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Moving to Denver with kids? Your neighborhood school might not be the school your child actually gets into. Here’s what Denver homebuyers need to know about DPS School Choice and why it can feel so complicated. If you are buying a home in Denver, relocating to Denver Colorado, or trying to understand Denver Public Schools before choosing a neighborhood, the DPS School Choice system is something you really want to understand before you fall in love with a house.
A lot of families start with questions like, can you choose your school in Denver, are Denver schools good, is the Denver Public School system good, or which Denver public school should we pick.
The answer is not always simple, especially if you are moving to Denver with children or moving my family with small kids to Colorado and coming from a place where the closest school is usually the school your child attends. In this video, we break down how Denver Public Schools School Choice works, why your address does not always guarantee the school across the street, and how DPS enrollment zones and boundary schools can affect your home search.
If you are wondering what to know before buying a house in Denver with kids or what to know about moving to Colorado with kids, this is one of the biggest pieces to understand before choosing a neighborhood.
We walk through what the Denver school lottery looks like, how Round 1 and Round 2 work, why timing matters in certain parts of the process, and what it means to rank your schools. We also talk about the difference between a boundary school, an enrollment zone, and your “right to attend” school, because those terms can make a big difference when you are trying to figure out your options. We also explain how does school choice work in Colorado, how it applies inside Denver Public Schools, and why Denver can feel different from some other Colorado school districts.
We also cover what happens if you are waitlisted, why your waitlist number can move in a frustrating direction, and why some families may want to list more school choices than they originally expected. If you are looking at Denver elementary schools, preschool, or Universal Pre K Colorado, we explain how Colorado UPK fits into the process and why preschool seats can be especially competitive.
Transportation is another major piece of the puzzle. Just because your child gets into a school does not always mean DPS transportation will be provided. We explain what families should know about distance, enrollment zones, and why the school commute should be part of your Denver home search. Our goal is not to tell you which Denver school is best. Our goal is to help you understand how Denver Public Schools enrollment works so you can make a more informed decision when buying a home in Denver.
Welcome to Southern Denver Living! We help people make confident moves across South Metro Denver, including Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, Parker, Castle Pines, Lone Tree, and Littleton. As Colorado natives and a brother-sister real estate team, we break down neighborhoods, schools, lifestyle, cost of living, and what relocating families wish they knew before moving. Freedle & Associates blends clear process, strong negotiation, and video-forward marketing so you always know the next step and why it matters.
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Why DPS School Choice Matters
0:00
You ever enjoy buying a lotto ticket
0:01
once in a while? You know, just a little
0:03
dollar gift certificate for hope out
0:05
there. Just wait till you have to play
0:07
that game with your child's elementary
0:09
school.
0:10
Oh, that's not fun. Or think that maybe
0:12
you're moving into a neighborhood that
0:14
has an elementary school right across
0:16
the street and you're so excited for
0:17
your kid to go there. Well, it might not
0:19
be the school that they're actually
0:20
going to.
0:21
That's right. Even though you could hit
0:22
it with a rock from your front yard, you
0:24
are not guaranteed a spot there when
0:26
you're moving to the Denver Public
0:28
School System, which is what we're going
0:30
over today in depth and detail. By the
0:33
end of today, you are going to
0:34
understand what the Denver Public
0:36
Schools School Choice Program is, how to
0:39
rank your schools, what an enrollment
0:42
zone is versus a boundary school, and so
0:44
many things that you don't even want to
0:46
know that you know, but you want your
0:48
kid to get into the right.
0:50
Yes. Guys, I mean, this is one of the
0:51
most convoluted topics we've ever talked
0:53
about. So much so that you could hire a
0:55
consultant right now, $300 an hour to
0:58
walk you through the Denver Public
1:00
School of Choice system. And we are not
1:02
complaining to be that experts. So, we
1:04
are not charging $300 an hour for our
1:07
information about the Denver Public
1:08
Schools. So, our goal is to give you a
1:10
good overview. And if you want to go
1:12
hire that gal, you sure can.
1:14
What are we real experts in?
1:15
We are real experts in real estate.
