Rolling Hills Elementary School

5756 SOUTH BISCAY CIRCLE

School District

Cherry Creek 5
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
Type

public

School Map for Cherry Creek 5 School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on March 27, 2024

My daughter had very nice experience at Rolling Hills.
Submitted by parent on February 02, 2024

okay I like everything about this school except the ladies working in the front office recently. I feel offended everytime I visit the school. They are the rudest, always no smile but have the biggest frown ever. No wonder how they would treat the little ones. I really wish the school to hire the new staff.
Submitted by parent on October 03, 2019

We have had a fantastic experience at the school. My granddaughter loves everything about school. It is a PBIS school which means the entire school is based on positive reinforcement discipline practices. The specials teachers are particularly good with integrating children of all abilities into their activities and reinforce teamwork and community.
Submitted by parent on December 05, 2017

Excellent. Have been here for 2 years
Submitted by parent on December 05, 2016

I've had two students attend Rolling Hills. My youngest is in the fifth grade and I couldn't be happier that come May 2017 I will never have to walk into this school again. They have the rudest office staff I have ever encountered and the teachers are sub par at best and they all lack basic communication skills. They NEVER send home ANY completed work, so you NEVER know how your student is performing until you receive a report card. Their GT program seems to be the biggest and best kept secret ever. Obtaing information regarding the GT program is nearly impossible. They respond to inquiries by being as vague and seceretive as possible. If you're lucky enough to have your child evaluated for GT, don't expect to be kept in the loop, it won't happen. The posters who mentioned the unprofessional before and after care teachers, lack of support when your child is being bullied and the constant emphasis on the standardized testing were spot on. Don't even think about discussing your child's test scores either. My child performs way above school, district, state and national average every year but when we ask what we can do to challenge him more in class, the school won't even respond. I'm very saddened and disappointed by this school and the district in general. The schools are all top heavy in highly paid useless administrative staff and very little focus/money actually goes back to teaching the students and fostering intellectual growth. It really is all about public perception with this district. We're very disappointed. However short of moving, which is not practical at this point, we like many other unhappy parents are stuck with this sub par school with it's unprofessional staff.
Submitted by other on February 09, 2016

The schools is too small for population, they had to move some students out of school and their classroom is in mobiles... 2 fourth grader and 2 fifth grader classes... they don't have a water fountain in the classrooms, when the school is in lock down, it is just not as safe and secure compare to metal school doors or chance of fire... The bullying is a big problem and their asset program is just talk and not much action, they don't take necessary and serious actions against the bullies... Also the before and after care staff are a big disappointment. they are dis organized, dismissive and ignorant. They mix up parents and kids and don't pay attention to the kids and don't have variety of activities other before and after school programs offer. They don't help kids build relationships... they have a completely disconnected principal who doesn't try to communicate with all the kids and encourage their participation in programs, she has a bios toward the kids that been there vs the new kids and don't engage in new kids or tries to know their families or make them feel welcome. The GT program does not exist in this school, they don't have a well trained and dedicated GT teacher that works hard with the kids and tries to give feedback to the parents and engage in enhancing their abilities. If you are a GT kid in this school, you are on your own. You are not getting any additional instruction or encouragement. The teachers are stubborn and don't like parent involvement, they don't care about the mistakes they make and ways they can improve their performance or teaching... I just don't believe it is a good school worthy of grade they received.
Submitted by parent on November 18, 2015

My son just started attending Rolling Hills this year (Kindergarten) and absolutley loves the school and his teachers. The teachers have been great about sending home information and answering emails with questions from both my wife and I.I also want to mention that the Veterens Day celebration was very moving, it brought tears to not only my eyes, but several other Veterens in attendance that day.
Submitted by parent on April 18, 2015

My children have been going to Rolling Hills for the past 4 years and we love the school. The environment is loving and safe and the most of the teachers go above and beyond their expectations. The teachers are effective in teaching material to the kids and I feel that many are truly exceptional. We have only had one teacher in 4 years that I was not pleased with. My sons teacher this year could care less about PARCC testing and her teaching was not focused towards that exam. Even the school administrators did not seem so keen on the exam. I have had chances to switch my kids school but wouldn't move from Rolling Hills! It's a great place.
Submitted by other on April 03, 2015

