  From last year to this year – 10 elementary schools in Douglas County switched from the track schedule to the modified schedule.  And only 2 switched to a track schedule.  So all in all, for this school year that has just begun – there are 16 on the track schedule and 32 on a modified or conventional schedule.

So what does this mean if you are relocating to Douglas County? You may have heard about the track system – but that doesn't mean you are going to be on it.  This year more schools are not on it than are. 

Another important thing to note – things change from year to year for a variety of reasons including enrollment numbers.  Schedules can change.  You can see that by noting that 2 schools did switch TO a track system.  Just because your home school is or isn't on it now – you need to talk to you individual school or the Douglas County School District to get a feel for the future plans for your school. 

Ad lastly, yes, it is true that if your school is on tracks the year has already started.  In fact this week C track will wrap up their first  round and go off track and B will go back next week!  Schools on the modified and conventional schedules, as well as the middle schools and high schools have a little pool time left.

Want to find out what schedule your home school is on?  Check here.  In fact, that link has all kinds of great info – such as how tracks are assigned, boundary maps, kindergarten enrollment information, policies, athletic and activities information, school day times and much more. 

And what areas are the Douglas County Schools anyway – that would be Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Castle Rock, Castle Pines, Parker, Larkspur, Sedalia, Franktown and parts of Littleton (such as Roxborough, Province Center, WildCat Ridge).

Hope that helps clear up some of those school schedule questions when you are relocating to Douglas County.  If you have specifici questions about any school issues or enrollment it is always best to contact the school or the school district.

Read Also: Denver Corporate Relocation – Here's The Scoop

Do You Really Need A Buyer's Agent in Colorado

Every few months in Douglas County CO the Household Chemical RoundUp takes place, giving residents an opportunity to properly and safely dispose of hazardous waste.

The next Round-Up will take place this Saturday, July 26th form 9:00 am – 3:00 pm in Highlands Ranch, CO at Shea Stadium and is open to all Douglas County residents.  Make sure you remember to bring a valid drivers license or utility bill to show your residency.

The Highlands Ranch Metro Districts web site displays a few list of all of the items that can be disposed of at the Round-Up.  A full list of the event sponsors is also available there as well.  It is also noteworthy that they are asking folks to consider a optional $20 donation to help off-set the cost of proper, safe disposal.

Now I have seen this line at times and I am going to just suggest that if you plan on disposing this Saturday, head over early as if it is anything like it has been in the past, you will be glad to get through the line early in the day.  The next event will not be until September in Castle Rock, so if you have waste to dispose of – this is a great opportunity to do it now.

And lastly, according to the HRMD web site, they are still looking for volunteers for this Saturday's event.  So if you have some time to spare, check it out. 

Shea Stadium is located in Highlands Ranch on Town Center Drive, just east of Santa Fe Drive and next to Redstone Park. 

If you are moving soon or have just moved into Douglas County – for sure you have some paint cans or other items that you need to dispose of.  Propane tanks are also common items that folks need to get rid of when they are moving – if this is the case – this event will be perfect for you.  

Steve Scheer, RE/MAX Masters, Inc.
Real Estate in Denver & The Suburbs

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