Buying a Home in the Cherry Creek School District? Everything to Know About CCSD School Choice
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Buying in Cherry Creek Schools? CCSD School of Choice can affect where your child actually goes, even if you love the home and neighborhood. If you are moving to Colorado in 2026, relocating within the Denver metro area, or trying to buy a home in the Cherry Creek School District, this is one of those topics you really want to understand- and we are here to help. A lot of folks ask us - why does Colorado have School of choice? Let us break it all down. In this video, we break down how CCSD School of Choice works, what happens if you already live inside Cherry Creek School District, what to know if you want a school outside your assigned neighborhood school, and what to do if you want to get into Cherry Creek School District from an outside district. We also talk through the Cherry Creek enrollment process, how the lottery system works, who gets priority, and why applying early in the window does not necessarily give you a better shot. You will learn what happens if your child gets accepted, waitlisted, or does not receive a placement, plus what your fallback options usually look like. Does school of choice mean my kid can go to school in any district in Colorado? For homebuyers, this matters because your address can play a huge role in your school options. If you are buying a home near Cherry Creek schools, moving to Centennial, Southeast Aurora, Greenwood Village, or other neighborhoods within CCSD, you do not want to assume that school choice means you can simply pick any school you want. We also cover common questions families ask us when they are moving to Denver with kids. Can you start enrollment before you close on a home? Are you guaranteed transportation if you choice into another school? How do charter schools fit into the process? What about early childhood education, pre-K, and Colorado universal pre-K dollars? Do you have to reapply every year once your child is accepted? As local real estate agents who grew up in Cherry Creek School District, we see how often schools, boundaries, commute, neighborhood fit, and home choice all overlap. This video is meant to help you understand the real-life side of school choice Colorado families need to think through before making a move. If you are planning a move to Colorado, comparing Denver suburbs with good schools, or trying to decide where to buy in the Cherry Creek School District, reach out anytime. We can help you think through the neighborhoods, homes, school boundaries, commute, and long-term fit before you make a decision. Subscribe for more Denver relocation guides, Colorado public school district breakdowns, and real estate advice for buyers and sellers across the Denver metro area.
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CCSD School of Choice Overview
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Today we are talking about the Cherry
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Creek School District and the School of
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Choice program for it.
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That's right. Today, by the end of this
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video, you will understand everything
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you need to know about [music]
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uh applying and filling out the school
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of choice forms and figuring out uh
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where your kids go into school.
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Yes, and we know the pain point of
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trying to get in from another school
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district. So, we will definitely be
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talking about that. We are Jake and
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Megan Fredel. We are your brother sister
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team, full-time real estate agents,
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part-time tour guides to all things
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Denver living. And today we're going to
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talk to you about school of choice for
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Cherry Creek.
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So whether you're moving in 9 days or
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900 days, we are here to help you find
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your perfect place. [music] And that's
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means neighborhood, house, backyard,
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everything there is to find out about a
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home. So [music] let's get into it and
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talk about Cherry Creek schools.
Cherry Creek School District Enrollment
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So the easiest scenario is if you're
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already living in the Cherry Creek
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School District, you know the school you
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want to go to and it happens to be the
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school that you already are assigned to.
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That's pretty simple.
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Yeah, this is a slam dunk. Easy. You go
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onto the Cherry Creek admissions
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website. It's like cherry
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1:04
And you, you know, first if you need to,
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you can you can verify your school and
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say where does there's a button that
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says check my neighborhood school. If
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you're happy with those schools, then
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you create an enrollment account right
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there and you enroll your kids, which
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means you upload the birth certificate,
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your photo ID, immunization record, and
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proof of residency. Super simple. and
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you're guaranteed a spot within that
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school. You don't have to worry about
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anything else unless you're thinking
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about choicing into a different school.
Choosing a Different Cherry Creek School
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So, just upping the complexity just a
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little bit. Say you're already in the
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Cherokee school district. You're already
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living there, but the specific assigned
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school to you or your kid is not the one
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that you actually want to go to. Now,
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you're entering that school of choice
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program. And so, this is a system where
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you're going to start applying in
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December. You're going to go on to your
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enrollment page and you're going to go
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see what schools are available to you
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because just because you want the school
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doesn't mean you actually have any space
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there. Some of the neighborhood schools
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actually fill up really quickly with
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their specific neighborhood residents
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already and they don't even have any
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leftover spaces for someone in a
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neighboring neighborhood to come in. So,
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what you're going to do is see which
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ones are available to you and pick from
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that list and enroll in those. So, this
CCSD Lottery Dates and Priority Groups
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first round lottery starts typically,
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now caveat here, look up the dates
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because they kind of advertise them like
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they don't change, but you never know
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when they're going to change. So, this
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is general. Generally, [music]
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that first round starts in the beginning
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of September and goes through the end of
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January. So, there's no priority to you
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if you submit early. You just need to
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make sure that by the end of that
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window, you have applied and then you go
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into the lottery system. And then once
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that lottery is drawn, you're gonna
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you're not going to see results until
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probably about the end of February. Now,
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how that lottery works is first there
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are these priority groups who are drawn.