I am a student,so I know what goes on in there. They have many fundraisers, but I don't like their way of teaching. I have had only one teacher that helped struggling students,and I will keep his/her name anonymous. All they do is prepare for test such has TCAP and PARRC. I don't recommend it to parents.
Submitted by parent on February 27, 2015

My kids went to Rolling Hills for several years. The school spent a lot of time on preparing for state test (CSAP) and did not teach much. When my older one was a third grader, their class started test preparation on Nov. for the exam on next March. Rolling Hills almost always gets good state test scores and is listed as a top school. In reality, it is not very good. Some teachers don't understand that if they really teach students, students will do well in exam even with little preparation. The teacher for gifted students was excellent and very helpful though. Unfortunately her time was limited since she had to teach kids from 1st to 5th grade. My kids moved to Challenge school eventually. Challenge School has a total different learning environment and my kids couldn't be happier.
Submitted by parent on February 19, 2014

The school may present a pleasant face to those interested in joining but it's a very different environment once you get there. My child was really unhappy at Rolling Hills and we needed to move to another school. Unchecked bullying was a big problem at the school and was not addressed in a meaningful way by the administration. Another problem was the weak instruction; we had several teachers who just didn't do much teaching and so we had to hire private tutors and work at home to compensate for the lack of learning at school. This was not our first experience with a cherry creek elementary school and we have found with several of our children that cherry creek schools just don't deliver! Our kids have been so bored at school and Rolling Hills is the worst. If your child is an average or high learner, don't send them herel, they will be bored silly. If you ask for more challenge, the teachers seem to "take it out" on your child at school. I've even had teachers I don't know give me dirty looks in the hallway if I dared to question my child's teacher about curriculum! Don't look to the principal for any help at this school, just keep your head down.
Submitted by parent on January 28, 2014

I called to set up a time to come in and tour the school. With his learning needs, I wanted to get a better feel for the overall school. I was greeted by a helpful and friendly staff member who immediately said I could come in any day between 10am-2pm. She also said she would have a contact name and number for me when I arrived of a special educator who could answer my questions about providing services for my son. I am posting this because I did not receive such an open door when I called with the same request at a school nearby, Trails West. Thank you Rolling Hills for being so open and helpful.
Submitted by parent on January 08, 2014

Our child has attended Rolling Hills for several years and we would never recommend it. With few exceptions, the teachers communicate poorly and take little pride in their work. This is not a caring environment and some teachers on the staff are poor role models for children. Parent involvement is discouraged and the unspoken rule of engagement is that children can and will be punished in the classroom if parents ask too many questions. There are numerous reports of teachers humiliating and demoralizing children in class there are truly some teacher bullies here. The principal maintains low expectations teachers are unprepared, differentiation to skill level is virtually nonexistent, leaving many children unengaged. Teachers are not expected to grade work, meet with students or communicate with parents. Many families are forced to hire private tutors. Yet despite the additional expense for tutors, the school is always begging for more money. The time has come to stop rewarding bad performance: tax increases and donations should cease entirely until Cherry Creek reins in its awful schools and starts demonstrating accountability.
Submitted by other on November 06, 2013

I am a 8th grade student now and I went to Rolling Hills Elementary all through 4th grade. It is by far the best public elementary school in Denver, Colorado. The staff is great. The teachers will go out of their way to help a student. There is a no tolerance rule, so your children won't have to worry about bad days and bullies. There is a class that your children will go to called Assets. It teaches about not to take anything that looks like candy from anyone. That class can help your children to learn the difference of what candy and drugs look like, so they have knowledge. I don't know who the principal is there now, but the past principal was the best and she was really nice. Otherwise, the school is great from what I remember. I hope you parents reading this will consider to enroll your child/children to this school. It's phenomenal.
Submitted by parent on October 24, 2013