1:18
where Jake and Megan Fredo, your brother
1:19
sister real estate team, full-time real
1:22
estate agents, part-time tour guides to
1:24
everything southern Denver living. So
1:27
whether you're moving here in 9 days or
1:29
900 days, we are here to be your
1:31
resource to help you find your perfect
1:33
place. And today we're going over the
1:35
Denver Public School System. And by the
1:37
way, we'll just say, you know, there are
1:38
a lot of real estate agents out there
1:40
that are claiming to really help people
1:42
buy and sell in the area every single
1:44
day. We're really doing that. You can go
1:46
look us up on homes.com. That's public
1:48
record. You can see that we really do
1:50
eat, sleep, work, play here, and guide
1:52
people through their Denver school
1:54
public choice system.
1:55
All right, enough of this shameless
1:56
self-promotion. Let's hop into the
1:58
Denver public schools. Okay, Megan,
Why Denver Public Schools Uses School Choice
1:59
where do we start with the most
2:01
complicated video topic we've ever taken
2:04
on?
2:05
I think we just start with why. If
2:07
you're moving here from out of state and
2:08
you're used to your school just being
2:10
whatever the closest school to where you
2:12
live is, this is going to feel super
2:14
convolated convoluted and unnecessary
2:16
maybe even.
2:17
Yeah. And you can join all the parents
2:19
in Denver on Reddit about how upset you
2:21
are and uh confused about why in the
2:23
world they would choose to do this.
2:25
Even locals, it's confusing for locals,
2:27
too. So, don't feel like you're uh
2:28
behind cuz everybody's a little confused
2:30
here. But the reason that they started
2:32
doing the Denver Public School of Choice
2:34
was because it's, you know, it solves a
2:36
couple problems. And number one is one
2:38
that I could speak to. When I was in
2:40
high school, I was an easy 3inut walk
2:43
away from the closest high school, but
2:45
that wasn't actually the high school
2:47
that I was assigned to. I was assigned
2:49
to one that was more like a 12minute
2:51
drive. Um, that worked out. That was
2:53
actually the high school that we had
2:55
wanted me to go to anyways. But this
2:57
seeks to solve this problem where
2:59
consistently over time as geographics
3:02
change and the amount of kids in every
3:04
area starts to change and we build new
3:06
schools, the school that you are
3:08
designated to is not always the one
3:10
closest to you. So this hopes to number
3:12
one remedy that issue. And another good
3:14
reason for this is what if the local
3:16
school isn't the right school for your
3:18
kid? What if you have an individualized
3:20
education plan and you need, you know,
3:23
you're looking for more resources and
3:24
you're looking for a different place or
3:26
maybe your kids experience bullying at a
3:28
school and you need to get them out of
3:29
that school. There's actually is a
3:31
pretty cool thing for those situations.
3:33
Um, so there's definitely some pain
3:35
points which we're going to tell you all
3:36
about, but there's also some good
3:38
things. We're not here to really be the
3:40
moral judge on is this the right way to
3:42
run a city. We're just here to help you
3:44
navigate this convoluted system and help
3:47
you figure out where your kids are going
3:48
to school. Okay, so getting started.
Denver School Finder and DPS Enrollment Zones
3:51
Step one, what you need to do is go to
3:54
the school choice website. So it's the
3:56
DPS. Type in Denver public schools
3:59
school choice. You're going to be
4:00
brought to the website. You're going to
4:02
type in your address in the schoolf
4:04
finder section and it's going to show
4:06
you all of the schools that are within
4:09
your boundary. Um, you're going to say
4:11
like, you know, are you looking for
4:12
early childhood education, ECE, uh, ECE
4:16
3, ECE 4, those are early childhood
4:18
educations for 3-year-olds and
4:19
four-year-olds, or you're going to say
4:21
elementary school, middle school, high
4:22
school, whatever, and it'll show you all
4:24
the schools that you could possibly be
4:26
placed there, too.
4:27
Yeah. And this is a good place to talk
4:28
about the difference between your
4:29
enrollment zone and your boundary
4:31
school. So, in your enrollment zone,
4:34
this is this depends on where your home
4:36
is located. You might have your home
4:39
have one designated boundary school for
4:42
you or you might live in an area where
4:44
you have an enrollment zone where you
4:46
have multiple schools that are possible
4:49
for you. So if you decide that you don't
4:51
care where your kid goes, then you might
4:53
be assigned to your one boundary school
4:55
or you might be picked at random at one
4:58
of the schools in your enrollment zone.
