Principal’s Update: Enrollment Zone Transition — November 22, 2024

Posted November 22, 2024

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Dear McKinley-Thatcher families, 

Yesterday (Thursday, November 21, 2024), the Denver Public Schools (DPS) Board of Education voted to close or reconfigure ten DPS schools before the upcoming 2025-2026 school year due to declining enrollment. Good news: McKinley-Thatcher is NOT being closed! We are small, but amazing, and DPS knows it! Unfortunately, a small school near us, Schmitt Elementary, is closing, and this closure will impact McKinley-Thatcher in a few different ways. The largest change for our school is that we are transitioning to an enrollment zone SchoolChoice model. 

Previously, McKinley-Thatcher operated under a boundary model for our SchoolChoice enrollment, meaning that, beginning in kindergarten, any student who lived within our boundary was guaranteed a spot at our school. The transition to the enrollment zone model means our school is part of a new geographic area where students living within the zone are guaranteed a seat at one of several schools, not just one particular school.

As we transition to our new enrollment zone SchoolChoice model, please be aware that neighborhood families will no longer be guaranteed a seat at McKinley-Thatcher. Instead, families within the newly created Southwest Central Elementary Enrollment Zone are guaranteed a seat at one of the three elementary schools within the zone (McKinley-Thatcher, Godsman, and Asbury). 

What Is An Enrollment Zone? 

  • An enrollment zone is a specific geographic area within the city of Denver. Students living within an enrollment zone are guaranteed a seat at one of the schools located within the zone, not one particular school.

  • Learn more about DPS Enrollment Zones here.

How Will This Change Impact Current McT Families? 

  • We want to assure you that students currently enrolled in Kindergarten through 4th grade at McKinley-Thatcher are guaranteed a seat through fifth grade at our school, regardless of this transition. 
  • New students will no longer be guaranteed seats at McT just because they live near to the school. For families with children who will be enrolling in ECE or Kindergarten for next school year, it is critically important to complete a SchoolChoice application during Round One of the application window and indicate that McT is their #1 choice.  

How Will This Impact SchoolChoice for the 2025-2026 School Year?

The 2025-2026 SchoolChoice Round One application window opens on January 15, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. and will remain open through February 18, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. 

As you engage in the SchoolChoice process for the upcoming school year, please be aware that: 

  • Students who currently attend Schmitt Elementary (and all other DPS elementary schools that are closing) will have top priority to find a seat at a new school, called “Closing School Priority”.

  • Students who live in the “old” McKinley boundary area will also have a priority for McT (called a “Proximity Zone Priority”). This priority means that these students have a higher likelihood of acceptance at McKinley than students who live outside of the old boundary area, as well as those who live outside of our new Enrollment Zone.

  • Students who have siblings attending McKinley also have a higher likelihood of acceptance at our school than students who live outside of the old McT boundary area due to the “Sibling Priority”.

  • You can find more information about DPS SchoolChoice Admission Priorities and how they work by clicking here. McKinley’s new SchoolChoice priorities will be determined in early December 2024, and we will share these with our families as soon as they are available. 

How will DPS Transportation Work in the New Enrollment Zone? 

  • Per DPS Transportation policy, any student who resides in an Enrollment Zone and attends a school within that zone is eligible for DPS bus service if they live more than 1 mile away from the school they attend.

  • Our new Southwest Central Elementary School Enrollment Zone will have increased transportation services to accommodate students traveling within the Enrollment Zone for their schooling. 

For further Information regarding the Schmitt Elementary School closure, visit this webpage. For general information about school closures across the district, visit this webpage. 

We will share more information about this change in December, including the finalized list of McKinley-Thatcher’s SchoolChoice Admission Priorities. 

We know this is a lot of information, and that it may be confusing or overwhelming. If you have questions or need help, please stop by our main office, call us at (720) 424-5600, or email us at McKinley_Thatcher@dpsk12.org. We are here to support our families! 

All the best,

Sonia Geerdes
Principal