To my one star parent I am leap-frogging, no a teacher did not post immediately after your rating. I am a parent of a first grader who has been with this school for 2 yrs now. I found your rating sad and shocking as I have not experienced anything great things from this school. I had a specific concern and was put in touch with the principal who took it upon herself to personally call me at home during school time. She allowed me to voice my concern and we were able to discuss things to try and change at the school. I personally love the idea of the assets class on bullying. They taught my rather shy and passive daughter how to stand up to bullies. We have not encountered a bully but I feel with a class like during school hours is a wonderful idea. My understanding is that it's a zero tolerance at RH. I think very highly of this school and have received nothing but care, concern, and attention for my daughter from the start.
Submitted by parent on October 24, 2013

I concur with the previous post. My child was miserable here. When I expressed concern about my child's progress, the claws came out, from especially the Principal. Silly me expected a school/home partnership to address academic concerns. It became clear, they will do nothing to help my child. In fact, they even said so. Principal and teachers were very unprofessional. I started getting dirty looks from other teachers. My child started to be treated poorly. The principal seems nice at first, but once you ask a direct question, she never answers directly, just educational jargon. She told me to be happy that my child was not the worst one in the class. Oh gee thanks! I also got the "budget cuts" excuse. It was such a negative experience for our family, and my child's self worth was reduced to nothing thanks to this school. I withdrew my child, and it was the best thing I ever did. My happy confident kid is back. We are still working on academics at his new school, but at least he doesn't feel worthless. I can't express how horrible this school was for us as a family. We all try and forget about this horrible experience.
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2013

This is a horrible school with a culture that tolerates and fosters bullying by both students and teachers. As long as parent involvement is restricted to donations, supplying food and treats for teacher events, gift giving at Christmas and year end, then parents are welcomed. BUT, start asking questions about what your child is being taught, how it is being taught, the level of challenge, helping children reach their true potential and you will soon see the knives come out. Teachers will begin to ridicule and demoralize your child in class, fostering similar treatment by the other children. It is appalling behavior. AND YET CHERRY CREEK SCHOOLS AND THE STATE ASK ANNUALLY FOR MORE MONEY. SAY NO TO ANY MORE TAX INCREASES UNTIL THERE IS DEMONSTRATED IMPROVED PERFORMANCE. NO MORE EMPTY PROMISES.
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2013

Seems another posting by a teacher or administrator of this school posting as a parent. It seems more than pure coincidence that immediately following a negative post, this one pops up. Previously, people were posting about once every 10 days or so. Now, one negative post and there is an immediate response. As far as the Assets class, the emphasis is entirely misplaced and the focus is incorrectly placed on the victim. There is all sorts of hand holding and instruction to the victim on how they should respond instead of making it very clear to the bully and the parents of the bully that the behavior will not be tolerated. That is where they emphasis should be. The current method makes the victim feel that somehow they have done something wrong, or not handled it properly. That is not the way to deal with a bully.
Submitted by parent on September 26, 2013

The 2013 test results haven't been posted here yet, but they have been released. Not surprisingly, the test scores went down. They only catch up 11% of kids in math now and still 23% in reading. I can only speak to regular education, upper elementary grades. They do not work with kids that begin to struggle, and their test results show it. Check out schools that do a much better job, Willow Creek, Coyote Hills, Dry Creek, even Peakview does a better job. This school is terrible if you are 3rd - 5th grades and even begin to struggle. They will ignore kids and do nothing. The test results prove what I am saying is true! It really is a terrible school. A school needs to teach kids more than they already know, and this one doesn't at all. We moved from out of state and have attended quite a few elementary schools. I have also worked as a teacher. This is the worst school my kids have ever attended. The community is great. The kids are great. The parents are great. The school is not doing their job. Parents should stop paying for extra tutoring and demand more! The kids desearve it. The principal is also terrible!
Submitted by parent on September 16, 2013

Rolling Hills Elementary has been a strong elementary schools since I have moved in 2002. All parents I know support the school, and only have nice things to say. My children have IEP's and my children get above and beyond help. The staff is professional and happy to be at RollingHills.