D'Evelyn Junior/Senior High School

David S. D'Evelyn Junior/Senior High School (known as D'Evelyn) is a public secondary school near Lakewood, Colorado, United States.[3] It is included in the Jefferson County R-1 public school district. While remaining an open public school without charter or magnet status, D'Evelyn consistently ranks among the top 100 high schools in the US.[4][5] D’Evelyn’s academic tenets derive from the efforts of a volunteer council to create an "alternative educational environment" in the early 1990s.[6] D’Evelyn’s eponymous founder, David S. D’Evelyn, died in a plane crash before the council's efforts resulted in the successful enactment of the Colorado Charter Schools Act of 1993[7] and the nascent school secured the "option school" status required to pursue its own academic objectives with a high degree of freedom from the district.

D'Evelyn Junior/Senior High School
Address
10359 W Nassau Avenue

Denver
,
Colorado
80235

United States
Coordinates39.643057°N 105.114441°W / 39.643057; -105.114441
Information
TypePublic secondary school
MottoSetting the Standard for Excellence
Established1994
School districtJefferson County Public Schools
CEEB code060671
PrincipalJosh Griffin
Staff48.86 (FTE)[1]
Faculty46[2]
Grades7-12
Enrollment1,022 (2018-19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio20.92[1]
Color(s)Green, silver, and black    
Athletics4A
MascotJaguar
WebsiteD'Evelyn Jr/Sr High School

History

David D'Evelyn was influential in helping the Colorado Charter Schools Act of 1993 become law. He died in a plane crash shortly before the act went into effect.[8]

At the same time the Colorado Charter Schools Act was going through the legislative process, the Dennison option school in Lakewood was straining at the limits of its site capacity providing a K-8 program. In response to the need to expand Dennison's program through high school, a group of parents proposed a combined junior and senior high school that would relocate the 7th and 8th grades from Dennison and add the high school at a rate of one grade level per year. Naming themselves the Initiating Committee, they submitted an application to the Jefferson County School Board to operate as an educational option school with a request to be considered for a charter school if the educational option request was denied on December 17, 1993.[9]

The charter school application was denied by the school board on March 17, 1994, citing that the concept set forth in the charter application had been approved as an educational option. A memorandum of understanding was signed on April 4, 1994 to establish the school as an extension of the Dennison program with Dr. Lloyd Carlton, principal of Dennison, as the principal overseeing both programs for the 1994–1995 school year.

In August 1994, the school commenced classes in the building formerly occupied by Manning Junior High School at 3200 West 32nd Avenue in Golden, Colorado with its first class of ninth graders and the seventh and eighth grade classes transferred to the school from the Dennison program. Succeeding years saw the first class advance in grade until the school served a full 7–12 program in the 1997–1998 school year.

A bond issue passed by Jefferson County voters in 1998 funded a new building for the school, which opened at the school's present location in 2001.

On September 23, 2012, the school was visited by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney during his campaign.

Campus
D'Evelyn's current location at 10359 W. Nassau Ave.

The Jefferson County school district acquired 40 acres (16 ha) of the historic Fehringer Ranch property during master planning for the area in the late 1990s. Funds to build the new campus were approved in a school bond election in 1998. A formal groundbreaking ceremony took place in early 2000 and the school's grand opening was on August 25, 2001.

The campus was designed by Slater Paull & Associates. A design advisory group that included steering committee members, teachers, and parents worked with the design team to develop the school's design concept and reflect classical academic architecture. The school's design was part of the 2002 Exhibition of School Planning & Architecture judged by the Council of Educational Facility Planners.[10]

Students

Forty percent of seventh grade students graduate from Dennison Elementary School, D'Evelyn's predecessor and feeder school and the other sixty percent enroll through a random lottery or from sibling priority in the lottery pool. Eighth and ninth grade admission is also through the random lottery system and the school does not permit enrollment after the beginning of ninth grade.

Demographics 2018:

  • 75.7% - Caucasian/White
  • 10.3% – Hispanic
  • 9% - Asian
  • .8% – African-American
  • 4.0% Multi racial
  • 53.8% Female
  • 46.2% male[11]

Extracurricular activities

The school hosts chapters of academic organizations National Junior Classical League and Mu Alpha Theta and service organizations including Interact and the Red Cross Youth Corp. Clubs founded by D'Evelyn students include the D'Evelyn Disguise, an improvisational comedy troupe, and Shirley Praise,[12] a Christian worship group.

D'Evelyn teams primarily compete in Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) competition in the 4A class, a designation for mid-sized schools. Prior to 2004, the school was in the 3A class.

Athletics

The girls' soccer team won their first state championship at the 4A class in 2017.[13]

The D'Evelyn boys' cross-country team won the 3A team state title in 2001, 2002 and 2003.[14]

The boys' track and field team shared the 3A team state title with Eagle Valley in 2004.

The teams host the annual D'Evelyn Dash[15] 5k race.

The boys' golf team won the 4A state title in 2008.[16]

The girls' tennis team won the 3A state title in 2017.[17]

The cheerleading team dates back to the school's first year, followed by the formation of the pom squad in 1998. D'Evelyn won the 3A cheerleading and pom state championships in 2002[18] and the 3A pom state championship in 2003.