5:01
So, might be worth it if you feel like
5:02
you don't care to at least just go hop
5:04
on and prioritize one of the three
5:06
within your enrollment zone,
5:08
right? Cuz at the very least, you don't
5:09
want to be driving across town. And
5:11
let's show a little map here for one of
5:14
the enrollment zones. These are pretty
5:16
big zones for where you could possibly
5:19
be placed if you're not giving a
5:20
preference. And man, if I was in one of
5:23
these far schools, I'd be pretty upset
5:25
because on a on an early morning drive
5:28
with traffic, like you could be facing a
5:30
half an hour drive.
5:31
Absolutely insane.
DPS Round 1 vs DPS Round 2
5:32
And so that would be for round one. And
5:34
that is going to open up or at least
5:36
this year it opened up in the beginning
5:37
of December and it closed in the end of
5:39
January and then people found out about
5:42
their choices at the end of February. So
5:44
this could change in future years, but
5:46
likely it might follow a similar model.
5:48
While we're there, let's talk about
5:49
rounds. Round one is kind of like the
5:51
everyone applies, you know, everyone
5:53
gets to and and it doesn't matter like
5:56
how when you apply, there's no time
5:57
restriction. You get generally this like
5:59
6 week window and as long as you turn in
6:03
your application and your preferences by
6:05
the last day of that window, then you're
6:08
good. You'll be considered and given a
6:10
lottery number at the same time as
6:12
everyone else. If you miss that, you're
6:14
in trouble and you got to wait for
6:15
number two. Round two. Round two is for
6:18
folks who moved into the district late.
6:21
Maybe something changed in your family's
6:24
life and you need to uh give up a spot
6:27
and try and get another spot. You in
6:29
this round, time does matter. So, they
6:32
give preference based on timing. So, the
6:35
earlier if you have to make any changes
6:37
or you didn't get in round one, you want
6:39
to be as fast as you possibly can on
6:41
round two because they will give you
6:42
preference based on when you submit your
Ranking Schools in the DPS Lottery
6:44
preferences. Or it's possible that maybe
6:46
you only named four places in round one
6:48
and you didn't get any of those four
6:50
schools and now you are round ending up
6:52
in round two asking again for a new set
6:54
of schools.
6:55
Yeah. So don't be ch shy about putting
6:57
too many choices on there. Right. Like
6:59
we said you can put up to 12. You
7:01
probably don't need 12 because like as
7:04
they've say they say that it's like 91%
7:07
of people across the district get either
7:09
their top one or two choices. Um, so but
7:14
it doesn't always work that way. So put
7:16
too many on there.
7:17
Yeah, I would say that's a nuance stat.
7:18
So then you will see that stat that your
7:20
one of your top two you have a 91%
7:22
chance. Well, that's for anyone applying
7:25
across the board for all of the schools
7:28
combined together. Probably both rounds
7:30
too. So you have to think, you know, if
7:32
you are looking at one of the most
7:35
competitive schools and you've picked
7:37
those as your top two, your chances are
7:39
probably not 91%. they're probably
7:42
significantly lower. And so, you know,
7:44
take that stat with a grain of salt and
7:46
just know you might want to spill out
7:48
all 12.
7:48
Yeah. For example, like the Centennial
7:51
Elementary School in the Berkeley
7:52
neighborhood is highly sought after. And
7:54
I would guess that if that's your number
7:56
one choice, it's a lot lower than 91%
7:58
that you're getting at. So, make sure
8:00
you're applying and ranking enough
8:02
schools to not sell yourself short here.
