Green Valley Elementary School

Website Introduction

     Green Valley Elementary School is located a few miles southeast of Denver International Airport in the fast growing Green Valley Ranch neighborhood.  We opened our doors for the first time in August 2000 and are currently entering our fifth season.  Green Valley School happily boasts the claim of being the largest elementary school in the Denver Public Schools system.  Our current enrollment rests at 778 Early Childhood through fifth grade students.

     During the months preceding Green Valley’s initial opening, the Program Design Advisory Council worked diligently to design an academic and physical development program that would reflect the vision of our parents and community. The GVE mission statement, “Personal Success for All Children,” is our primary goal and we desire to help all children grow not only academically, but also intellectually, physically, socially and emotionally. To that end, Green Valley is very committed to integrating the principles of experiential education and project-based learning with those of the standards-based curriculum prescribed by the district and state. Our teachers employ the components of the district’s literacy plan during reading and writing instruction.  We also use the Every Day Math program and the Foss and TRACS Science Kits as curricular resources, but also draw on a wide variety of supplemental materials and resources to provide a high quality program for all students.  Our students are active in the community, with each grade level taking approximately five field trips per year. The school also participates in several community service projects, such as canned food and clothing drives, throughout the year.

     Children at Green Valley Elementary have physical education every day, and music, technology, art and library once a week. Our new drama teacher will work with third through fifth graders during the first semester this year and ECE through second graders during the last half of the year.  Our students have access to a wide variety of Before and After school activities, including instrumental music (band and orchestra), intramural sports, the Grizzly Running Club, the GVE Writing Club, Chess Club, Destination Imagination and Enrichment Academy courses on topics ranging from art to guitar to karate. Most students adhere to the school’s prescribed uniform/dress code. Instructional efforts at the school are supported by our twelve-member CSC (Collaborative School Committee.) A very active PTA has raised over $10,000 to support the school in our first four years of existence, and each spring, we honor over 100 people at our Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast.

     Green Valley is committed to the district’s three overarching goals. We set high expectations for students, parents, teachers, administrators and all other staff. The school uses the DPS standards as the backbone of our very rigorous curriculum. We believe that excellent instruction provided by well-trained teachers is the catalyst for maximal student learning. To that end, we devote three staff meetings per month to presentations and discussions on curriculum and instruction, with the majority of school business matters being communicated via e-mail. Teachers are organized into vertical teams that meet regularly to discuss articulation across grade levels. Non-tenured teachers receive additional support from bi-weekly “Breakfast Club” meetings. This year much of our staff development will focus on improving student achievement in writing and math. We plan to continue that focus next year, but will also extend our efforts to include science and social studies instruction.

     The staff at Green Valley sees parent involvement as critical to student success. To better communicate student progress toward the DPS standards, we have created and implemented a standards-based report card. Especially unique on the report card is the “Family Involvement” section, which provides an opportunity for parents to regularly reflect on their participation in their children’s education. During the 2003-2004 school year, GVE conducted parent/teacher conferences after both first and second quarters, believing that early and ongoing information is vital to parent participation and intervention. Furthermore, the Wednesday News provides weekly information to parents about happenings at the school. Yearly “Celebrations of Learning” enable grade levels to showcase student accomplishments in all curricular areas.

     We are further committed to the district’s goal of improving the performance of all students. We intend to move seven percent of our unsatisfactory and partially proficient students into the proficient category each year. Our goal is to move the state accountability rating from Low to Average no later than the 2005-2006 school year, with our three-year goal focused toward reaching the “High” category. We believe we can accomplish this goal through the careful and thoughtful use of regular generation and analysis of student assessment data.

     Furthermore, GVE is committed to the district’s third goal of closing the gap between our lower and higher performing students. Four teachers are currently participating in the district’s Success in Early Reading program, an intervention for struggling first grade readers. An $86,000 Read to Achieve Grant has enabled us to provide support for our low-achieving second and third grade readers. We also offer ELA-S (Spanish instruction) and ESL services to approximately fifty-five students, but see a need for additional support in this area. The learning needs of our more capable students are met through weekly Gifted and Talented classes.

     The staff, parents, and community at Green Valley Elementary are proud of our accomplishments in the school’s first four years of existence. We believe our continued efforts can only maximize student achievement and prepare students to be literate, self-directed learners with the attitudes and skills necessary to actively participate as productive citizens in our community, state, nation, and world.