Planning for the Future of the Jefferson Articulation Area

• Tuesday, January 28: Staff meetings
• Tuesday, January 28: Community Information Session
• Thursday, February 20: Wheat Ridge High School Student Focus Group
• Monday, February 24: Community Input Session
• Tuesday, February 25: Everitt Middle School Student Focus Group
• Friday, February 28: Edgewater Elementary Student Focus Group
• Monday, March 3: Lumberg Elementary Student Focus Group
• Monday, March 3: Community Input Session
• Tuesday, March 4: Jefferson Jr/Sr High School Student Focus Group
• Monday, March 10:  Community Input Session – for Elementary Families
• Wednesday, March 12:  Jefferson Jr/Sr 7th and 8th grade Student Focus Group
• Monday, March 31:  Community Input Session
• Friday, April 4:  Spanish Language Cafecito at Jefferson Jr/Sr
• Tuesday, April 8:  Lumberg Staff Meeting
• Wednesday, April 9:  Lumberg Family Meeting
• Thursday, April 17:  Lumberg Family Meeting
• Friday, April 18:  Spanish Language Cafecito at Jefferson Jr/Sr (virtual)
• Wednesday, April 30: Public meeting between Edgewater Collective and district staff
• April 9 – May 23: Survey of all Jefferson articulation-area families

Students attend part-time to explore career programs like trades or technology, similar to Warren Tech. To learn more about this model, explore these resources:

• CTE campus example: Emily Griffith Technical College
• CTE campus example: Jeffco Warren Tech
  • Warren Tech Student Presentation (available in English and Spanish)
• About CTE in Jeffco and Colorado
• View the school model handout to learn about Option A and Option B in English or Spanish.

Students attend full-time in a program focused on teamwork, hands-on learning, and partnerships with businesses and the community. To learn more about this model, explore these resources or view the handout at the bottom of this section:

• National Career Academy Coalition: 
  • About the Academy Model
  • Introduction to Career Academies
  • Tour of McGavock High School
  • Dallas Heathcare-Focused High School
• View the school model handout to learn about Option A and Option B in English or Spanish.

As an articulation area, Jefferson serves the fewest number of students. Enrollment in Jefferson’s elementary schools (Lumberg and Edgewater) is stable – however, enrollment at Jefferson Jr/Sr has reached levels that make it impossible to offer all the programs families desire and that are typically found in comprehensive middle and high schools. Enrollment at Jefferson Jr/Sr has reached levels that have prompted the district to plan for proactive conversations with the Jefferson articulation community about the future.

No, the district has not made any final decisions about future programming at Jefferson Jr/Sr. We are genuinely committed to exploring solutions with community members. To support this process, the district has prepared a draft plan that includes two school models, multiple program options and ideas for use of additional space in the building to provide a starting point for discussion.

No. There will be no changes to Jefferson Jr/Sr, Lumberg or Edgewater this coming year or the year after.

The district and Board of Education have not made any final decisions yet. The district has shared that it will not bring a recommendation forward this spring and will provide an update to the community on the progress of conversations with the Edgewater Collective by September 2025.  

The district developed a draft plan to provide a starting point for community discussion. Based on years of enrollment data, expert analyses and community feedback, it became clear that Jefferson Jr/Sr's current structure is not sustainable long-term. The draft plan outlines a possible path forward that ensures students have access to robust academic and extracurricular opportunities while also investing in an innovative high school model for the future.

The draft plan the district is inviting the community to explore would bring changes to the Jefferson articulation area – particularly the Jefferson Jr/Sr facility, with a focus on providing students access to the best opportunities our district has to offer. 

The draft plan involves merging the Jefferson articulation area with the Wheat Ridge articulation area to ensure a comprehensive middle school and high school experience at Everitt Middle School and Wheat Ridge High School for every student in the Jefferson area. It also includes investing in an innovative, community-driven and career-focused high school option in the Jefferson Jr/Sr building.

If nothing changes, enrollment data shows that Jefferson Jr/Sr will keep getting smaller. As fewer students enroll, it is harder to operate the school. Each year, the school will likely need fewer staff members, and students will likely have fewer class choices and extracurricular opportunities. Within the next three to five years, the school may become so small that the need to close the school becomes urgent from an operational standpoint. 

Planning ahead gives the community a chance to help decide what happens next, instead of reacting to a crisis later.

The district is asking for community engagement around which of these two innovative and career-focused high school options would best meet the needs and interests of the community:

• Option A: CTE Campus: Students attend part-time to explore career programs like trades or technology, similar to Warren Tech. 
• Option B: Academy Model: Students attend full-time in a program focused on teamwork, hands-on learning and partnerships with businesses and the community, like the new Public Safety Academy in Arvada.