DPS Waitlist and Priority Rules
8:05
Okay. So, you've got your list of
8:08
schools and you start, you know, the the
8:11
it's the end of February and the school
8:12
district is going to start contacting
8:14
you to tell you what school you get. You
8:17
might not get these things in order. So,
8:19
let's say you only put six choices on
8:21
there. Your fourth place school might
8:24
contact you and say, "Hey, you got a
8:26
spot." In which case, if you accept that
8:28
spot, your fifth and sixth places will
8:30
drop off, but you stay weight listed for
8:33
your top three. So go ahead and say yes
8:35
to number four while you're waiting for
8:37
your other three cuz they just can't do
8:39
everything on time. So if you can say
8:41
yes to number four and then your number
8:43
one school calls you, you can still say
8:45
yes to that one and then drop the rest
8:47
of your choices. Yeah, you'll be weight
8:49
listed for those other ones. And you
8:51
know, speaking of weight listed, that is
8:53
a huge frustration that people often
8:55
experience. You might be in round two
8:58
and be number four weight list for your
9:01
top school. And that's exciting because
9:02
most likely after number four, you're
9:04
going to get it, right? Not so much. You
9:07
could easily drop down the line in round
9:10
two, which is something that a lot of
9:12
our clients have experienced and
9:14
expressed frustration with.
9:15
Yeah. Why does that happen? Like, how do
9:17
they even do that?
9:18
So, you're for one day, you're number 20
9:20
a couple weeks later. It's because of
9:22
how the priority system works. And we
9:25
talked a little bit about this. There
9:26
are different people that have priority
9:29
over you in different circumstances. And
9:31
so if someone hits round two on the
9:34
weight list and maybe they already have
9:35
a sibling enrolled or maybe their parent
9:38
is a full-time employee of the school,
9:40
they are going to be suddenly placed
9:42
above you in the weight list and it's
9:44
going to bump you down. And it's
9:45
something that does commonly happen. So,
9:48
I think that, you know, even if you are
9:49
24 on the list, you do actually have a
9:52
good shot a lot of the time in working
9:55
your way all the way up that list, but
9:57
it can be a very frustration experience
9:59
to see you as number four and drop all
10:01
the way down that line. You should be
10:03
moving up, not backwards, right? But
10:05
that is something that happens. So, how
Colorado UPK and Denver Preschool
10:07
does UPK fit into all of this?
10:09
Universal PreK.
10:10
Yeah. So, this is the Colorado state
10:13
funded program where you actually get 15
10:16
hours of preschool for four-year-olds
10:18
and, you know, sometimes exceptions for
10:20
three-year-olds where the the state will
10:22
fund 15. So, if you go over
10:24
15 hours per week,
10:25
good decision. 15 hours per week. If you
10:27
do go over that 15 hours per week, then
10:30
you just have to pay that additional
10:32
amount out of pocket. But most of the
10:33
preschool programs are $15 a week.
10:36
So, yeah. So, if you're looking at a
10:37
public school, you you know, probably
10:39
all 15 of your hours that the public
10:41
school is doing are paid for. Uh, but
10:43
you can also apply it to private
10:44
schools. If you're going to like a
10:46
daycare program with a prek, uh, you can
10:49
pay for up to 15 of your hours there,
10:51
even if you're doing more hours. We'll
10:53
put the site for where you apply up on
10:55
the screen. You just pop on there. This
10:57
is it is a similar system for the school
10:59
of choice, but it is a separate system,
11:01
so it has its own set of rules. I I did
11:04
it. I didn't think it was too
11:05
convoluted. Um, but just know that's a
11:07
separate program that you go do that
11:08
for.
11:08
So that is funded by the state of
11:10
Colorado, but it will pay for funding in
11:12
whatever district you end up going to.
11:14
Anyway, one more piece that we really
11:16
need to dive into was, you know, when
11:18
you're ranking your schools, if you're
11:20
looking for early childhood education,
11:22
so you're looking for that ECE3 or 4,
11:25
these are more important that you rank
11:27
tons of your choices on because there
11:29
are just not enough prek programs for
11:32
the kids in the state. So these are
11:34
highly sought after. So, make sure
11:36
you're putting, you know, you think 12
11:38
is too many. I don't know, maybe it's
11:39
not. So, just just rank them all on
11:41
there just in case.
11:42
Is there any chance that your UPK seat
11:45
and your school of choice seat conflict
11:47
with each other?
11:48
There is, but it's basically that you
11:50
got to screw it up. So mostly what you
11:53
need to make sure you do is apply for
11:55
your UPK dollars and apply for your
11:59
schools and then once you're accepted to
12:01
a school, you will assign your UPK
12:03
dollars to that school. So that's an
12:06
important piece. Don't screw that up.
