Ricks Center for Gifted Children

2040 South York Street

Denver, CO 80210

80 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-8
Type

private

Find Homes for Sale in this School Zone

Reviews

Submitted by other on May 15, 2023

I recently graduated from Ricks, I was there k-8 (11 years). While I have made lifelong friendships and have genuinely enjoyed my time there, I would not recommend this school to anyone. The academics have been subpar, setting me behind in my highschool experience. Ricks is a school that claims to be kid oriented and have gifted programs, but it is far from. Many of the administrators have no control over the school, and there are little to no “gifted” programs. I have seen some of the smartest students fail because of the lack of focus on students. I highly recommend asking about the teacher turnover, as there have only been a few teachers there for more than 3 years. Their staff is severely underappreciated and as more teachers quit, they are replaced by worse and worse teachers. If you are considering going here, I highly recommend reaching out to current parents of kids who go there. It is likely you will begin to see the never ending amount of problems at this school. As a person with a learning disability I feel my needs were not met and I was not accommodated to the full extent I should have been. As for mental health, this school had no clue what they were doing. In my time at middle school we would occasionally be called for an ”assembly” which consisted of a presentation on mental health and how to reach out if you needed help. I do not know anyone who used the tools they offered us. The presentations were ineffective, and on top of that, my friends and I had no trust in the school psychologist. In my experience, many of the teachers were amazing, they were our true friends and advocates. I loved each one of my teachers, but since I have left, all of them have either quit or plan to in the next few years. The only thing that kept me at this school was the teachers, who are truly superheroes. If you are looking into this school for your child, ask questions. Ask about what admin controls, why there are such small classes, why teachers keep quitting, what their gifted programs are, and how they plan to create a well rounded student.
Submitted by parent on March 02, 2020

This school hands down is one of the best schools that I have had my kids in. The teachers are sincerely willing to work with the students and really want them to succeed. No child is left behind at this school. Everyone is welcoming no matter your background and they truly treat you like your family there. I love Rick's and my kids do as well.
Submitted by parent on February 12, 2020

There have been some really positive changes this year with Mr. Harrer. There are some truly engaged and devoted teachers here. My middle schooler loves it and is performing well on standardized tests etc.
Submitted by parent on November 20, 2019

This is the first year at Ricks for my middle schooler, and we are extremely happy that we made the move to Ricks from our public school. The administration, teachers and staff are all very supportive, caring, proactive and in tune with all the needs of the gifted child. My son can be his unique self in this enriching environment. He is enjoying his classes and the social environment at Ricks. He is happy and finally being challenged academically.
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2019

We are beyond thrilled with the new director, Craig Harrer, and the positive changes in the entire school this year. The energy in the school is back as Ricks is getting back to its roots in fully serving the gifted learner. Administration, teachers, students, and families are once again back in sync and thriving. It was a rough few years since the founder left, but with the arrival of Craig Harrer this year, the school has the potential to be better than ever!
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2019

We couldn't be happier with the direction of the school!
Submitted by parent on June 16, 2019

Although many gifted children are actually twice-exceptional, this school can NOT handle children who don't fit "in the box." If you have a gifted child who is in any way socially awkward or quirky, this is not the school for you. The children work heavily on group projects with little guidance. Playground time is a free-for-all. As a parent, you will be called to "deal" with your child regularly for playtime and classroom situations that are fairly normal in all other schools, playgrounds and on playdates. Even for the preschoolers. Unless your child is extremely passive, quiet, shy and reserved, this school may end up doing more damage than good. This being said, you will be promised the sun and the moon for your gifted child(ren). If you are looking for anything that will help address traits that frequently accompany giftedness (anxiety, social awkwardness, OCD, general worries/fears, strong opinions/thoughts, insecurity), stay away. If you are looking for an expensive school that will essentially allow your children to self-teach with loose teacher guidance, this might be an acceptable choice. Remember: This is a private school. They can be "picky." They don't have to accommodate ANYTHING, including an unhappy or awkward child. You've been warned!
Submitted by parent on January 07, 2019

