D'Evelyn Junior/Senior High School

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D'Evelyn Junior/Senior High School
Setting the Standard for Excellence
Address
10359 W Nassau Avenue
Denver, Colorado, 80235
USA
Coordinates 39°38′35″N 105°06′52″W / 39.643057, -105.114441Coordinates: 39°38′35″N 105°06′52″W / 39.643057, -105.114441
Information
School district Jefferson County Public Schools
Principal Jill Colby
Staff 20[1]
Enrollment

1015 (as of 2005-06)[1]
Faculty 46[1]
CEEB Code 060671
Student:teacher ratio 22:1 (as of 2005-06)[1]
Average ACT scores 25.9 [2]
Type Public secondary school
Grades 7-12
Athletics 4A, Football is 3A
Athletics conference Jefferson County
Mascot Jaguar
School Colour(s) green, silver, and black             
Established 1994
Homepage D'Evelyn Jr/Sr High School

David S. D'Evelyn Junior/Senior High School is a public secondary school located in Lakewood, Colorado[3] and is part of the Jefferson County R-1 public school district. It is an option school that consistently ranks among the top high schools in the state while maintaining a small overall school size across the six grades it serves. In August 2007, 5280 Magazine ranked D'Evelyn 8th in its Best High Schools in Denver feature.[4]

Contents

[edit] History

David D'Evelyn was influential in helping the Colorado Charter Schools Act of 1993 become law. He died in a plane crash shortly before the act went into effect.[5]

At the same time the Colorado Charter Schools Act was going through the legislative process, the Dennison option school in Lakewood, Colorado was straining at the limits of its site capacity providing a K-8 program. In response to a need and desire to expand Dennison's program through high school, a group of parents proposed a combined junior and senior high school that would relocate the 7th and 8th grades from Dennison and add the high school at a rate of one grade level per year. Naming themselves the Initiating Committee, they submitted an application to the Jefferson County School Board to operate as an educational option school with a request to be considered for a charter school if the educational option request was denied on December 17, 1993.[6]

The charter school application was denied by the school board on March 17, 1994, citing that the concept set forth in the charter application had been approved as an educational option. A memorandum of understanding was signed on April 4, 1994 to establish the school as an extension of the Dennison program with Dr. Lloyd Carlton, principal of Dennison, as the principal overseeing both programs for the 1994-1995 school year.

In August 1994, the school commenced classes in the building formerly occupied by Manning Junior High School at 3200 West 32nd Ave. in Golden, Colorado with its first class of ninth graders and the seventh and eighth grade classes transferred to the school from the Dennison program. Succeeding years saw the first class advance in grade until the school served a full 7-12 program in the 1997-1998 school year.

A bond issue passed by Jefferson County voters in 1998 funded a new building for the school, which opened at the school's present location in 2001.

[edit] Governance

D'Evelyn is governed by a Steering Committee consisting of the principal, three teachers and four parents.[6] Steering Committee members are elected by a majority vote of the parents, teachers and staff. Under the Steering Committee, the Accountability Committee is charged with monitoring, evaluating and improving school progress.

[edit] Campus

D'Evelyn's current location at 10359 W. Nassau Ave.

The Jefferson County school district acquired 40 acres of the historic Fehringer Ranch property during master planning for the area in the late 1990s. Funds to build the new campus were approved in a school bond election in 1998. A formal groundbreaking ceremony took place in early 2000 and the school's grand opening was on August 25, 2001.

The campus was designed by Slater Paull & Associates. A design advisory group that included Steering Committee members, teachers, and parents worked with the design team to develop the school's design concept and reflect classical academic architecture. The school's design was part of the 2002 Exhibition of School Planning & Architecture judged by the Council of Educational Facility Planners.[7]

[edit] Students

Seventh grade students matriculate from Dennison Elementary School, D'Evelyn's predecessor and feeder school. Seventh and ninth grades and transfer admission is by lottery. It is also possible to enter the school if an older sibling is enrolled.

D'Evelyn has a reputation for culling the top students from the district because it is a magnet program. Current and former students may disagree, as student Allison Schroeder '07 told the Denver Post, "All the people here aren't brilliant. They just care about what they learn."[8]

[edit] Faculty

92 percent of D'Evelyn teachers teach the subject in which they received their degree. The district average is 73 percent.[8]

History teacher Rich Mancuso ran against incumbent Mark Udall for the 2nd Congressional district of Colorado House seat in 2006 [9], winning 30% of voters to Udall's 67%.

[edit] Extracurricular activities

The school hosts chapters of academic organizations National Junior Classical League and Mu Alpha Theta and service organizations including Interact and the Red Cross Youth Corp. Clubs founded by D'Evelyn students include the D'Evelyn Disguise, an improvisational comedy troupe, and Shirley Praise[10], a Christian worship group.

