Dear Westlake Parents and Guardians:

It is hard to believe that we have just two weeks until Thanksgiving Break!  I am reminded each and every day how grateful I am to work in the Westlake community.  Seeing students learning skills and applying learning in the classroom or greeting students in the hallways are those daily reminders to me of the amazing community in which I am so fortunate to serve.  Thank you for sending your children to us Westlake!  We are grateful for you trust and value your partnership.

Gifted and Talented Testing

School Accountability Committee (SAC)

Join us this Wednesday at 4:15pm in the library for our first SAC meeting of the year.  We will be reviewing our data from CMAS and discussing our goals and action steps we are taking to achieve the goals.  The parent/guardian role is critical to the success and achievement of our goals as a school so please consider joining us on Wednesday.  If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to Dr. Heide at 720.972.5200 or rachel.e.heide@adams12.org.

Choice Guidelines

District outlines deadlines for 2019-2020 Choice process
Submit application by January 31 st deadline for priority consideration

Last year, Adams 12 Five Star Schools received more than 4,500 Choice applications for the 2018-2019 school year. In accordance with the state’s open enrollment law, the district’s Choice program allows for students to apply to attend schools outside of their attendance area boundary.

Both in-district and out-of-district students can apply for Choice. Out-of-district Choice requests are considered after in-district requests. Acceptance to a Choice school is based on several criteria: availability of space, sufficient teaching staff, appropriate programs and the necessary facilities for special needs students.

Adams 12 Five Star Schools will publicize the schools open to Choice for the 2019-20 school year on December 1, 2018. The Choice application and list of open schools are available online at www.adams12.org/choice. For families without computer access, a computer kiosk is available at all schools and at the Educational Support Center located at 1500 E. 128 th Avenue in Thornton.

The deadline for priority consideration is January 31, 2019 and is not first-come, first-served. If the number of requests exceeds the spaces available in a given school, the district will hold a lottery. Parents and students submitting an application for priority consideration will be notified of the results of their application no later than the third week of February. The second deadline to submit a Choice application for the 2019-2020 school year is March 30, 2019. As with the first round, if the number of requests exceeds the spaces available for priority consideration in a given school, the district will hold a lottery. Notification of approval or denial will be made no later than the third week of April.

In addition to the two deadlines above, in some years a third round of Choice may be held in August and September if space is available. Schools open to the third round of Choice will be posted online at www.adams12.org/choice by August 1st. While not a guarantee, when possible, priority will be given to sibling applications so that families will attend the same school. Families with children already attending schools that are not open to Choice are eligible to submit an application for their existing student to remain at the school or for younger siblings to attend the school with their older siblings.

The duration of a Choice placement is valid for all grades served by the school. For example, if a student attends a Choice elementary school, the approval is valid to the end of fifth grade, as long as there are no significant changes in that school’s enrollment or facilities. When a student transitions from elementary to middle school or from middle to high school, they must reapply for Choice. If they don’t, the student’s placement automatically reverts to their boundary school. Students that are approved for Choice are responsible for their own transportation.

Extended-day kindergarten
For traditional elementary schools, admissions to extended-day, tuition-based kindergarten (EDK) are not managed through our Choice Program but rather directly by each school with an EDK program. Parents of extended-day, tuition-based kindergarteners at traditional schools should note that enrollment in that program does not automatically mean the student will go to the same school for first grade. The student must apply through the Choice program for first grade placement if he/she wants to go to a school other than his/her boundary school. Also note that the school the child attended for kindergarten may not necessarily be open for Choice.

For magnet schools, extended-day, tuition-based kindergarten are managed by the Choice Program. Parents of extended-day, tuition-based kindergarteners attending magnet schools do not need to reapply for Choice as their Choice approval remains in effect through the highest grade served at their magnet school.

Secondary programs
In-district students are not required to apply for Choice to attend secondary programs like Horizon SOAR, Legacy 2000, Mountain Range High School of Business, Northglenn High STEM and EC@N-STEM Programs and Thornton High International Baccalaureate (IB). Admissions to those programs are managed by each school. Out-of-district students wishing to attend high school programs that are not schoolwide must apply for both Choice and with the program. If the school is not open to Choice then the program is closed to out-of-district students. If the student is not selected in the Choice lottery, they are wait listed for the school and program.

To learn more about Choice and find answers to frequently asked questions, visit the district website at www.adams12.org/choice. The Five Star District Planning and Admissions Department determines the acceptance of Choice requests and can be contacted via email at choice@adams12.org

Election Day is on Tuesday. Don’t forget to vote!