Bad!I decided to write this review due to the fact that Ricks is now requesting that parents write positive reviews on this site. My guess is that the other recent reviews on this site were spurred on by the same request. We have two preschool-aged children, and since one has been identified as having myriad gifted traits, we decided to move him to the Ricks preschool. We were told on the tour that he would be challenged by a variety of curricula addressing math, writing, reading etc. We were also told that he would be surrounded by other gifted children with similar traits. Since there was essentially no evaluatory process to gain acceptance to the school, we should have known from the start that they would let any child into this school. We foolishly overlooked this lack of criteria because we wanted to believe that, as we were repeatedly promised, this was a gifted a school. Our experience has been so disappointing that we have met with a contract attorney to see if we could remove our son from the school without owing the ridiculous tuition that this preschool costs. The preschool is essentially high priced daycare! My other child, who remains in a "regular" preschool, has learned his letters and the corresponding sounds and is beginning to read. My child at Ricks has LOST the phonemic awareness he had going into this school. When these issues were brought up, we were told that this is a play-based environment and given a pamphlet about the benefits of play-based preschool. Yes, we wanted our son in a "Regio-inspired" environment. No, we did not sign up for a glaring lack of projects and an anti-anything-intellectual environment (they don't even go over days of the week, weather, months, etc). They don't seem to be teaching my child anything, academic or otherwise. When issues such as these are brought to the administration, only lip service is given and nothing changes. If you are looking for a preschool where it is common for teachers to sit around and chat most of the day while the the kids are left to play on their own, then this is the place for you. If you are looking for anything beyond this, stay away!
Submitted by parent on December 25, 2018

Negative. My child has been at this school for three years. Unfortunately, and I say unfortunately because with full administrative, curriculum, and teacher review and changes, this school could really be amazing. Ricks should be a place that is exactly as described on their website, tours, and during the application process - a place for gifted children to learn, grow, and be safe. All of these "areas of advertising" are severely overestimating what the school is actually giving these children. Our family has hoped, every year, this school will improve - that administration will be updated, the curriculum will be modified, etc. First, there is little to no individualization. Second, most gifted kids come out of Ricks and are behind their peers. Everyone there with truly gifted kids WANTS this to be the place for them. Sadly, the school is failing in a multitude of ways. The administration has recently reached out to specific parents and asked them to write positive reviews here. If I were making this decision about sending my child their now, I would look at all of + and - reviews here, and decide if this kind of .... discrepancy is something I want to invest in. Lastly, my child's safety (in every way) is the most important thing to me, and the administration (who is new as of three years ago) consistently dismisses complaints of safety and/or handles it wrong. I would not recommend this school to anyone.
Submitted by parent on December 02, 2018

This school is NOT for truly gifted children. They will accept any student who is able to pay the tuition, not caring at all about if that student is truly gifted or not. The great teachers are stifled by this administration. There is no differential learning, as was advertised. The newly hired teachers are not at all prepared fo truly gifted children, nor are they even appropriately trained for such students. There is no one who seems to know anything about the curriculum or even if there is a set curriculum. The administration is not honest nor are they willing to address continual issues that arise. Truly gifted children should not be sent to this school. It will likely do more damage to them than any good.
Submitted by parent on November 29, 2018

My son has loved Ricks since his first day of school, including the after-school program. He's thriving, thanks to caring teachers and administrators who really seem to understand how young children learn best. Different parents have different expectations and experiences, of course, but ours has been good and we're very happy we chose Ricks.
Submitted by parent on November 06, 2018

This school is one of a kind. If your child is a good fit for Ricks, we believe there is no better option. Our son loves to go to school everyday, he's engaged and excited. As a parent, this is priceless.
Submitted by parent on October 25, 2018

