Jefferson County students visit new schools, meet new classmates ahead of consolidation

The Jefferson County School district is preparing to consolidate 16 elementary schools next fall due to declining enrollment. While many students are struggling with what the transition will look like, the district is trying to provide opportunities for students to see for themselves.

On Tuesday, Lasley Elementary fourth graders in Lakewood hosted a special Valentine's Day meet and greet with students at Emory Elementary, one of the 16 schools slated to close. When Emory closes, many of its students will transfer to Lasley, and teachers agreed, it would be a good idea to meet.

"I was really pleased to hear that we might be receiving some students from another school. Emory of course," said Karlyn Carpenter, a 4th grade teacher at Lasley.

It was Carpenter's idea to get the classes together on Valentine's day. Tuesday morning, they met at Villa Manor, a nursing home in Lakewood to deliver Valentines.

"We were trying to find some authentic tasks to have the kids participate in to get to know each other and just build our schools together, looking at ways to get  to know each other and have fun," said Carpenter.

"I made some new friends. Not a whole bunch, but I still made some friends," said RJ Roshak, a fourth grader at Emory Elementary.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Emory 4th graders took a bus back to Lasley for a friendship building lunch. It was the first time many of them had seen the inside of the school.

"Lasley is a pretty good place. It's decent. I'm probably gonna be here next year," said Roshak.

Roshak says he's still sad to leave Emory and he's not the only one.

"That was my school, like I've been there for 5 years. Kindergarten through fourth, so it's really disappointing that we couldn't be there for two years, for like 5th and 6th [grades]," said Arianna Rodriguez, a fourth grader at Emory.

Rodriguez also plans to attend Lasley next fall and while she didn't make new friends Tuesday, she thought the kids were pretty cool. Her classmate Sophia Hernandez agreed, the day was helpful.

"Just being able to make new friends that I know that I might have next year," said Hernandez.

The Jefferson County School District is working on more opportunities for students to meet prior to next fall, in addition to those efforts, it cited the following ways its preparing to support the closure of its schools:

Together/Community/Belonging Events 

• Joint field trips, pen pals, buddy programs, student shadowing experiences, collaborative projects virtually, spring after school clubs at welcoming school, joint field trips
• Community/Belonging mural project led by Red Rocks Community College students that is taking art work from closing and welcoming school students to be developed into a mural that will be hung at the welcoming school.

Academic Success

• Monitoring class sizes 

• Preparing for academic and behavior transitions 
• Additional high dosage tutors and mental health supports

Staff Support

• Open houses at all receiving schools
• Resume writing and interview workshops
• Staffing events for JCEA (educators) and JESPA (education support professionals) members

Operational Planning

• Conducting traffic pattern studies at welcoming schools to understand impact of additional traffic volume and safety measures needed
• Accessing bus routes and eligible ridership to support needs of students and families

The Board is beginning the process of property disposition, which you can find details about here.