D'Evelyn teams primarily compete in Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) competition in the 4A Class, the class designated for mid-sized schools. Prior to 2004, the school was in the 3A class.

[edit] Athletics

[edit] Football

The football team made its first appearance in state playoff action in the 1997 quarterfinals. The Jaguars made another appearance at state quarterfinals in 2003. [11]

The 2005 season was record-setting for the Jaguars. In addition to winning league championships for the first time, the team and its players found several places in the state's all-time football records:

State Football Records Held by D'Evelyn
Category Place Record Holder Date Value
Passes Completed (Team) 2 D'Evelyn 2005 210
Yards Passing (Team) 7 D'Evelyn 2005 2,872
Passes Attempted (Individual) 2 Mark Schaffer, D’Evelyn 2005 394
Passes Completed (Individual) 2 Mark Schaffer, D’Evelyn 2005 210
Yards Passing (Individual) 7 Mark Schaffer, D’Evelyn 2005 2,872
Total Offense 6 Mark Schaffer, D’Evelyn 2005 3,308
Pass Receptions 6 Tom Kastens, D’Evelyn 2005 81
Pass Reception Yards (One Game) 7 Tom Kastens, D’Evelyn (v Conifer) 11/5/05 262
Total Offense (One Game) 6 Mark Schaffer, D’Evelyn (Elizabeth) 9/17/05 504

[edit] Baseball

The team played in the state semifinals in 2000 and 2004 in 3A class play. In 2006, D'Evelyn made it to the quarterfinals in 4A class play. [12]

[edit] Basketball

The boys basketball team won the 2004 state championship under the coaching of Troy Pachner and placed third in 2003 in 3A play. [13]

[edit] Soccer

The girls' soccer team most recently made a state appearance in 3A play in 2004, when they were the #2 seed and made it to the quarterfinals.[14]. They were the #7 seed and made it to the semifinals in 2002.[15]

[edit] Cross country, track and field

The D'Evelyn boys' cross-country team won the 3A team state title in 2001, 2002 and 2003. They placed second in 1999[16]

The boys' track and field team shared the 3A team state title with Eagle Valley in 2004. They hold the state records in the boys' 3200 meter relay in both the 3A (7:53.53, set in 2003) and 4A (7:48.60, set in 2006) categories.

Under the team name "Run Colorado", the 4 x 800 meter relay team of John McGuire, Derek Gilmore, Ross Blahnik, Kenny D'Evelyn and Will Nemirow placed fourth in the 2005 Nike Outdoor Nationals.[17]

The teams host the annual D'Evelyn Dash 5k race.

[edit] Spirit

D'Evelyn cheerleading was founded in 1994 when the school began, followed by the formation of the pom squad in 1998. D'Evelyn's spirit teams have taken multiple state championships. The D'Evelyn cheerleaders won the 3A state cheerleading championship in 2002 [18] and placed second in the Jeffco Spirit Invitational in 2003. The D'Evelyn pom squad won the Jeffco Spirit Invitational in 2004 and took the 3A state Pom Pon title in 2002[18] and 2003. The poms also placed second in the 4A state championship in 2004.[19] In 2005 the pom squad made their first appearance at the UDA national competition in Orlando Florida, placing 14th in the nation.[citation needed]

[edit] Other competitive activities

The marching band formed in the summer of 1996 under the direction of Alex Booth. The D'Evelyn marching band did not exist in the fall of 2004 due to low numbers, however the following fall the program continued and competed in Jeffco competitions. In the 2007 season, the D'Evelyn Jaguar Marching Regiment placed fourth place in 2A state finals [20] and first in the 2A class at the Jeffco Marching Band Festival, Frederick Marching Invitational, and 2A Metro Regional Qualifiers.

The first two Science Bowl teams fielded by D'Evelyn took second and third place in regional competition in spring 2006.[21]

The D'Evelyn chess club, led by Paul Lang and Julie Nikoley, is ranked nationally.[citation needed]

[edit] Curriculum

D'Evelyn offers a liberal arts program with an emphasis on the classics. The district's Choice Enrollment: Option Schools publication states:

"D'Evelyn is committed to the premise that mastery of the skills and knowledge acquired through the study of the core academic subjects is the foundation for all subsequent learning. Independent, analytical reasoning, based on objective knowledge, is an essential skill and is encouraged throughout the program."