The district, with support of researchers, explored potential high school option school models that are delivering high quality instruction and extraordinary experiences to students across the country. We prioritized models that are:

• High-quality and aligned to our strategic plan
• Designed for the number of students we have
• Financially sustainable
• Ready to implement
• Connected to community interest

In this case, the district defines “high-quality” programming as something that:

• Prepares students for a high demand career with a liveable wage
• Includes industry credential or pathway aligned college credit  
• Ensures student development of industry-defined technical, academic and durable skills through quality instruction and experiences
• Provides in-depth, work-based learning experiences with a formalized industry partnership

Alongside these models, we want to understand the community’s interests. Detailed research will also be conducted, integrating student interest, partners we can work with, staffing and sustainability to finalize the specific programs that would be offered.

Right now, 6th graders at Lumberg and Edgewater stay in elementary school. The draft plan suggests moving them to Everitt Middle School instead. This plan is about making sure students have the best learning opportunities and experiences as they grow​. This change would:

• Give students a middle school experience that has more classes, activities, and clubs to choose from.
• Better prepare students for high school by helping them adjust to new teachers, class schedules, and learning opportunities earlier. Since most Jeffco middle schools start in 6th grade, this change keeps Jefferson area students on the same path as their peers.
• Help students stay with their friends as they move from elementary to middle school.
• Let students learn more subjects as Everitt has more teachers and class options than an elementary school.

Taking care of the talented educators, administrators and valued staff who support students every day is a top priority through this process. Please know that Jeffco is committed to partnering closely with all Jefferson area staff who may be impacted by this transition if it moves forward. Staff from Human Resources (HR) have offered to meet with any school staff to answer their questions about what supports would look like if this plan moves forward. 

Co-hosted by the Edgewater Collective, community design meetings were scheduled on February 24, March 3 and March 31 .These meetings were designed to focus on the following: 

• New programming that prepares high school students for high-wage, high-demand jobs at Jefferson Jr/Sr
• Ideas for community use of the Jefferson Jr/Sr facility
• Consideration of school boundaries that currently assign some Jefferson area families to Lakewood middle and high schools

As a result of listening to feedback, the district updated the agendas to create space for community members to share feedback and ideas in a listening session format.

Both of these services will be offered by request, based on availability. Please indicate your need for these services through the RSVP form for each event. View the Community Engagement Opportunities section on this webpage for more details.

There are many ways for the community to engage in this process: 

• Attending community meetings: These sessions are designed to gather your input, discuss your ideas and answer your questions. We hope to see many community members attend.
• Discuss with district staff: Before each community meeting, district staff will be available for one-on-one and small-group discussions in the library. 
• Ask questions and share input: The FRST team is available to receive your questions, comments and concerns about the draft plan and this process. You can also submit questions through the RSVP form.
• Additional opportunities including tours, focus groups and surveys, will be available this spring and shared on this webpage, at community meetings and via email. 

If the draft plan proceeds, the SSN center program at Jefferson will relocate to Everitt Middle School and Wheat Ridge High School so that students in those programs can continue to attend school with their peers. 

The Newcomer Center program consists of a set of supports that are designed to be placed at schools where many newcomer students are enrolled. If the draft plan proceeds, the district would evaluate which schools have the highest enrollment of Newcomer students and would likely relocate the center program to support those students.

We want to hear more from students and families at Jefferson Jr/Sr about the programs, clubs, activities and athletics that they love. A goal of this draft plan is to make sure that all Jefferson-area students have even more access to these types of opportunities. 

The principals of Everitt Middle School and Wheat Ridge High School will be listening and working closely with the principals of Jefferson Jr/Sr, Edgewater and Lumberg to ensure that they can also offer the activities, programs and clubs that students love. CTE programs, such as the car wrapping program, could potentially fit into the new program at Jefferson Jr/Sr. 

We are reviewing Spanish language options currently available at Everitt Middle School and are committed to exploring ways in which we can support Dual Language students at Everitt. 
We are interested in collaborating with the community at co-design sessions to hear more about what sort of programming families, students and staff would like to see in Jefferson Jr/Sr, as well as Everitt.

Yes, Wheat Ridge High School and Everitt Middle School have room to welcome all students. 

• Wheat Ridge High School has enough space for 1,700 students. This year, there are 958 students enrolled. If the draft plan goes forward, we expect Wheat Ridge’s enrollment to grow to between 1,072–1,242 students.  
• Everitt Middle School has enough space for 895 students. This year, there are 456 students enrolled. If the draft plan goes forward, we expect Everitt’s enrollment to grow to between 556–702 students.

The district proposed merging the Jefferson and Wheat Ridge articulation areas because of declining enrollment at Jefferson Jr/Sr. Both Everitt Middle School and Wheat Ridge High School have enough room to welcome all Jefferson Jr/Sr students and can offer a full range of academic, athletic, and extracurricular programs. 