12:08
Yeah, UPK has two rounds similarly. Um
12:11
so make sure you do both steps of the
12:14
UPK. You have to be assigned and then
12:15
you have to accept your match. You
12:17
should everywhere on the website they
12:19
make it pretty clear, but just know that
12:20
there are two steps to that. You got to
Who Should Use DPS Enrollment
12:21
do them both.
12:22
Okay, that was a a pretty good, you
12:23
know, bit about the process. Let's do
12:26
some frequently asked questions because
12:28
we've surely forgotten some things and
12:30
some things bear repeating to this very
12:31
confusing topic.
12:33
Certainly.
12:34
First question, does every family need
12:37
to use the school choice program?
12:39
Okay, not every family needs to. You can
12:42
certainly just allow your kid to be
12:44
enrolled wherever. When I first heard of
12:46
this system, I kind of thought I might
12:48
be the kind of person to opt out uh
12:51
because I'm not quite so much invested
12:53
into the specifics of the school and
12:56
what it offers for my kids. What I am
12:59
very invested in is how close that
13:01
school is to my home. And so I think
13:04
pretty much everybody should probably do
13:07
school of choice. Unless you just so
13:09
happen to have your one boundary school
13:12
be the one you're guaranteed a spot at.
13:15
probably pretty unlikely and you
13:17
probably still have to hop online to
13:18
even see if that applies to you anyways.
13:20
Yeah. So, at the very least, we think
13:21
you should probably check in like does
13:23
that and you know they change the
13:25
boundaries and the enrollment zones
13:26
every 5 years. So, just because your
13:28
neighbor says like hey you're we're in
13:30
this boundary school you don't have to
13:31
worry about that. I I don't know maybe
13:33
they changed it this year. So, worth
13:35
hopping on to the school choice website
13:38
just checking in what's going on for
Moving to Denver With Kids
13:40
your specific address. So, we already
13:42
talked a little bit about, you know, who
13:43
is school of choice for? It's kind of
13:46
for everyone. You know, if you think it
13:48
matters where your kid goes to school,
13:49
you got to do it. If it matters just
13:51
geographically where your kid goes to
13:52
school, you got to do it. But is this
13:54
like an every year thing? When do people
13:57
need to be aware to do it? Who really is
13:59
this most important for?
14:00
Yeah. Basically, you need to be doing
14:01
this whenever you're in a sort of
14:03
transition year whether so if you're
14:05
moving into the district or maybe if
14:08
you're in a different district and
14:09
you're choicing into Denver public
14:10
schools because you can choice in from
14:13
other districts. Um or if you're early
14:15
childhood education three or four uh if
14:19
you're going into kindergarten if you're
14:21
moving from sometimes uh the right kind
14:24
program might not be available at your
14:27
home elementary school. So, it could be
14:29
from kind to elementary school if you're
14:31
going from elementary to middle or
14:34
middle to high school. Or if you're
14:36
switching schools based on your kid's
14:38
interests, you know, maybe you want to
14:40
go to one of these uh different charter
14:42
schools or magnet schools. You find out
14:44
your kid has uh autism level one, for
14:47
example, and you need to figure out a
14:49
different uh level of support for your
14:51
kids. Any of those times are great
14:53
times. And once you choice into a
14:57
school, you don't have to fill out and
14:59
do this every year. You'll be
15:01
automatically accepted into that school
15:03
until your next transition, whether
15:05
that's just like a big transition from
15:07
middle to high school or your own choice
15:10
to transition for some other reason.
Denver School Transportation Rules
15:12
Transportation is a really big topic
15:14
when we're talking about the school of
15:15
choice system because if you opt in from
15:17
another district, you're not going to be
15:19
provided with transportation. And if you
15:21
pick a school that's not in your
15:23
enrollment zone, you're also not going
15:25
to have transportation.
15:26
And if you pick a school in your
15:28
enrollment zone, you also might not get
15:31
transportation. So, generally, you're
15:34
eligible for transportation if you
15:36
choose and and get opted into a school
15:38
within your enrollment zone, but you're
15:40
not guaranteed it. They have general
15:42
rules about this, like K through 5, if
15:45
you're within a mile of your school, you
15:47
won't be provided with transportation.
