Challenge School

When u apply to Challenge they go by the teacher's recommendation(most teachers don't have the time to fill out a 4 page application that is pretty long ). They filter the candidates and select the ones with a good recommendation. In my opinion it is not a fair process, every child should be interviewed and tested for their talent. The child's future is in the hands of the recommending teacher and in most cases the teacher recommending may not even check the questions on the form to see if the child knows it.. Even though they say it is overall scoring i thinks its disappointing when they don't even give your child a fair interview after u spend hours filling out an appplication and getting the recommendation letters. I am not happy with the selection process. Its just not fair!

I am so blessed to have found this school for my children! We were paying private school tuition until we found out there was a public school doing better work for kids than our private school was - and without all of the silly politics you find at private schools. We are grateful to the outstanding principal and staff for such a wonderful school for our children.
—Submitted by a parent

I am an eighth grader at Challenge, and this is my ninth year. I have loved every second at this school! The atmosphere is great, the students are excellent, well-rounded people (contrary to some inaccurate allegations, incidents of self harm and bullying are almost nonexistent, even among the older kids), the teachers are intelligent and caring, and the academics are challenging and fun. The courseload and homework are manageable and simulating. The Challenge school environment is unforgettable, and i would recommend it for anyone who likes to learn.

I have three children at Challenge. My kids are well adjusted and LOVE school. The teachers are not too demanding and with my experiences they are more than willing to work with students and parents. All of my kids have attended other elementary schools in the district and all of them continually say that Challenge is the best school they have been to. I have watched Race to Nowhere and Waiting for Superman and I have not seen anything like that in my experience at this school. What I have seen is bright, kind and well adjusted kids that for the most part love school and learning. I can't say enough great things about this school!
—Submitted by a parent

An incredible learning environment for the academically motivated child! The faculty quickly learned each of my 3 children's learning styles and 'challenged' them to succeed. I love that they are graded on the whole child, and that their self esteem is bolstered in every way. The principal is amazing, as she began her Challenge School career as one of the first teachers. I sleep well at night knowing that my children are getting everything they need during the 7 hours they are away from home!!
—Submitted by a parent

good school with good location. close to home and work. my kids go here and will stay here until 9th grade.

I am so very fortunate to have had 2 children obtain their education at this school. It is truly excellent!!
—Submitted by a parent

Challenge school has been great for me I have learned so much. However, I never really learned ti spell, the only clubs are chess and math clubs, and your with the same 50 kids all of your school. Since I started in kindergarden, I am looking forward to highschool. Challenge school is a great school.
—Submitted by a student

We have an 8th grader at CS. We have loved it from day one. From the nurturing environment to the excellent curriuclum, we have but raves for this school. Yes, sports activities are sadly absent, but I would enroll my other children any day at CS.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a 7th grader and I have gone to this school since kindergarden, I must say that I love it. All of the teachers are incredible and my fellow students are kind courteous. Sadly, there are no extra-curricular sports activities.
—Submitted by a student

This is a great school! I am a 7th grader and I've gone here since 2nd grade. I am ahead in all of my classes and this school has helped me so much throughout the years. Most students don't enjoy our school because it's not like a normal middle school but socially it's not bad. Going to high school will be a big change but it's worth it because the school is just wonderful.
—Submitted by a student

I am a parent of 2 in the Challenge School and I love it as well as my 3rd and 8th grader. It is an incredible school. The teachers are the best! They are caring and they know every student well, they get to have them 2 consecutive years. The students in the whole school get to know each other, too. Because of the mini courses and the immersion week, every fall and spring, very fan program, where you get to choose what you want to study for a week. If you like to be challenge and have high goals and expectations; as well as an interest on been involved with their education, you'll love this school. The staff and students are like a great big family. The principal knows everyone's name. They have a great spirit and they care for the community. Your kids will love!
—Submitted by Cristina Wilkinson, a parent

I just finished 8th grade at Challenge. It's an excellent school academically. The math program is great. As a member of the math team, I can say we do very well in math contests on a regional, state, and national level. However, the school is really small. Our graduating class of '07 only had 73 people. You don't get very many chances to meet somebody new. The lack of PE, Art, Technology, and Music classes is also a minus. The 7th and 8th graders don't get any of those, and the 5th and 6th graders (to the best of my knowledge) only get PE and Art. Even though I have been critisizing it, it's a great school. It's very safe, you learn a lot, and it's fun.
—Submitted by a student

Challenge School truly sets the standard for others to follow. My kid is a chess whiz, member of Mensa, and craves challenges. He's been at Challenge School for 3 years and loves it! When he entered kindergarten there (already reading books before entering), it was nice to see that the rest of the kids were all at his level. Each and every kid was already reading, just like him, so he wasn't held back so that others could catch up, learn the alphabet, phonics, whatever. This included math and number sense as well. In all subjects, the kids are at least 1 grade level, if not 2 grade levels ahead. This school is a perfect fit for any parent who has a child who is ahead of their game. Challenge School is a magnet school and a public school at the same time. I cannot say enough good words about it.
—Submitted by Belinda Torres-Mary, a parent

This school is great. It is safe, fun, challenging (hence the name Challenge School) and has a very close-knit relationship with its students. We have a strong focus on math. Our math teams and classes dominate the state of Colorado. Our school is also small. The size is for the better, because you get to know people better. The only thing the school lacks is sports, we have nothing in the way of after school sports.
—Submitted by Will D, a student

I am going to the Challenge School as we speak. This school is the bomb if your smart go here.
—Submitted by Joey Burkhardt, a student

I was a student at the challenge school, and I went there from 3rd grade up until 8th. I am now in high school. Challenge is a wonderful school and almost all the students are/were on honor roll. I made a lot of friends and also did well. I would recommend this school highly. I had alot of fun.
—Submitted by Hannah Zelman, a former student

Very good acedemic progams, perfect extracurricular activities and a lot of parent envolvement.
—Submitted by a student

I love this school. It's a place where we learn and have fun!
—Submitted by Cory Hester, a student

The challenge school provides wonderful opportunities in the the arts. As well many of the teachers find creative ways to teach the students to both challenge and engage the children. Communication between parents and faculty appears to be very good,with timely notice of any difficulties.
—Submitted by a parent