These are the schools where students who live in the Jefferson area would have guaranteed enrollment and eligibility for transportation. However, families can apply to choice-enroll in any other middle or high school that would be a good fit for their students.
 

Through school choice enrollment, families would also have the option to make a different choice for their students. Jeffco’s SchoolFinder can help our families find nearby schools that are a great fit for their child. It’s important to remember that students are only eligible for transportation if they are attending their boundary/neighborhood school. 

If families would like to choice-enroll in other schools, Jefferson Jr/Sr students and 6th graders from Lumberg and Edgewater would receive a special level of priority in the choice enrollment process. We will provide individualized supports to help find the school best for your family.

Yes. Wheat Ridge High School has plenty of space and opportunity to expand teams and create new teams to ensure that all students can participate if they want to. Wheat Ridge High School also supports students with financial barriers through sponsorships, booster clubs and other means to ensure that activities and athletics are inclusive for all students.

Camps and activities are offered in the summer, and all interested students are encouraged to participate.

Everitt has middle school sports, fields and as many teams as possible to encourage participation. Many students go on to play in high school. 

The building would house an option school. Because this program may not use the whole building, we are also interested in exploring ideas with the community on how to use the excess space in the building.

Jefferson Jr/Sr, like all Jeffco comprehensive high schools, is funded using Student-Based Budgeting (SBB). This means the school gets money based on how many students attend, along with extra funding for students who need additional support, such as those experiencing poverty or homelessness. The district reviews and updates its SBB formula every year to account for changes in enrollment, staff salaries and other costs. 

Here’s how it works at Jefferson:

• Each student brings a set amount of funding to the school through SBB.
• Jefferson gets extra funding from the district because of its small size and higher number of students in need (such as those eligible for free or reduced-price lunch).
• Jefferson receives extra funding for providing alternative education and CTE programs.
• Jefferson receives Title 1 dollars to provide extra support – this funding, combined with other grants from the state and federal government, have added up to more than $7.8 million dollars over the last 10 years.
• Some school services—like special education, English learner support and social workers—are not paid out of the school's budget, but are instead provided directly by the district.

As a result, Jefferson Jr/Sr is currently spending more per-pupil than other schools in Jeffco, but has fewer electives, academic course offerings, athletics and activities. This is because there are not enough students enrolled to provide all of these things, despite the extra funding.

• Per-pupil spending in 2023-24 (from the public FCB Dashboard): 
  • Jefferson Jr/Sr: 594 students, $19,446 per student
  • Multi-level schools:
    • Alameda Jr/Sr - 1027 students, $18,803 per student
    • Pomona - 1022 students, $17,922 per student
    • D’Evelyn - 1197 students, $17,317 per student
  • High schools:
    • Wheat Ridge - 928 students, $17,960 per student
    • Lakewood - 1798 students, $17,110 per student
  • Middle schools
    • Creighton - 778 students, $17,438 per student
    • Everitt - 444 students, $19,166 per student

In comparison to other nearby schools, Jefferson Jr/Sr is able to offer fewer course options for students because it does not have enough students enrolled to sustain these offerings. This means:

• Fewer honors and AP courses
• Fewer courses in arts, music, sports, foreign language, technology and social sciences
• Limited levels for electives, offering many courses at only a beginning level
• For example, courses that are commonly offered at larger high schools that are unavailable at Jefferson Jr/Sr include: engineering, computer science, many AP courses (biology, chemistry, English literature, economics, calculus), chorus, marching band, woodworking, tennis, Chinese, statistics, sociology, marketing

Jefferson Jr/Sr is also able to offer fewer athletics, activities and clubs: 

• Jefferson offers 15 sports programs, compared to 20–30 at larger schools
• Jefferson offers 5 major activities, compared to 8-10 at most schools
• Jefferson offers 11 clubs; the average for Jeffco schools is 20
   

A comprehensive junior-senior high school offers many different classes, activities and clubs. These schools need a lot of students to have enough funding and programs so that every student has options. Because Jefferson Jr/Sr’s enrollment is going down, there aren’t enough students to maintain all the classes, activities and support services that families expect. Keeping the school as it is now would mean spreading limited resources too thin –making it hard to provide strong programs in every area.

Instead of trying to offer many programs with too few students, an option school model focuses on depth over breadth. It puts resources into a specialized, career-connected program that gives students real-world learning and job skills. This way, we can go deep instead of wide—creating a strong, financially stable school that gives students meaningful opportunities instead of a smaller version of a traditional high school. This model helps students prepare for high-paying, in-demand careers while building strong connections with businesses and the community.

Bussing will be provided for students attending Everitt Middle School and Wheat Ridge High School. If a family chooses to attend a different school, transportation will not be provided by the district per policy JFBA.

