Joe Shoemaker School, Denver | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

I agree with Mike. I had big hopes for this school. The staff sensors and denies wrong doings. I wrote a review on FB and it was immediately taken down. The issue (as per most institutions with poor leadership) is leadership top down. My son’s teacher Ms. Sarah is amazing. The issue I have and continue to have is that a teacher told another student to punch my son in the face and instead of Christine (the principle, who interestingly enough has posted her own skewed review as 5 stars) reacting in a timely manner I had to get the district involved (which still did nothing). Shortly after my son was called a “ni**er” and we were asked to be understanding of the student who called my son such an unacceptable word. I have repeatedly asked Christine for an apology for how she mishandled the “punch him in the face” incident and she flat out refuses. Not very becoming of an individual who is supposed to set the tone within the school for acceptable behavior from both students and faculty. The method is loosely tied to Montessori which I love and hold in high regard. We paid for private Montessori for years and we took a chance and decided to put our son in public schooling for social relation reasons. Unfortunately, we are stuck at this school for at least another year; however, education wise if all the teachers were like Ms. Sarah (which they aren’t a great deal are passive aggressive towards the kids and the subs they get are just as bad) I think the school would fair much better. I’m giving the school 2 stars because Ms. Sarah is great and understands a diverse population with students that may have a lot going on in their lives. She is patient and works quite closely with parents to keep us not only informed but as a partner in education. I’m not as convinced leadership is as competent. I would also like to see better school communication i.e. messages sent home via email and not just in the kids back packs. Embrace the theory behind the school more (true expedition learning), spend more time educating parents who are new to the concept of expeditionary learning, get the kids outside and dirty, get the parents involved by mandatory volunteer time and truly showcase the students. I understand this is a public school and the money isn’t always there, however, parents such as myself who can do a little more are always willing to when asked. The school has a great deal of potential, I challenge the district next fall to change up leadership and give the students what they need; educators who care not only about covering their own behinds but about the overall well being and education of the children.

Update: Since moving my kids from this school to a school in Roswell, NM I have learned to appreciate all this school offered. After we left, my kids were a little weak in math but very strong in reading in May of 2016. My kids miss this school as do I.

Both my kids go here and although they have had some problems with the kids they do like the school. My daughter is in choir and both are in dance. I was disappointed that the kids weren’t allowed to wear their Halloween costumes like many schools used to allow and I hope they are able to celebrate Christmas. Another downside is that all the classes are mixed so my 1st grader is with kinder and my 3rd grader is with 2ND graders. I sincerely hope their method works as it will show when the kids take their state assessments. Despite the aforementioned downfalls, the front office is nice and my kids are happy which is what matters.