Our Community

Target Population

West Denver Prep intends to serve interested students of all backgrounds, skill levels, and interests in the middle school grades in Southwest Denver. While admission preference will be given to students only for residence in Denver, the school will be marketed specifically in the neighborhoods of Westwood and Mar Lee, intending to attract a large proportion of students of color and low-income students. West Denver Prep will serve this target population because of an overwhelming support for this school in this community from political leaders, community leaders, and parents, and to offer a college-preparatory middle school education to students who may have had less access to such an option in the past.

Capacity & Growth

West Denver Prep intends to serve sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students, with 100 students in each entering class. The school will not admit students after October 1st of the sixth grade year to ensure that all students can receive the full benefit of the three-year program. As a result, given expected mobility of the student population, we anticipate approximately 10% of the students will not return in the following year, suggesting a seventh grade class of 90 students and an eighth grade class of 81.

West Denver Prep will open with only sixth grade students in its first year of operation, adding one grade each year, according to the following chart:

A broad study known as the Matthew Project examined school size across different socioeconomic status among many schools in four states and found that “in smaller schools, regardless of state, the relationship between achievement and SES is substantially weaker in the smaller schools than in the larger schools.” (1) This research suggests that maintaining small schools is especially important for achievement among students of low socioeconomic status.

Community Need

Throughout West Denver, considerable desire and need exists for a college-preparatory middle school option with a demanding, standards-based program with a special focus on math and literacy basic skills. Parents widely reported the belief that their children’s academic and personal struggles increased significantly during the middle school years, suggesting these grade levels are the appropriate ones for academic and personal support. (2)

One important way to determine the academic need of the target population is by examining CSAP scores. When the average scores among students living in Southwest Denver are compared with the average scores of students from all of Denver, Southwest Denver students score an average of 13% lower than their peers from other neighborhoods. The following table tracks these eighth grade averages for each subject. (3)

Comparing proficiency levels among fifth grade students in Westwood with proficiency levels in eighth grade confirms the academic struggles reported by parents. An average of 13% fewer students achieved proficiency in reading, writing, and math in the eighth grade than in the fifth grade. Put another way, one-half of the students who were proficient in fifth grade lost this proficiency by the eighth grade, falling further behind the grade-level standards. The data below demonstrates this trend, which is especially significant in mathematics. (4)

Throughout this application, design elements are proposed to meet these specific needs. Most importantly, 150 minutes of literacy daily are proposed to increase basic reading and writing skills, especially for English Language Learners. One-hundred and ten minutes of math daily are proposed for the same reason. A strong school culture of shared values is intended to address character education concerns voiced by parents, and to explicitly teach skills and behaviors that will encourage success in future college-preparatory education. An instructional program rich in frequent assessment is proposed to practice and teach success on state and national assessments, as well as to reduce the number of students who fall through the cracks.

(1) Howley, Craig B., Bickel, Robert. “The Matthew Project: National Report.” Ohio State University, Marshall University, Appalachia Educational Lab, August 25, 1999. Retrieved from ERIC digest, page 5.

(2) This information was gathered especially during the door-to-door campaign throughout Westwood.

(3) Information in chart from the Colorado Department of Education Website.

(4) Data in this chart from the Colorado Department of Education Website.