No. Adjusting boundaries to capture students currently boundaried to other schools would not ultimately solve the problem. The 2023-24 Boundary Study demonstrates how lower birth rates and the rising cost of housing have resulted in fewer school-age children in Jeffco over the past two decades; a trend that is reflected both state-wide and nationally.

The study found that, historically, moving boundaries changed enrollment about half the time—and only when that boundary change was the result of a school closure. This is because 4 out of 10 Jeffco families choose a school other than their boundary school.

Simply changing boundaries without other changes is unlikely to result in a change in enrollment behavior of our families due to school choice, which has been Colorado state law for more than 30 years.

Families who are interested in learning more about Wheat Ridge High School and Everitt Middle School have a lot of options: 

• Visit the Wheat Ridge High School or Everitt Middle School website
• View information about Wheat Ridge High School and Everitt Middle School on SchoolFinder
• Reach out to the schools to schedule a visit.

A positive transition is critical to the success of this possible merger, and we are committed to approaching it with the highest level of care and planning. If the draft plan moves forward, the transition will be guided by careful planning, collaboration, and a focus on student success. Principals from Jefferson area schools are already working together with the principals of Wheat Ridge High School and Everitt Middle School to ensure that students, staff, and families feel supported every step of the way. If the draft plan moves forward, we will have a full year to plan and prepare. This time will be used to:

• Ensure smooth student transitions by helping them adjust to new schools, class schedules, and extracurriculars
• Review data for each student to ensure that schools have the right staff and supports for every student to succeed
• Work closely with families and staff to answer questions and provide resources
• Support specialized programs like dual language, SSN, and the Newcomer program to ensure continuity
• Create welcoming school environments so that students feel at home in their new schools

Yes. The goal of this effort is to bring top-tier college and career learning opportunities directly to Jefferson-area students. The district is committed to ensuring access for students who live in the Jefferson area to to help students take full advantage of this new school model.

We understand that some families may choose to transition to a new school before any final decisions are made. Once staffing is set for the 2025-26 school year, the district will work closely with Jefferson Jr/Sr to ensure there is sufficient staffing and support for all remaining students, even if enrollment is lower than expected. Our goal is to maintain a positive and stable learning environment for students.

We know that Spanish and dual language learning are important to many Jefferson-area families. The principals at Everitt and Wheat Ridge are exploring ways to strengthen Spanish language offerings at their schools if the draft plan proceeds. As we continue this process, we look forward to hearing from families about their interests and working together to create exciting and supportive language-learning opportunities for students.

If the draft plan moves forward, the first year of the new school community would keep the existing name and mascot. However, beginning the year after, students, staff, and families would have the opportunity to consider a new name or mascot and submit a proposal to the district. This timeline allows the new school community time to come together, build connections, and shape a shared identity before making any changes.

If the draft plan moves forward, families, students, and staff will have a full year to build connections and prepare for the transition together. Principals at Everitt and Wheat Ridge are committed to honoring what students, families, and staff love about their schools and ensuring those traditions and values carry forward.

To help bring the communities together, schools will work with families, staff, PTAs, alumni groups, student leaders, and more to plan events and activities that foster new friendships, shared traditions, and a welcoming school culture. The goal is to create a sense of belonging where all students and staff feel valued and at home​.

Jefferson Jr/Sr is in Year 3 of Turnaround under Colorado’s school rating system. Turnaround means Jefferson Jr/Sr has not met state targets for student learning and must make big changes to help students improve.

If Jefferson remains in Turnaround in fall 2025, the state can require bigger changes.
If the school does not make enough progress in time, the state could step in and make decisions, including to close the school.  

At the March 31 community meeting, the Edgewater Collective presented a proposal for next steps at Jefferson Jr/Sr. Please visit their website for more information.

Update to Board of Education – May 7

• View the agenda and presentation

Jefferson Community Information Meeting – March 31

• View the Jefferson Community Information Meeting Presentation in English
• View the Jefferson Community Information Meeting Presentation in Spanish
• Edgewater Collective also presented ideas at this meeting; view their website for additional information.

Jefferson Elementary Community Listening Session – March 10

• View the Jefferson Elementary Community Listening Session Presentation in English
• View the Jefferson Elementary Community Listening Session Presentation in Spanish

Jefferson Area Information Session Overview for Edgewater City Counci – March 4

• View the Jefferson Area Information Session Overview for Edgewater City Council

Jefferson Community Listening Session – March 3

• View the Jefferson Community Listening Session Presentation in English
• View the Jefferson Community Listening Session Presentation in Spanish

Jefferson Community Co-Design Session – February 24

• View the Jefferson Community Co-Design Session Presentation in English 

• View the Jefferson Community Co-Design Session Presentation in Spanish

Jefferson Information Session – January 28 

• View the Jefferson Information Session Presentation in English
• View the Jefferson Information Session Presentation in Spanish