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Yeah. So the way the priority groups
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work is they are going to be giving
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priority to student certain students
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depending on where they fall in this
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list. And that first priority is going
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to be any student that already has a
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student or a sibling that is enrolled as
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a student in that school. [music]
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So that's your first one. Your second
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one is going to be anyone who is a kid
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of an employee that is currently working
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at the school. And then your third one
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is going to be anyone who's currently
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enrolled and in good standing. There is
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a list of criteria that as an enrolled
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student you have to hit to be eligible
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to continue to go into a school of
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choice school. So just know that. And
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then the next is going to be any other
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current residents of the district. And
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then [music]
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the tricky one, non-residents are going
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to be that final priority and that's
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where it is the toughest to get in.
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Wo wo spoilers. We'll talk about that
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here in just a couple minutes. Last
Military Enrollment and Buckley Priority
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piece of priority information is for
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military folks. If you are active
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military, you are allowed to enroll into
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the Cherry Creek School Choice program
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prior to establishing residency here. So
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that's a really cool piece. If you're
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required to live on the Buckley Space
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Force base, then you are also given an
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additional level of priority for
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enrolling into Cherry Creek schools.
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Make sure you're in touch with your
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school liaison at Buckley for full
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details and information on that. So,
Accepted, Waitlisted, or No Placement
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come February, you're going to find out
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if you got into the school. You're going
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to get an email with some more
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instructions. You're going to follow
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those and then congrats, you're in. If
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you did get weight listed, you're just
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really going to be kind of blindly
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waiting. There's not really a super
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secure way to find out exactly what your
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number is and to find out how quickly
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you're moving up or what your chances
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are from there. But the good news is you
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do have whatever your neighborhood
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school is as your fallback. So, if you
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don't work your way up to the top of
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that weight list, you still have your
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fallback school. [music]
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Third possibility is no placement, no
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wait list, in which case there were no
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spots available, you're not going to get
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one and you're just going to attend your
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neighborhood school and that's where
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you're at.
Monthly Enrollment Windows
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So Jake, all these other school
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districts have rounds like round one,
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round two, if you don't get in round
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one, you go to round two. What's that
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like here in Cherry Creek?
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It's a little different. There's not
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necessarily rounds uh per se, but after
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your first round, [music] there are
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monthly enrollment windows. So after the
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lottery is drawn on the initial time uh
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once a month then they will kind of re
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you can resubmit and they will accept at
5:26
the end of the month. So [music] um
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they're not rounds they're not working
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in a lottery. If you get within that
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month you're prioritized the same if you
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get in the beginning or the end of the
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month. Um but typically for most of the
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schools if you didn't get a spot within
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the first round within that first round
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you're probably not getting into a spot
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in the second round. Now, if you move
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into the district and you miss that
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first round of priorities, you're still
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guaranteed a spot at your local school.
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So, don't worry. You're just probably
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not getting out of that school and into
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another Cherry Creek school, uh, you
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know, at that point in time.
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Yeah, this kind of sounds to me like you
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have one round really of applications
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and then there's just kind of an ongoing
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monthly basis where you can continue to
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apply if you didn't make it into that
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first round of applications. So, say you
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moved or something like that,
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right? and you can try to get into a
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different school. It's just that most of
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these schools
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are already full.
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They're already full and you're not
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getting into them at that point after
Out of District CCSD School Choice
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that first round. Final scenario here is
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what happens if you're trying to get
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into Cherry Creek School District and
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you don't live within the boundaries.