Our family loves this school! Our son is engaged, excited about learning, and each day becoming more happy to be himself. I couldn't ask for more. Ricks is a gem. If you have a gifted child and you don't go see it yourself, you are doing yourself and your family a disservice.
Submitted by parent on October 25, 2018

It has been great. My daughter is known and loved as herself, is challenged academically, and is comfortable in her skin.
Submitted by parent on October 25, 2018

The teachers here are sensitive to the widely-varying needs of this particular student population. Regular staff turnover is normal for this type of school, but the teachers that stay on year after year are the truly dedicated ones, and I have seen first-hand the difference they make in the lives of the children.
Submitted by parent on October 20, 2018

failing leadership, unimpressive teachers (some with anger issues, others completely disengaged, many who continue to leave mid-year), student body increasingly has more behavioral issues and psychological issues than any real need for gifted education. terrible school that is just beyond repair.
Submitted by parent on July 31, 2018

Good during early childhood years, but downhill after that. My child started at Ricks at the age of 4. His experience through second grade was wonderful. They catered to his style of learning, they taught him to think creatively, they taught him to be a self-advocate. He loved school so much he would make me drive by it in the summer, just to look at it. Things changed from third grade on. Teachers were hit or miss. The curriculum was uncoordinated, and depending on what teacher you had you might miss learning some basic elementary school skills. For example, my son's teachers were not as interested in teaching long division, or certain aspects of fractions or geometry, so he just never really learned that. We only realized it when, in 5th grade, he began interviewing at other private schools and was asked specifically about these types of math skills. Many parents at Ricks hire tutors in upper elementary and middle school to make sure their children are up to speed with national standards, but to me, given the amount of tuition we are paying, that seems to be an unnecessary cost.Socially, Ricks is a very small school after 2nd or third grade. This can lead to a very small social pool, particularly among boys, who seem to leave the school in droves in upper elementary/middle school. In my son's class, at the time of his departure, there were only 3 boys who intended to remain for the following year (Parents of girls may have different experiences, as more girls tend to stay on at Ricks ). Bullying is also rampant, and is compounded by the fact that there are not many other kids to drown out the influence of the bully. As for the administration, it has changed over four times since my son has attended the school. That type of instability in leadership has created an atmosphere of constant uncertainty, both among parents and teachers. Hopefully this is something that will stabilize eventually in upcoming years.Overall, I would say this is an excellent learning environment for early childhood years, but I would strongly recommend against spending the money to be here after 2nd grade or so. There are many other schools in the Denver metro area (both public and private) where your child can learn both creativity and innovation AND learn the basic skills needed to excel in high school and college (like long division, etc).
Submitted by parent on August 10, 2017

Despite the changes in administration, our child has loved being at Ricks. Even as we complain over administration, they continue to flourish. We are sending our other child there next year as well. You can't argue with a child who loves their school. Period.
Submitted by parent on July 24, 2017

NOT a gifted school. As a former teacher and parent at the Ricks center I can say that the school is entirely ineffective for gifted learners. The staff has virtually no control over the curriculum that you could find for free at any common core public school. The administration is controlled entirely by the University and has no true control may a problem arise. The over turn in staff is constant we lost almost the entire middle school staff this year as well as all of the third and fourth grade teachers. The graduating 8th grade class never finished the math curriculum and this was not reviled to the parents until after graduation when they were offered free summer school in order to assure that their children would be prepared for high school after paying 18,000 a year.!
Submitted by parent on April 30, 2017

Ricks has been a great place for our PreK kiddo and our PreSchooler just starting his first school experience this year. The teachers are really amazing and the entire staff is focused on helping each and every kiddo to reach their potential. Our children love learning, due in large part to the great work of their teachers Ms. Jessica, Ms. Maddie, Ms. Whitney and Ms. Torey. Their dedication to the students and passion for teaching shines every day! The current administration (new this year) is really doing a great job.