15:49
If you're outside of a mile and you're
15:51
in your enrollment zone, you are
15:54
supposed to be provided transportation.
15:56
And then for 6 through 12, it's 2 and
15:59
1/2 miles. So, this is a huge
16:01
consideration you should also be
16:03
thinking about as you rank your schools
16:05
is like how far away do you have the
16:07
capacity to get your kids to school
16:09
yourself? How are these kids going to
16:11
get to school? Um, and if this is all
16:14
confusing and you have no clue and you
16:16
can't figure it out on the school
16:17
finder, what you can do is you can call
16:19
the DPS transportation customer service
16:23
hotline and ask them specifically about
16:25
your address and your school and maybe
16:28
you can persuade them to make sure you
16:30
get some transportation.
Boundary Schools and Right to Attend
16:32
So one more term to throw at you guys
16:34
which is the right to attend school and
16:36
that is the school it might be your
16:38
boundary school. It is one of the
16:40
schools in your enrollment zone. It just
16:42
means like you are guaranteed a spot at
16:45
that school. So Megan is there a way to
16:47
lose your guaranteed spot at your right
16:50
to attend school or your boundary
16:51
school?
16:52
Not really like accidentally. You could
16:54
give up that right if you say you picked
16:57
your third choice as your right to
16:59
attend school because there were two
17:01
other schools you'd really rather have
17:03
your kid go to. If you get into one of
17:05
those two schools, I mean, that's a win.
17:08
So, you then give up your right to go to
17:10
your right to attend school, but you've
17:12
now placed into one of the schools you
17:13
ranked higher. So, there's not a world
17:15
where you pick it as number three. you
17:17
don't get into year two you really
17:18
wanted more than that and you don't get
17:20
into your third right to attend school
17:22
and you're instead stuck on the fourth
17:24
one. Um you still have that right to
17:26
attend that third one. So then Jake is
17:28
your right to attend school your
17:30
boundary school or your enrollment zone
17:32
school. How does that work?
17:34
Yes.
17:35
So your right to attend school if you're
17:37
in an area that has one single boundary
17:40
school. The boundary school is your
17:43
right to attend school. If you're in an
17:46
uh an address that has an enrollment
17:48
zone, your right to attend school is one
17:51
of those in the enrollment zone, not any
17:55
specific one. It just means you're
17:56
guaranteed you have the right to attend
17:58
one of them.
17:59
How do I find out if my home is in a
18:02
boundary school zone or an enrollment
18:05
school zone and if there's multiple or
18:06
just one and what they are?
18:08
Easy. Go on the DPS schoolfinder website
18:11
and see where you are. Should folks rank
18:16
their boundary school if it's a school
18:18
they'd be happy going to?
18:19
Yeah, you know, I think you can rank it
18:21
lower down. Pick the ones that you want
18:23
to go in the order that you want to go
18:25
then to them. But don't just fill out 12
18:27
other schools thinking that for sure if
18:30
you don't get into those 12 schools,
18:31
you're then going to your boundary
18:32
school. It does still deserve a place on
18:35
that list in the order of the preference
19:28 Denver Neighborhoods and Schools
18:37
you want it to go. I think what we're
18:38
learning here so far is that picking the
18:40
right school for your kids might just be
18:43
harder than picking the right house.
18:45
Yeah. You know, that's possible. And the
18:47
nice thing is when you're coming here
18:48
and you're moving to Denver and you're
18:50
looking for your home, call us and we
18:52
will help you figure out your right
18:53
neighborhood because no longer do you
18:55
have to figure out the exact school you
18:57
want your kid to go to and then pick the
18:59
neighborhood that matches with that
19:01
because we have this whole school of
19:02
choice system. So, let us help you
19:04
figure out where you want to be, what
19:06
you really value in a home, what you
19:07
really value in a neighborhood, walk you
19:09
through that, and then know that you
19:10
have this school of choice to fall back
19:12
on where you get to then pick your
19:14
school after that.
19:15
Jake and Megan, your realtors of choice.
19:18
That was kind of lame. Should we get rid
19:20
of that?
19:20
Come on, that's like my brand. Like kind
19:23
of lame, but you know, being making a
19:25
joke.
19:25
Okay, it's cute. You put it cute. Okay.
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