Check out the quality of schools before you buy your next home

This week the Denver Public Schools closed one charter school while putting six others on probation because of low test scores. Although this is an unfortunate event that we as citizens have little direct control over, we do have control over the homes we elect to purchase and the quality of schools servicing the home we buy.

Anyone thinking about buying a home should seriously consider the quality of schools in the area. This should be the second consideration right after establishing the price range they can afford. The quality of schools will greatly affect the home values in the area. (The best school systems attract buyers more readily.) Even if you do not have school aged children, you should still consider buying in an area with high performing schools. Because, one day, you too will sell and when that day arrives you want to have as many positive factors working for you as you can. The quality of schools servicing the property you purchase will affect not only the value of your home, but how quickly buyers become interested in your home.

In order to help clients establish the best school system for their needs I frequently suggest review of the following school information web sites. I hope you too find them to be beneficial.

http://reportcard.cde.state.co.us/reportcard/CommandHandler.jsp
http://www.homefair.com/Find_A_Place/School_Reports/
http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeassess/sar_info.html
http://www.cde.state.co.us/

A national database of school demographic information can be found on the National Center for Education Statistics Web site. Click on the "School, College and Library Search" tab at the top in order to view data including a particular school's student-to-teacher ratio or enrollment by race and ethnicity.

For a snapshot of academic performance and to compare schools, a prospective homeowner might browse the School Matters Web site, a service of Standard & Poor's.

Another site, Great Schools, offers similar tools.

Here are links to other metro Denver area schools:
The official Cherry Creek School District’s web site is at:
http://www.ccsd.k12.co.us/

http://www.ccsd.k12.co.us/dist_info/dist_mapMED.html Cherry Creek School System Boundary Map

Here is the Douglas County School District's web site.
http://www.dcsdk12.org/

The Littleton School District’s site is at:
http://www.littletonpublicschools.net/

The Jefferson County School District's site is at:
http://www.co.jefferson.co.us/ext/dpt/portal/learning.htm#jcps
and also see
http://www.jeffcoonline.net/schools.htm

Denver Public Schools
http://www.dpsk12.org/

State of Colorado’s Official Web Site - Education
http://www.colorado.gov/education.htm

Colorado K-12 Schools Web Sites
http://www.cde.state.co.us/utility/k12schls.htm

Colorado School Districts - Web Sites
http://www.cde.state.co.us/utility/k12schls.htm#districts

http://www.cde.state.co.us/

Also, click on my web site page at:
http://www.denverrealestateonline.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=851132&NF=1

and explore these other links:
School Information

Public Schools Review

Private Schools Review

Boarding Schools

http://www.cde.state.co.us/