One of my favorite movie scenes is when Jim Carrey asks Lauren Holly to rate the chance for a potential relationship. She tells him the odds are "one-in-a-million," to which he replies "So you are saying there is a chance!"
That's positive thinking.
Parker Core Knowledge Charter School is that one school Moms trade waitlist stories about. You have probably heard about post-delivery mothers who b-line to the school after being discharged from the hospital--just to make sure their newborn is registered for kindergarten. More often you hear about the parents that add their preschooler to the roster only to find that they are in the upper 500's of hopefuls for the annual 46 kindergarten placements offered.
So what is so special about Parker Core Knowledge Charter School?
To begin with it is a
public Douglas County School. That's right; the coveted PCKCS is not a pricey private school, but a public district school. So promising to fund a wing to the elementary school building in exchange for guaranteed enrollment will do you no good. Not that a substantial financial investment to any school would be unappreciated, it would just not result in your kids name budging on that waitlist. Instead every child in Douglas County has the same chance of getting schooled by the famous Core Knowledge-you just need to be first in line.
Secondly, it is a K-8 th grade school with a
traditional schedule and small classes. Enrollment is capped at 23 students per classroom. These facts alone give many elated parents goose-bumps.
Let's talk academics.
The Core Knowledge Sequence is a curriculum based on the theory that "knowledge builds on knowledge." In other words, the student's learning achievement is devised not just to increase, but expand with each year of schooling.
So it should come as no surprise that the feather in PCKCS's hat is their middle school.
Just like its elementary school, PCKCS middle school offers a small campus and modest class sizes. With enrollment at 46 students per grade, the middle school campus has a total of 92 students. Add fifteen highly qualified teachers, seasoned school leadership and parent involvement and you are truly beginning to picture the reason for this long standing success. Seventh and eight grades are formative years, both academically and socially. It is the transition from an elementary child, to a young adult.
PCKCS recognizes that most kids welcome the new privileges presented with the teen years, yet need guidance and support while navigating through this freedom.
The PCKCS Middle School program has achieved the winning combination of top District CSAP scores, excellent ratings, student electives, and parent-student-teacher partnership.
What about that notoriously long waiting list?
The odds of getting into PCKCS Kindergarten may have felt like one-in-a-million, but for middle school I am saying that there is a chance. Here's why:
When it's time for kindergarten and you are at the end of the list of hundreds of Core Knowledge fans, some give up hope. By the time sixth grade rolls around and plans to attend the next level of schooling gets on the agenda, a number of families have long forgotten about the school of their dreams.
After years of waiting, that phone call or letter from PCKCS may be attempting to reach you--but your contact information may have changed. The waitlist can literally go from hundreds, to enrolling a fresh applicant because they could not find you!
Whether you are a recent PCKCS middle school contender, or a faded name on the list from elementary school-- the odds to be one of the 92 lucky teens who attend PCKCS--is a true possibility.
Did I mention that PCKCS has a school wide sibling policy? That means that a middle school student's enrollment would actually move his/her younger siblings pass the non-siblings on the waitlist--even for kindergarten.
No personal donations to the building fund required.
If you want more information about Parker Core Knowledge Charter Schools, use the links below, or visit the PCKCS Middle School Orientation and Information Event December 11 th, 2008 at 6PM. Key phrase is "first come, first serve."
11661 Pine Drive,
Parker, CO 80138
Tel: 303-840-7070
www.ckcs.net
Annual Report
School Accountability Report (Middle School)
Winner of John Irwin School of Excellence Award 2006-07
Letter of Intent