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Okay, for out of district residents,
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this is a struggle because you are going
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to apply in that same round along with
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everybody else. But as I went through in
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that priority list, you are the last
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final priority there. So typically a
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good chunk of the schools are already
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completely full, do not have any more
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available space by the time that final
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priority is considered. Um, but if there
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are a couple schools that still have
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some seats up for grads, you're entered
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into a lottery system. The lottery is
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pretty big and just a few people are
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selected from that. So that is a pain
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point for a lot of people. a lot of
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people who are trying to get into one of
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these Cherry Creek schools who are
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multiple years in trying and they're,
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you know, we've had clients ask us like,
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"What do we need to be doing
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differently? Is there something we can
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do to shine?" And the answer is not
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really. It's it's a lottery system, so
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there's not something special you could
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have um or someone special you could
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know to get in. You're really just
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entering the lotto there. [music]
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Good luck.
Moving Before Proof of Residency
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So, let's talk a little bit about things
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that our clients are always coming to us
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with, things that they're always asking
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or things that we're frequently finding
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coming up in Reddit threads. Everything
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that people really want to know that we
7:43
didn't already go over.
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You mean like frequently asked
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questions? That's it.
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That's great cuz there's some confusing
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things that we're going to touch on if
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we haven't touched on them before and
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maybe a couple things to repeat that we
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think are important.
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So, if you're newly moving into the
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Cherry Creek School District, you're
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under contract on your dream home.
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You're so excited, but you're not
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officially closed. You don't have that
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proof of residency official paperwork
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yet. What do you do?
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Well, that probably means you've been
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talking to us for the last 3 or 4 months
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because we found you your dream home in
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the perfect neighborhood. [music] But
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next up is you can actually start the
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enrollment process before you've
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established residency if you have a
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contract on a home. So, go ahead and get
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started. All right. So, if you've gotten
School Choice Transportation Rules
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into a school outside of your
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neighborhood school, you've choiced it,
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are you guaranteed a bus?
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No, definitely not. So, if you want to
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go to a different neighborhood school,
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you're going to need to find your own
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transportation to it. That is a real
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tough thing for some people. So, you
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really want to consider that before you
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start applying to other schools is can
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you get the kid to the school? How about
Cherry Creek Charter School Applications
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charter schools? How do they fit into
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all of this?
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Right. So, charter schools again are
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schools that are within the public
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school district, but they operate on a
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slightly different system there. So,
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there's a handful of these. Uh, they are
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completely separate application pro
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processes from the rest of the district.
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So, you cannot do those through the SC
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Cherry Creek Schools admissions website.
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You're going to go to those schools
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separately and apply for those. So, you
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can apply for one of those schools and
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also apply for a school that is out of
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your neighborhood. um and those the
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district does not talk to each other if
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you are applying to those things. So
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there's a possibility that you get
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accepted into both in which case you
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have a great problem in on your hands
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where you get to figure out hey do I
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want to go to this one or this one and
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[music] uh they don't cancel each other
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out and you know if you apply to one
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it's not going to take your away your
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ability to get into the other. Yeah, and
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I actually have a list right now of
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schools that are currently not using
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this portal where you would need to go
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and apply at these schools specifically.
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So, I'll read those off to you. Those
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are going to be Cherry Creek Academy,
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Challenge School, Heritage Heights
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Academy, Elevation Online School, and
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Endeavor Academy. So, reach out to those
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schools specifically if you are thinking
Early Childhood, Pre-K, and UPK
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about one of those. Does ECE early
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childhood education also use this school
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of choice program or what does that
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process look like?
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It's slightly different. So, you are
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going to use the same website, the
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Cherry Creek Admissions website, but
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there's a separate button for ECE3. Uh,
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and then you'll click that button and do
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the enrollment process there. [music]
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Uh, very similar process, just a
10:23
different button and doesn't work work
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exactly the same. Uh, next step is the
10:28
preK program. So, for the
10:30
four-year-olds, that does actually use
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the same [music] button as the rest.
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It's it's preK through 12th grade are
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are treated the same. Uh, another piece
10:39
of that is if you're using the uh,
10:41
universal prek dollars, which is a
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program in Colorado where
10:46
[music]
10:46
uh, four-year-olds get uh, some of their
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uh, uh, childhood education for prek
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covered and paid for and that'll
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automatically be paid for through the
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public school district. Um, you do have
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to do those in two steps. So, you go
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through the enrollment process through
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the admissions website and once you are
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placed in a school, you then go fill out
11:08
the UPK dollars and you can designate
11:10
those UPK dollars to the school you've
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been accepted to. And the way those UPK
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dollars [music] work is you're funded
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for 15 weekly hours for your kid. If you
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want to do more than that, then more
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hours of that is going to come out of
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pocket from you.