D'Evelyn graduates must complete more courses than the basic district requirement, namely:

  • 4 years of English,
  • 4 years of social studies,
  • 3 years of mathematics at a level no lower than Algebra I,
  • 3 years of science encompassing biology, chemistry, and physics,
  • 3 years of foreign language, and
  • 1 course in the fine arts.[6]

D'Evelyn has the highest average ACT score at 25.9 in the state[2]. The school's top position with regard to CSAP scores ran for four years, but was knocked from the number-one position overall in December 2005 by Ridgeview Classical Charter Schools.[22]

A study released by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education revealed that D'Evelyn had the lowest percentage of graduates requiring remedial classes in state-funded colleges and universities in 2004 at 1.4%, compared to the district average of 31%.[23]

The school has been named a John Irwin School of Excellence annually since 2001 and was named a Blue Ribbon school in 2003 and 2004. D'Evelyn was named the high school state winner for Colorado in the 2006-07 Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement.[24]

[edit] Notable alumni

  • Reed Saunders '99 -- Colorado Rockies' public address announcer, 2007-present[25]
  • 1st Lt. Jamin Buchanan "J.B." Wilson '99 -- posthumous recipient of the Air Force Commendation Medal[26]
  • John McGuire '05 -- Fred Steinmark High School Athlete of the Year in 2005, currently running for Stanford University [27]
  • Lauren Romero '06 -- quarter finalist in the 2006 Jeopardy! Teen Tournament; she appeared in show #4932 which originally aired on February 7, 2006.
  • Chris O'neil (present)-- Mimzy in the box office hit in 2007 The Last Mimzy

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Numbers were calculated from the separate Colorado Department of Education 2005-2006 school accountability reports for grades 7-8 and 9-12.
  2. ^ a b Burnett, Sara. "ACT scores hold steady statewide", Rocky Mountain News, 2006-08-23. 
  3. ^ The school is located in an unincorporated portion of Jefferson County that is is locally considered as part of Lakewood but assigned Denver mailing addresses.
  4. ^ Hatlestad, Luc. "Best High Schools", 5280, August 2007, pp. 85-91. Retrieved on 2007-11-11. 
  5. ^ Harmon, Tracy. "Sangres crash kills education officials", The Pueblo Chieftain, 1993-05-27. 
  6. ^ a b c Burch, Les, et al. (April 1994). David S. D'Evelyn Junior & Senior High School Program.
  7. ^ 2002 Exhibition of School Planning & Architecture - D'Evelyn Jr/Sr High School.
  8. ^ a b Spencer, Jim. "School's secret: It takes hard work, not genius, to excel", Denver Post, 2005-12-19, p. B-05. 
  9. ^ Lipsher, Steve. "2nd CD 'David vs. Goliath?'", Denver Post, 2006-10-27. 
  10. ^ Tyree, Jenny. "Shirley Praise", Brio, Winter 2001. 
  11. ^ 2003 State Football Playoff Results. Colorado High School Activities Association.
  12. ^ 2006 Class 4A Championship Series. Colorado High School Activities Association.
  13. ^ 2004 State Basketball Championships. Colorado High School Activities Association.
  14. ^ 2004 3A Girls' Playoff State Bracket. Colorado High School Activities Association.
  15. ^ 2002 3A Girls' Soccer Playoffs State Bracket. Colorado High School Activities Association.
  16. ^ FINAL 3A Results, Colorado State High School Cross Country Championships. BKB Ltd. (1999-10-30).
  17. ^ Nike Outdoor Nationals 2005 Boys Results. National Scholastic Sports Foundation (2005-06-18).
  18. ^ a b 2002 Spirit State Competition. Colorado High School Activities Association (2002-12-13).
  19. ^ 2004 Spirit State Competition. Colorado High School Activities Association (2004-12-10).
  20. ^ 2006 1A/2A/3A State Marching Band Championships. Colorado Bandmasters Association.
  21. ^ "School Briefs", Mile High Newspapers, 2006-02-23. "D'Evelyn Junior/Senior High School earned second place Feb. 11 at the Colorado High School Science Bowl." 
  22. ^ Morson, Berny. "Charter school in Fort Collins best in state", Rocky Mountain News, 2005-12-14. 
  23. ^ Burnett, Sara and Mitchell, Nancy. "Remediation newest of 3 R's", Rocky Mountain News, 2005-12-14. 
  24. ^ 2006-07 Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement.
  25. ^ Adams, Sam. "5 questions for Reed Saunders, Rockies' P.A. announcer", Rocky Mountain News, 2007-04-01. 
  26. ^ Bachelor, Laressa. "Air Force 'rising star' Wilson did what most only dream about", Rocky Mountain News, 2007-01-04. 
  27. ^ Player Bio: John McGuire: Cross Country. Stanford Cross Country Official Athletics Website.

[edit] External links