Discovery Canyon Campus Middle School, Colorado Springs | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

Going into high school from the middle school felt like a different place. However it carried the same problems. And I have now come to realize that the problems this school has can not be fixed, or have not been noticed.

1) The infamous suicide problem this school carries with them doesn’t seem to be coincidental. It is a touchy subject however Discovery Canyon rarely addresses or attempts to help with this epidemic. Discovery Canyons atmosphere is very superficial, depressing, and unwelcoming. As a long time student I have almost grown up here, and I see these pitiful attempts at trying to create an open and safe atmosphere, and it never works due to the awful approach taken by the administration.They seem to deviate from genuine social interaction and would rather give the school what seems like a “bubble” of negative energy. Every student can find something to complain about(and that goes for all schools) however it is a problem when people who don’t even attend the school recognize this. (An example of this is when I went to the 2017 DECA district competition. I met with a senor from Pine Creek, who had never attended the school but when he figured out I attended Discovery Canyon he said “Oh, I’m sorry” and later remarked “I heard its isolated there”) After reflection I had realized that isolation was one of discovery canyons problems. Not just isolation from the rest of District 20, but in itself it feels empty & hollow. And the worst part is that the school attempts to mask this with an obviously artificial sense of school spirit, instead of collecting as student body and conquering our troubles the school seems to find a way to make everyone a victim, except the victims themselves. all of this could be argued on why this is, however these are problems the school faces and has been facing for a while.
2)Discovery canyon suffers from under budgeting. Mostly due to district budget distribution, however this isn’t a school problem, rather than a district problem. But it should be noted. Because it shows.
3) Our athletic programs get the most attention, that is obvious. And in this it does fine. The coaching staff at this school is phenomenal and I truthfully believe that we have some of the best coaches the state has to offer. In fact as a freshman one of the first people you hear from is our head football coach who has become the secondary mascot of our school(in a good way) and I believe the coaching staff and athletic department is run right by the right people. However it does not provide (as of 2018) a lacrosse or hockey program
4)The art department, despite its under-funding manages to pull off magic. Especially Musial and preforming arts. There are copious amounts of opportunities for, and not limited to wannabe thespians.
5)People at this school vary, but as mentioned earlier there is this school wide sense of what simply can be put as “fakeness” and it really makes discovery canyon suffer. It seems that there is little to no genuinely accepting people. And it is indescribable in it’s uniqueness. This almost toxic environment is specific to Discovery Canyon Campus. And teachers feel the same way too. This could explain the many teacher “resignations” before the end of the semester or school year. In one year alone we have seen multiple different Math teachers, Science teachers, foreign language teachers, and Literature teachers come and go on a seemingly semester basis.

Overall Discovery Canyon suffers from itself. It has unfixable problems that enable and force unnecessary stress on students and staff. However I hope it succeeds past trials and tribulations, although it has failed to do so in the past. Sadly this schools suffers from malignant pessimism and an artificial atmosphere that has yet to be fixed. It also has yet to give itself a good footing in the public eye.
This school deserves a 3/10 for its unforgivable mistakes that have had a high cost.

I’m an 8th grader here at DCC, and I have been here since 6th grade. The following pros and cons are just my opinion. Student’s views of the school differ depending on the teachers they get, how popular they are, how much they get teased, and who their friends are.

Pros:
1. Mr. Mathews, the band/orchestra teacher is amazing. He offers several opportunities and clubs in addition to band/orchestra class such as jazz band and jazz ensemble. The band program is really good, the music is amazing, and we usually get rated superior at competitions.
2.The BOLT program (bringing our level together) is a program in which 8th graders mentor 6th graders throughout the year. It is great and it helps them adjust to middle school.
3. Every year, the 6th graders go on a 4 day overnight trip to High Trails. It is a really fun camp. You get to pick what you want to do. You can go on hikes, build things, collect crystals, and more.
4. The foreign language program is pretty cool. Although the teachers can be a bit strict with tests and can assign a lot of homework, I learn a lot in their classes.
5. The 7th and 8th grade digital learning program is great. It lets us access and turn in things online. We get to play interactive learning games. It makes class more interesting.
6. MOST of the teachers are fantastic. 80% of them are fun, friendly, and find new ways to make kids excited about learning.

Cons:
1.The whole school is ultra conservative. Teachers talk about politics during class. The school is really unwelcoming for LGBT students. Last year, I had a teacher tell me that we couldn’t learn about a woman because she was lesbian and that’s a “controversial topic” We watch the news occasionally during class, and we are allowed to watch everything about Donald Trump, but whenever anything LGBT related comes up in the news, we have to skip past it.
2. They have rules that they don’t enforce. Specifically, the dress code. They have strict rules for the dress code, but students usually wear whatever they want and never get yelled at. When students do break the rules, the punishments aren’t severe enough to prevent the student from breaking the rules again. In the 3 years I’ve been at DCC, I’ve only witnessed 2 detentions being given out.
3. In the past 4 years, there’s been 10 suicides, more than any other school in the district.
4. The math program needs improvement. I am in twice advanced math. (I’m an 8th grader taking 10th grade math) and all of the math teachers I’ve had haven’t been too great, and even my friends who take grade-level math always dislike the math teachers. Some of them don’t use the best teaching methods and others are just generally unfriendly.
5. There is quite a bit of bullying, and people make rude comments to each other every day. I can’t get through a single school day without hearing at least 3 rude comments said to another person.
6. There’s no lockers whatsoever. You have to carry all of your stuff with you, and there’s a lot of stuff to carry around. On the average day, my backpack weighs 15 pounds.