Marching band

The marching band formed in the summer of 1996 under the direction of Alex Booth. The D'Evelyn marching band did not exist in the fall of 2004 due to low numbers; however, the following fall the program continued and competed in Jeffco competitions. In the 2007 season, the D'Evelyn Jaguar Marching Band placed fourth in 2A state finals;[19] in the 2008 season, the band placed third in 2A state finals.[20] In 2010, the D'Evelyn Marching Band placed second in the 2A finals, after missing state the previous year, with a show titled "Deep Blue Sea".

D'Evelyn won five 2A state championships under director Stephen Martin:

  • 2011, "Pandora," won by the smallest margin possible in marching competitions, .05;
  • 2012, "Conflict";
  • 2013, "To Soar";
  • 2014, "All Souls' Night";[21] and
  • 2015, "Stained Glass", which won with a score of 71.2 and a sweep of all categories.

Following Mr. Martin's retirement, Becky Paschke took over as band director and the marching band won their sixth consecutive state championship in 2016 with their show "Friendly Skies". In 2017, Under the direction of Becky Paschke, their show, "Villainesque" reached finals and placed second with a score of 72.30 (0.35 points behind The Classical Academy). In 2018, seeking new competition, the band moved up to the 3A classification with their show "Voyage to Valhalla", scoring 73.90 points.[22] In 2019, the band led Jefferson County year round, consistently outscoring 4A and 5A bands. The 2019 Colorado Bandmasters Association State Competition for 1A, 2A, and 3A ended with a record breaking score of 86.55 points. The band swept all categories and held a significant 5.65 point lead over any other band with their show "Urban Sketches", featuring George Gershwin's "Summertime" as their closer.

High school band and orchestra

Both the high school band and the orchestra were selected by audition to perform in the statewide CMEA Clinic/Conference: the orchestra in 2013, and the band in 2014. Recorded auditions are submitted in the spring, and only two or three groups statewide are selected to perform.[23] The Orchestra won the "Outstanding Orchestra" award in class 3A at the 2015 Colorado West Music Performance Festival, held in Grand Junction.[24]

Mathematics

D'Evelyn students competing in mathematics were the first-place team in the state for Mathcounts in 2001 and 2002,[25] held places on the state's American Regions Mathematics League team,[26][27] and have been top individual winners at the state level on American Mathematics Competitions tests.[28]

Notable alumni

References
  1. "D'EVELYN JUNIOR/SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  2. Numbers were calculated from the separate Colorado Department of Education 2005-2006 school accountability reports for grades 7-8 and 9-12.
  3. The school is located in an unincorporated portion of Jefferson County that is locally considered as part of Lakewood but assigned Denver mailing addresses.
  4. Newsweek - America's Top High Schools 2014
  5. The Daily Beast—America's Top High Schools 2014
  6. D'Evelyn founding document
  7. "Colorado Charter Schools Act of 1993". Archived from the original on 2015-03-26. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  8. Harmon, Tracy (1993-05-27). "Sangres crash kills education officials". The Pueblo Chieftain.
  9. Burch, Les; et al. (April 1994). "David S. D'Evelyn Junior & Senior High School Program" (PDF).
  10. "2002 Exhibition of School Planning & Architecture - D'Evelyn Jr/Sr High School". Archived from the original on 2006-05-15.
  11. http://www2.cde.state.co.us/schoolview/dish/schooldashboard.asp
  12. Tyree, Jenny (Winter 2001). "Shirley Praise". Brio. Archived from the original on 2008-05-26.
  13. Newman, Kyle (24 May 2017). "D'Evelyn captures first state title with win over Evergreen in Class 4A girls soccer". Denver Post. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  14. "FINAL 3A Results, Colorado State High School Cross Country Championships". BKB Ltd. 1999-10-30. Archived from the original on 2007-10-18.
  15. D'Evelyn Dash
  16. Mincer, Kent (2008-10-08). "Beeg rallies to win by six as D'Evelyn gets first 4A title". Rocky Mountain News.
  17. Newman, Kyle (13 May 2017). "Girls tennis state tournament: Cherry Creek and Cheyenne Mountain rule again, while D'Evelyn captures first state title". Denver Post. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  18. "2002 Spirit State Competition" (PDF). Colorado High School Activities Association. 2002-12-13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-02.
  19. "2006 1A/2A/3A State Marching Band Championships" (PDF). Colorado Bandmasters Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-10.
  20. "2008 State Marching Band Championships 2A Semifinals" (PDF). Colorado Bandmasters Association.
  21. Martin, Steve. "Director". Colorado Bandmasters Association Marching Band Affairs. Colorado Bandmasters Association. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  22. Swearingen, Deborah (16 Nov 2016). "D'Evelyn High marching band hits another high note". Columbine Courier.
  23. Martin, Stephen. "Director". CMEA Online. Colorado Music Educator's Association. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  24. Martin, Stephen. "Director". Colorado West Music Performance Festival. School District 51, Mesa County Valley. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  25. "Past Colorado Winners". Colorado Mathcounts.
  26. "2008 Colorado Mathematics Awards".
  27. "2007 Colorado Mathematics Awards".
  28. "2005 Colorado Mathematics Awards".
  29. McGhee, Tom (8 Jun 2017). "Four NASA astronaut candidates have Colorado connections". Denver Post. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
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