Principal's Greeting

Dear Visitor,


Welcome to McKinley-Thatcher's home page! We hope your virtual visit to our school will motivate you to visit us in person and to take a tour of our beautiful facility. We pride ourselves on being a small, friendly, neighborhood school where all children engage in the learning process in a challenging, supportive, fun and caring environment. We love our school and value each member of our school community. We invite you to become part of the McKinley-Thatcher family.

McKinley-Thatcher students receive a strong, standards-based education in reading, writing, mathematics, social studies and science. Weekly classes for all students ECE through grade five enrich our educational program and develop our students' multiple intelligences. These classes include music, art, library/media, technology, Second Step/Steps to Respect, and daily Physical Education.


McKinley-Thatcher's Challenge Program provides extended learning and enrichment opportunities for students in the Gifted and Talented Program. Mild and Moderate Special Education support is provided to qualified students in the regular classroom and in small group settings. A special Multi Intensive Special Education class will begin in the 2007-2008 school year to meet the special needs of children whose academic, social and emotional needs are best met in a smaller, more personalized educational setting with additional adult support.


McKinley-Thatcher's South Platte River Environment Education Program, or SPREE, is one of many environmental education, hands-on learning opportunities offered at the school. Using the South Platte River as an outdoor classroom, students learn about the many ways the South Platte River has contributed to Denver's past and to the quality of life we enjoy today in Denver. Students learn about Denver's first inhabitants (the Arapahoe and Cheyenne), the discovery of gold in Colorado, the influence the river has had on the growth of Denver, and the flora and fauna that call the South Platte River their home.
Thanks to the efforts of our active PTA, students at McKinley-Thatcher enjoy a wide variety of enrichment opportunities during school hours, after school and on class excursions. The PTA supports RIF book give-aways, noontime dance class, Denver Zoo's W.I.N-W.I.N. Nature Program, Science Club, Garden Club, arts and crafts, foreign language, Rising Stars and Destination Imagination.


Families find friendship and fun as they come together for PTA sponsored activities such as our Halloween festivities, the fall Harvest Festival and our Spring Social. We invite parents and our local business and community partners to get involved and contribute their time, talents, and resources to benefit their neighborhood school and its students.
Literacy is our number one priority at McKinley-Thatcher. Reading and writing instruction provided by experienced teachers, high expectations for all students, and motivational reading programs encourage all students to live their lives as readers and writers.


High levels of student participation in our motivational indedpendent reading program, Scholastic Reading Counts, and our Library Media/Technology Program have resulted in dramatic increases in the reading achievement of our students. We celebrate our students' achievements as they stive to meet their monthly reading goals toward their final goal of reading 1,000,000 words by offering individual incentives through a program operated by our Library Media Center's Reading Counts Program.


The DPS Million Word Campaign has encouraged many students to strive to achieve the district's goal of reading a million words during the school year. If you visit our South Platte River Environmental Education 1,000,000 Word Campaign link, you will see each student's picture on a raft floating down the South Platte River toward the goal of reading a million words.


We are excited about the many great things happening at McKinley-Thatcher, and we invite you to join our community of learners. We also welcome volunteers to join us in helping our young people achieve their academic goals.


If you would like to visit our school, please call our school office at 303-777-8816 so we may arrange a tour for you. If you have any questions, please contact the school or click on this link to Email Us.


Once again, WELCOME, and thank you for visiting McKinley-Thatcher on the web!


Sincerely,
Mrs. Vicki D. Cyr, Principal (Retiring 7/1/08)
and Mrs. Brette Scott (Principal as of 8/1/08)