Douglas County School District (DCSD) Superintendent Erin Kane delivered her second State of DCSD event on May 8 in front of a small crowd at DCSD Legacy Campus in Lone Tree. Kane highlighted accomplishments, challenges and visions for the future.

Kane said that for the first time in a decade, DCSD is the top scoring district in the Denver metro area for the second year in a row. She continued that DCSD has seen its graduation rate improve from 90.8% in 2023-2024 to 92.2% this year, the highest graduation in the last 15 years. DCSD is also one of the only districts in the country to have met or exceeded pre-pandemic scores in every subject and every grade for two years in a row.

“Our award-winning schools represent the top performing schools in the state of Colorado. Every year, we have more and more high performing schools and we are proud to show them off,” said Kane.

Of the 28 DCSD schools recognized for academic excellence, Buffalo Ridge Elementary, Timber Trail Elementary, American Academy, Rocky Heights Middle School and Rock Canyon High School all received the John Irwin award for 2024–25 school year, a recognition given to schools that demonstrate exceptional performance in math, English, language arts and science.

The biggest challenge, according to Kane, has been addressing rapid growth in areas and declining enrollment in Highlands Ranch. Data shared with the audience shows 10,484 students were enrolled in 16 Highlands Ranch elementary schools in 2012. In 2028, that number is projected to drop to 6,476 students.

The DCSD Board of Education unanimously voted on April 22 on school paring recommendations for six Highlands Ranch elementary schools beginning with the 2026-2027 school year. Saddle Ranch Elementary will consolidate into Eldorado Elementary; Heritage Elementary will consolidate into Summit View Elementary; and Acres Green Elementary will consolidate into Fox Creek Elementary. The sixth-grade students affected by this will be moved to three middle schools for the 2026-2027 school year.

Kane addressed strategic themes that the DCSD will focus on for the future, based on feedback from more than 4,000 Douglas County residents who completed a community-wide survey earlier this year. The themes include foundational skills (literacy and numeracy), the latest technology innovations, mindsets and dispositions (including critical thinking skills) and how to be a successful adult in this ever-changing world.

“The world is changing so rapidly. Our kids have to be ready to not only adapt to that change, but we want our Douglas County School District graduates to be the ones leading that change,” concluded Kane.

 

Article and photos by Mindy Stone