Eldorado K-8 School

My daughter enjoyed the elementary school experience here and enjoyed the variety of extra-curricular activities. However, she wishes she had gone to another middle school (Louisville.) She was on the honor roll all 3 years in the middle school, but unlike her friend at Louisville, who got invited to a special ceremony for honor roll students every semester, she never got anything other than a paper certificate and a mention in the newsletter. Not even an award a graduation. She was extremely disappointed. Back when her brother was an 8th grader all honor roll students got a certificate, so she was so looking forward to that. Anyhow, I think Eldorado would be better for the middle schoolers if they switched to semesters. Many middle schools in BVSD are on semesters. I know it took my son a while to get adjusted to semesters in high school so I think this would help. The teacher quality is a mix: either excellent or so-so. What distressed my daughter was how some teachers played favorites. Another issue is that many teachers are extremely slow in updating grades and/or lose assignments.
—Submitted by a parent

We moved to the area this summer and all four of our kids go to this school including elementary and middle schoolers. We have found so far that the teachers are wonderful. The academic level seems to be as high as we would expect it to be. There seems to be a lot of parent involvement. I highly respect the principal this year (fall 2011). She is an amazing woman who has quickly learned all four of our children by name and knows about their personalities. We have been welcomed in as part of this community of families. One of our kids is in all accelerated classes and doing great with them. Another child needs extra support in reading and is receiving that as well. I have nothing negative to say about this school. So far, so good! We love it!
—Submitted by a parent

Our family has been at the school for 4 years. Our children are excited to go to school every day, and we feel that they really do get personal attention. We get emails or messages in their backpacks with any concerns. Eldorado K-8 again won the prestigious John Irwin School of Excellence Award this year, indicating that Eldorado is in the top 8% of schools for the State of Colorado. Since our school has an unusually diverse population, this is truly a great achievement.
—Submitted by a parent

Dedicated teachers and great principle!
—Submitted by a parent

My eldest has been there from kindergarten through 8th grade. It's been a great 9 years.
—Submitted by a parent

my family moved here during the summer to start 6th grade. the first few months were a bit difficult to transition, but the teachers and support staff have been great. my 2 kids and i love this school.
—Submitted by a parent

The reviewer from the 10/31 posting states it exactly like it is. This school is a mixed bag. We've had some great teachers in both K-5 and also the middle school. But we've also had some other teachers who really seem like they're doing more harm than good for my child. I'm still debating whether I want my younger child to attend middle school here. For being a well-off neighborhood, I'm also quite surprised at the number of items my oldest child has had stolen.
—Submitted by a parent

Eldorado has some significant flaws that have existed for years and continue to plague the school. The quality of the education and the teachers are all over the board, with some being excellent and supportive and others actually finding ways to seriously damage the self esteem of their students. In addition, the Principal's office has been a revolving door, as they'll have their third Principal in less than five years starting later this year (four if you include the current interim Principal). There is little discipline at the school and a 'mean girls' mentality is prevalent throughout grades 5-8. As someone who's lived in Superior for 10+ years, I consider the school to be a huge disappointment.
—Submitted by a parent

After reading the review from February 2008, where the reviewer feels there is not enough homework assigned at Eldorado, I thought I would mention that I have a third grader at the school (2008/09 school year) who has on average 1-1.5 hours per day of homework. In other words, quite a bit more than 10 minutes per grade level. I personally believe that this is far too much and is actually counter-productive, but I am sure everyone has their own opinion. I just wanted to set the record straight by mentioning it, and in most other ways I do think Eldorado is an excellent school.
—Submitted by a parent

I have nothing but great things to say about the administration and teachers at Eldorado. I could not have expected any more support for my children's education then we have recieved at Eldorado. The teachers are caring but tough and want each child to succeed. The ciriculum is appropriate, original and varied with just the right amount of homework for each grade level. I feel very fortunate to have this top notch school right in my neighborhood and appreciate the kind of education my children are getting.
—Submitted by a parent

Have mixed feelings about this school. I feel they don't assign enough homework in either upper or lower grades. My children had a lot more homework in another district (followed the 10 minute per grade level standard but which this district doesn't seem to follow). I do like that they have some good after/before school activities (chess, drama, cribbage to name a few). One area where they could improve dramativally is working with new families. Their orientation for new families is not good, either. I feel they could do much better here, teaching them how to use the school's online system as well as the automated system for lunch payments.
—Submitted by a parent

Eldorado K-8 is pretty new school compare to other school around this area. Also this is best and only school provide special programs for special need kids in my opinion. My kid never feel he is an outsider among his friends. That's what I want from a school, principal, teachers, and those lovely kids even sometimes people forgot to mention. Eldorado is growing not only its CSAP but on other areas too. Love community and the school too!!!
—Submitted by a parent

My nephew attends Eldorado K-8 and I am incredibly impressed with his development and the staff's dedication to all of its students. I don't know of a better school in the entire state.

Eldorado K-8 has exceeded our expectations for delivering top-drawer educational opportunities for our children, one of whom has special needs. Any questions or problems I have had have been addressed promptly and professionally. Our children love going to school, and feel nurtured and challenged. The teachers are exceptionally caring and communicative. We especially appreciate the Response to Intervention model the school uses, which translates to each child getting individualized education planning for Reading and Math, and a lot of support in other areas. The Special Educators and the PE, Art, Music and Library instructors are exceptional, too. The classrooms are well appointed, the materials up to date and in good repair, and much attention is paid to cleanliness and safety. We feel really lucky for our children to attend Eldorado K-8.
—Submitted by a parent

I am new to the Colorado School Community and have found that Dr. Lanier goes way beyond the every day principal for the benefit of the student body. Parent involvement is amazing for those that are involved. This school will be all the talk of the town in the coming years with new bike paths, safety technology and the establishment of a PTO. I am proud to be a member of the community and am an active member making even better on PTA and SAFE-T and ACE.
—Submitted by Melissa Thornton, a parent

As a parent of a new 6th grader at this school, I have felt somewhat alienated. The communication is lacking and my 6th grader sometimes feels overwhelmed. After the recent district bussing debaucle, I felt that the school could have played a larger role in ensuring that our students had safe transportation to and from school. Overall, I'm not completely convinced that this school is providing a quality education for my child.
—Submitted by a parent

Eldorado k-8 is an exceptional school for me to learn and thrive. The staff is very organized and they do a good job of making the kids feel comfortable. For the elementry school students, not alot of art programs are availible but the older students, like me, have alot of oppertunities to participate in art programs. The parent envolment is very high, but activities that are sponsered by the parent teacher association are rarely appreciated by some of the students. overeall, Eldorado has been a wonderful school for me,and a great place for children to recive a very nice education.
—Submitted by a student