Jeffco Public Schools families offer perspective on school closings

Jefferson County families will have the opportunity to weigh in on school consolidations next month and families who have been through the process want others to know "there is a light at the end of the tunnel."

"Why am I so emotional?" Jamie Camp laugh as she looked at her wife, Brandy, and brushed away tears.

"It was hard," Brandy said as she looked at Jamie sympathetically. "Every parent is feeling the same way, every parent has their own fears."

The Camp's son was just 8 when he learned he would be transferring from Fitzmorris to Lawrence Elementary.

Fitzsimorris was one of two schools that Jeffco Public Schools consolidated at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. The Camps hope they can help other families navigate the uncertainty.

"Ya know, he's still acclimating to the new place," Brandy admitted.

Their son may still be getting used to the transition, but it's better than he thought it would be. He has made friends despite his fears- there's even a teacher with different colored hair, just like him.

"There was a teacher there that had bright blue hair, and so does he... that was cool for him to see that they're allowing teachers to be hired that look like the students, when I was in school there would have been no tattoos, no colored hair," said Jamie.

She said Fitzmorris provided a list of phone numbers of families also going to their son's new school and they were able to set up summer play dates with parents in a similar boat. In addition, the Camps met with teachers from the new school and made a point to spend a day on campus.

"We walked the school ahead of time- I know a lot of parents didn't do that. We walked the school ahead of time, we walked the playground," Jamie continued, "We also met with teachers, when we found out his teacher was going there [Lawrence], that almost was like a sigh of relief, and I know a lot of schools can't do that but if teachers can go where the students are going to where these students are going because the teachers are being displaced as well, that will give the kids more comfortability seeing teacher faces in the schools."

There are more than 400 faculty and staff that would be displaced by the potential closures. While many will be given priority for new positions, not all are guaranteed a spot. The district said these will likely not be the last round of closures either. Next year it plans to look at secondary schools.

The district, which remains the state's second-largest, has the capacity to serve 96,000 students in traditional district-managed schools. There are currently 69,000. There are 49 schools with fewer than 250 children and/or a building capacity utilization of under 60%. The district has 10,600 open seats. Some of that is attributable to the growth of charter schools. But the population of school-aged children in Jefferson County has declined by over 29,000 between 2000 and 2020. 

The Camps say they were given no notice when Fitsmorris closed. They believe the district has been much better about communicating this time around but knows that doesn't make it easier. They say continued transparency is key for the parents, and students especially.

"I think our kids understand a lot more than we give them credit for and so I think being transparent with them and telling them the truth- yeah it's gonna be scary, yeah, don't be afraid to express your fears," said Jamie.

The school district has been analyzing enrollment data to confirm low numbers and has been using that to determine which schools to consolidate.

Emory, Peck, Thomson, Campbell, Peiffer, Colorow, Green Mountain, Bergen Meadow K-2, Molholm, Glennon Heights, Parr, Sheridan Green, Witt, Vivian, Wilmore Davis, and Kullerstrand Elementary are the 16 schools on the list of schools recommended for consolidation.  

There will be a vote by the school board on Nov. 10 after a public comment period in October. But it will be an up or down vote for all 16 schools.

If you would like to look at the data compiled for your school, you can visit the Jefferson County Public Schools website and see the FCB report. 

RELATED: Policy FCB Annual Study on Schools