Castle Rock Elementary School

1103 Canyon Drive

School District

Douglas County Re 1
Grade

PK, K-6
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
Type

public

School Map for Douglas County Re 1 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 June 21, 2022

After our first year at CRE, we are so thrilled with this school. The teachers and staff are attentive and student-focused. The leadership is diligent and resourceful. And like most public schools, they are continuously working to serve students and families with fewer and fewer resources. While the Douglas Country School District has some work to do, the faculty and staff at CRE are doing amazing work to overcome the challenges that they’re facing.
Submitted by parent on November 07, 2018

Terrible Experience with the students at the school not being able to be controlled. No consequences for bad behavior.
Submitted by parent on August 22, 2018

In the past three years of my children being in the school, I have been impressed by the teachers and their ability to engage my children in learning. I would highly recommend this school.
Submitted by parent on August 05, 2018

This school is great! The teachers are good. Teachers great the students by name as they walk into the school. They care about the kids!
Submitted by parent on June 14, 2018

We love this school. The administration and teachers are great and really care about the kids.
Submitted by parent on May 15, 2018

My kids have been at CRE for 4 years now, the administration and teachers are amazing. They are very focused on student success and well being. They are interested in more than just test scores, they are dedicated to shaping productive, kind, caring adults out of the children. I'll be sad when I don't have kids enrolled in this school anymore as they get older.
Submitted by parent on May 02, 2015

My Kids love CRE! It is a great school and the teachers, aides, and administration truly care about kids. My students love the outdoor habitat and PE. My kids are very sad that Mrs. Ursetta is leaving at the end of the school year. We have loved the last three years that we have been at Castle Rock Elementary.
Submitted by parent on April 16, 2015

Nightmare. Bullying is rampant at this school. There is no accountability, we have friends that have been going through a nightmare, and we finally see it manifesting in front of our eyes. The Principal has no reason to correct the issues because her supervisors are haphazardly trying to keep the concerns out of the public eye. Reading the news on Douglas County Schools it is clear that the Superintendent has many other lawsuits, etc., to worry about, so this is a mere "headache". Instead of helping, the school institutes new programs, and shifts the blame. The vast majority of the teachers and staff are superior and do far more to help then the principal. Good teachers are gone, positions cut and filled by less experienced, more cost effective teachers. Since there are half the children there used to be, do as others have done and look elsewhere. The list of issues and concerns brought to this administration are lengthy and there is no solution, other than put up a false fa ade that they are doing everything to make the school appear "safe", which it is not.
Submitted by parent on March 05, 2015

What an amazing school! The minute I walked in the front door we felt welcomed! The front office staff greeted us with with such warmth and the teachers are very friendly too. My kids love to go to school! They are very excited about PBL and the schools unique habitat! From the great administration to the friendly classroom aids, I can't say enough good things about this school! You can tell that they truly care and love children there!
Submitted by parent on April 11, 2014

CRE is a fantastic school! They are doing project based learning and my student loves it! The school does a great job of communicating with parents and my kids love going to school. The teachers are top notch. They treat the kids like they are their own.
Submitted by parent on June 09, 2013

Administration has no school pride. I cannot complain too much because the teachers we had were really nice people but there is no consistency in the curriculum from different classes in the same grade. Some had almost an hour of homework every night and others had a little bit every month. The playgrounds are always full of trash even after comments from parents. I hated to see birds outside eating plastic on an almost daily basis. To me it seems like the administration is only there because they are paid to be and they think teaching at a DCSD school makes them look good. I had one child attend Lewis Palmer Elementary School for 6 years and it was a dream compared to this. (Can't say enough good things about LPES!) I feel that if I have my two younger children attend CRE any longer they will never have the ability to reach their full potential. I am going to do everything I can to change schools before next year.
Submitted by parent on October 09, 2012

Today 10/9/2012 my 1st grade son was punched in the face so hard the school had to call due to a large swollen lump on his cheek bone. He was punched at recess and I picked him up from school at 1PM. The school had not yet even identified the assailant. My son only saw he had a red shirt on and since his recess is only with other 1st graders that leaves just 2 classrooms the puncher could have come from. I was told they would look into the matter further and call me. Well at 4PM after school was already let out they still had not called me back, so I called them. I was once again told they were working on figuring out who punched my son. Other student also told them it was a kid in a red shirt, but they somehow were unable to identify a boy in a red shirt from just 2 classrooms. I feel that they are not taking this serious at all. I was warned about bullying at this school before enrolling...I wish I would have listened. I will update this review if I get results, but I doubt it.
Submitted by parent on March 18, 2012

We open enrolled our child into this school because our neighborhood school had such poor reviews. I immediately got a bad vibe from the new principal, Kelly Ursetta. She continued to disappoint when I had emailed her regarding an issue that we had. She has a better than everyone type of attitude that really shines through. We have also noticed a huge lack of parent involvement. The parents don't seem friendly whatsoever & there is no parent support in our child's classroom. We have just been very disappointed in lots of ways, too many to list here. The only good thing about this school is our child's teacher, whom we absolutely adore. I probably would have taken our child to another school midway through the year had it not been for her.
Submitted by parent on January 19, 2012

The school is very advanced and the principal and staff are excellent. I would recommend this school to all. We will continue in this school and tell all our friends with younger children to enroll in Castle Rock Elementary.
Submitted by parent on October 21, 2011

sI moved my kids from another school into CRE last year. I now have 2 kids there, and 1 has gone on to middle school. I love this school, as do my kids. At the other school, my oldest child was so bullied, I feared for his safety. When everything is said and done, I was blessed to be able to get my children into this school. The teachers adore the kids. The office staff knows each kid by name. So far the new principal has been doing a great job. She did have some pretty big shoes to fill. My two kids that are there now are so happy. At the previous school when I picked them up at the end of the day, they were ALWAYS in tears. Now they're laughing, and I have to wait forever for them. I also see all of the teachers hug all their kids on their way home. I am so happy my kids are here. Their grades have gone up, and during summer, and fall break, they spent most of their time reading books. I am so proud to be a part of this school.
Submitted by parent on March 07, 2011

The principal is to "everything is wonderful, there are no problems" when the problem is her. My kids were at the school the first three and first two years of the elementary careers. They had great teachers except for the older child. The final teacher he had allowed movies every Friday in the classroom and one of them being Hannah Montana, PG13! Not appropriate. That teacher was also going through a principal apprenticeship. I was disappointed that the great teachers were not rewarded and two of them moved on due to poor upper leadership.
Submitted by other on August 07, 2010

When I was in this school, I loved it. The teachers are amazing and the principal was very nice and helped out.
Submitted by parent on April 27, 2010

I have two children that attend CRE, a 3rd and 4th grader. My daughter has terrific teachers and is on or above grade level in all areas. My son has had the complete opposite. Poor teacher-parent communication. The only good information we receive is based on our requests. There is one member of the office staff that seems to always answer the phone. He is rude and painful to deal with. We have a 2 year old that will attend one of the charter schools in place of CRE. It's not worth the gamble.
Submitted by parent on February 19, 2010

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Submitted by parent on August 26, 2008

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