Centennial....middle-class? (Aurora, Littleton, Greenwood Village: apartments, rentals, townhouses)

[misstheseasons]

Hi everyone,

I'm narrowing down towns, and I've come across the Centennial area, I'll call it, since it blends into South Aurora, etc.... I like this area 'cuase we can get a nice size house iwth a nice size lot for the budget we're in 200,000 - 225,000 (max 250,000). There' s many homes that are in the Cherry Creek district.

We're middle-class and that's the neighborhood I guess we're looking for. I know Cherry Creek schools are in the fanciest of neighborhoods, too. So, I guess my question is, do the schools have a nice mix of "middle-class students" for lack of a better word, and the "high-class" (is that a real word?)? I had a friend who put her kids in a school in a "rich town" and the kids have low confidence because they feel like they're not up to par with the rich kids and always comparing, etc.....she transferred them and they're fine now......basically don't want that to happen with us. Maybe it just was with her particular school/situation? I figure it doesn't hurt to ask...

Any input is appreciated, especially from parents who have children in these schools

thanks in advance

[Count David]

If you children will be attending the neighborhood school, chances are the other children at your kids' school will be of the same class.

[misstheseasons]

makes perfect sense, thnx

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Just looking at the population of Cherry Creek High School - 3600 students - that's the size of a large small town. So, in a population of that size you will get diversity. Even though it is in a high-end part of town, not all of those 3600 students come from wealthy families. When our kids went to Creek we lived in a $350,000 house which bordered on an area of small townhouses and apartments, so not everyone was from a wealthy home. And there are other schools in the Cherry Creek District that are good and located in a more middle-class part of the metro area.

[davidv]

Cherry Creek High School has children who come from a wide variety of incomes. On one end of the scale are the children who live in million dollar mansions in Cherry Hills Village. At the other end of the scale, are the children who live in rental properties in Glendale. The vast majority of kids, however, come from Centennial and Greenwood Village. Both towns are upper middle class.

[vegaspilgrim]

Depends which ones you're talking about. Cherry Creek High school has a reputation of being a rich kid's school. Smoky Hill High School and the schools that feed into it, where I went K-12 are extremely diverse-- the whole range from lower middle class to upper middle class, and kids from all kinds of different ethnic/international/religious backgrounds. Then when you get to the newer parts of southeast Aurora, Grandview and Cherokee Trail, it's less diverse again.

[coloradomeddie]

I think you should consider Littleton Public Schools. Cherry Creek is good - yes - it is the King of the school districts. But Littleton, Douglas and Creek are all great districts.

You will find that Littleton is a smaller district - and more personal. I love Sand Creek, Franklin and Twain elementary. Wilder is amazing too (but in a higher price point).

You will find a lot of home in your price point. Check zip code 80121. They are smaller and older, but filled with nice kids and sidewalks. There won't be a "pool community" in that price point, but there are public pools that are safe, sweet and fun. Check out the middle class hoods around Franklin Elem and Twain. Great central location - and they all feed into good, solid, safe, high performing middle and high schools.

You could also consider Douglas County - there will be newer houses in your price point. It is not so pretty and urban sprawl.

Creek is huge - and good. But don't be fooled in thinking it is the only great place for kids and families.

[Cupcake77]

Centennial is a great place to live with great schools. You wouldn't be sorry. The only problem is many of the homes were built in the 70 and 80's but the neighbourhoods are well maintained and the yards are a little bigger than you get in other areas. I think it has a really nice vibe in general.

[chilicheesefries]

Originally Posted by coloradomeddie

I think you should consider Littleton Public Schools. Cherry Creek is good - yes - it is the King of the school districts. But Littleton, Douglas and Creek are all great districts.

You will find that Littleton is a smaller district - and more personal. I love Sand Creek, Franklin and Twain elementary. Wilder is amazing too (but in a higher price point).

You will find a lot of home in your price point. Check zip code 80121. They are smaller and older, but filled with nice kids and sidewalks. There won't be a "pool community" in that price point, but there are public pools that are safe, sweet and fun. Check out the middle class hoods around Franklin Elem and Twain. Great central location - and they all feed into good, solid, safe, high performing middle and high schools.

I second the Littleton Schools. Arapahoe Road borders 80121 and 80122 and 80122 has many of the same nice features - nice kids and sidewalks. Arapahoe and Heritage are quite high performing.

I think you meant something other than Sand Creek? That's not in the Littleton district. It's in Douglas County.

[LisaCACO]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Depends which ones you're talking about. Cherry Creek High school has a reputation of being a rich kid's school. Smoky Hill High School and the schools that feed into it, where I went K-12 are extremely diverse-- the whole range from lower middle class to upper middle class, and kids from all kinds of different ethnic/international/religious backgrounds. Then when you get to the newer parts of southeast Aurora, Grandview and Cherokee Trail, it's less diverse again.

grandview and the area are diverse economically. there are apartments and rentals that feed into the school as well as golf homes. it's one of the reasons why we moved here. yes, a slight majority of the parents own their own homes, but my guess is that it's not as professional as people think. I live here and run across economic diversity all the time (of course I'm looking for it ).