Reapplying and Staying in Good Standing
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Do families need to do the school choice
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enrollment process every [music] single
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year? No, they don't. So, when you're
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going to do this is going to be if
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you're in a transition year, meaning
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you're going from middle to high school
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or if you want to change schools again
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or if you've moved out of the district.
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But if you're already a currently
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enrolled student in one of the CCSD
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[music]
11:45
programs, then you're all good to go
11:48
throughout your duration of time at that
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school. You do need to make sure that
11:52
your student is staying in good standing
11:54
throughout that time because that can
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earn them a kick out of the school. And
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last piece, if you're moving within the
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school district, too, and you want to
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stay, you know, [music] keep them at the
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school they've been attending, you'll
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have to apply for that as well.
Buying a Home in Cherry Creek Schools
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If you're looking to buy a home in the
12:09
Cherokee School District, you might want
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to be starting to talk to someone who
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knows a lot about the area. And I would
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say maybe we fit that bill.
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I'd say so, too. I mean, we both
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attended the Cherry Creek School
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District. We both grew up in Centennial
12:21
and Southeast Aurora, depending on which
12:23
parent we were living with. Uh, and
12:25
we've been there our whole lives and
12:26
then we've moved [music] all around the
12:28
Denver metropolitan area. So, we know
12:30
tons about the area. So, whether it's
12:32
this district or another area you're
12:34
looking for, we are here to help you,
12:36
[music] you know, guide you through
12:38
figuring out where the perfect place is
12:39
for you.
12:40
Yeah, I think the best way to get
12:41
started on that is to book a call with
12:43
us, shoot us a text, start asking us
12:45
your questions, and let's start putting
12:47
together a game plan. Because whether
12:49
you're looking to move in 9 days or 900
12:51
days, it's never too early to start that
12:53
conversation. So give us a shout and in
12:55
the meantime check out all of our other
12:57
videos about the Denver public school
12:59
districts, [music] the Douglas County
13:00
school districts, or any of the
13:02
neighborhoods that are in the Cherry
13:03
Creek school districts. We've got tours
13:04
of all of them.
13:05
And make sure you subscribe for updates
13:07
on other school districts and other
13:09
interesting things about the Denver
13:10
metropolitan area. We'll see you next
13:12
time.
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Q: How do I enroll if I live in the district and want to attend my assigned neighborhood school?
A: This is the easiest scenario. You simply go to the CCSD admissions website, verify your neighborhood school, create an enrollment account, and upload your required documents (birth certificate, photo ID, immunization record, and proof of residency). You are guaranteed a spot.
Q: How does the School of Choice process work if I live in the district but want a different school?
A: You must enter the School of Choice lottery. The first round typically runs from early September through the end of January, with results released around late February. If you are waitlisted or denied, you are still guaranteed a spot at your assigned neighborhood school.
Q: What happens if I miss the first round of the lottery?
A: After the initial lottery, the district opens monthly enrollment windows. However, because most schools fill up entirely during the first round, it is very difficult to get a spot later on.
Q: Who gets priority in the School of Choice lottery?
A: The lottery places applicants into available seats based on a strict priority hierarchy:
Students with a sibling already enrolled in that specific school.
Children of employees currently working at that school.
Currently enrolled students in good standing (who wish to remain).
Other current residents of the district.
Out-of-district non-residents.
Q: Can I apply to Cherry Creek schools if I live outside the district boundaries?
A: Yes, but it is highly competitive. Non-residents are the absolute last priority. Because most schools are already full by the time out-of-district applicants are considered, you are placed into a large lottery for very few, if any, remaining seats.
Q: Is there any special priority for military families?
A: Yes. Active military personnel can enroll before officially establishing residency. Additionally, families required to live on the Buckley Space Force base receive an extra level of priority and should coordinate with their base school liaison.
Q: Can I enroll my child if I am under contract on a house in the district but haven't closed yet?
A: Yes, you can start the enrollment process with a housing contract before officially establishing residency.
Q: Will the district provide a bus if I choice into a school outside my neighborhood?
A: No, you are not guaranteed bus transportation and will likely need to coordinate your own way to get your student to school.
Q: How do I apply for charter schools in the district?
A: Charter schools (like Cherry Creek Academy, Challenge School, and Heritage Heights Academy) operate outside the central CCSD admissions portal. You must reach out and apply to them directly.
Q: Do I have to reapply for School of Choice every year?
A: No. You only need to go through the process again if your child is entering a transition year (like moving from middle to high school), you want to switch schools again, you move, or the student fails to maintain good standing.
