Westgate Community School

12500 WASHINGTON ST

School District

Adams 12 Five Star Schools
Grade

K-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:16
Type

charter

School Map for Adams 12 Five Star Schools 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 April 26, 2024

We have had an extremely disappointing experience at Westgate. We found it unwelcoming, we experienced bullying, teachers that played favorites, teachers that didn’t have a mastery in the subject matter they were teaching, as well as multiple substitute teachers in a year. We found the leadership team to be lacking and we are looking forward to moving on to a new school. We feel that we were misled when we initially toured the school. There were so many claims and promises made that we never saw in our children’s time here. They are great at marketing their product but their follow through is poor.
Submitted by principal on November 14, 2023

I am so proud to work at Westgate! This is my educational home. The mission is what I believe about kids and about school. I believe that kids are whole human beings! I believe all kids can learn. I believe that kids need recess! I believe that learning should be rigorous and fun! I believe service and the environment should be embedded into a school culture. I have been at Westgate for 11 years and I still am honored to work at Westgate. Our students are so clever. Our teachers are dedicated. Our administrators are supportive. Our families are the best! The teachers at Westgate work above and beyond for your kids. That, I promise you. This is what school should be.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2023

Westgate has been a wonderful and positive experience for both my daughters in elementary and middle school grades! Our girls never want to stay home if they can be at school. Their classes are engaging, hands on, and innovative. We love volunteering to help with the chickens and goats on breaks, participating in the fun family events, and donating to their thoughtful drives for the community. Both girls have been able to grow academically and social emotionally through their years attending Westgate. We appreciate all the hard work that goes into their education every day!
Submitted by teacher on November 14, 2023

I adore teaching at Westgate. The staff is kind and caring and care about each other and our students. The parents in the school are extremely supportive and care deeply for their child’s teachers also. It is the most unique place I’ve taught at in 12 years of teaching - the environmental educational program and social emotional learning daily are so important to the classes and students in a way I’ve never seen in another school. Students are invested in caring for each other, the school, the community and animals, and the earth!
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2023

Westgate is a dream come true. It’s hard to find a place that values students’ need to move and have hands on learning opportunities, and places as much emphasis in the development as a whole, as well as their academics. We didn’t want a place that valued only academics which drove us towards Westgate rather than other area schools that are super high performing as we knew our kiddo would struggle without having his needs met as a whole person.We love having the animals on campus too and our family enjoys being caretakers and signing up for shifts to feed the chickens and goats. It’s a very unique opportunity we wouldn’t otherwise have in a suburban school. All of the staff we interact with are kind, caring, and respectful, and we feel as though they genuinely care about our child. We know we could go to the classroom teacher with any concern and it would get taken care of.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2023

They give a great sales tour and make this place sound like it's an amazing, special community. Unfortunately, there are so many behavior problems in grades 5-8 that there's very little learning going on. Teachers are constantly trying to manage behaviors in their classrooms with little success. All they do is call admin for help and then admin talks to the child and there are no consequences so the cycle of disruption repeats. Bullying is out of control. also, no consequences. Westgate supposedly has amazing anti-bullying program. Ha! I've talked to teachers and admin about this and nothing is being done. Kids don't have any true consequences. There is a lot of micromanagement of students as a result because teachers have little control. Kids are not learning organizational skills. May be good for younger grades, but definitely not 5-8. High staff turnover, high student turnover from 5-8 grade, no substitutes, and hiring people who never went to school for education or got licensed as teachers due to desperation. Part of this is the way things are right now, but I would not recommend the school. A lot of hype and talk and a lot of differences in how it is in reality as to how it's portrayed.
Submitted by parent on September 19, 2023

This is the only school that has done everything to support my son. They work with parents to meet the needs of the kids.
Submitted by other on September 15, 2023

terrible school, there is no homework until high school so kids have no management skills. they say they are gt, when they are not. they do anything to push students down to grade level if they are above grade level. they do not differentiate in classrooms and if someone is above grade level, they will purposely push them down so that it is easier. admin is extremely lazy, and simply can not handle any parents complaining. they always are convinced that they are right and everyone else is wrong. the principal doesnt care about the students and most of the teachers are very rude and dont care about the kids. they will hire anyone. the sub-pool is terrible, if a teacher is absent, you are very, very lucky to get a sub. they say they are good with social emotional but they arent. the admin is too lazy to care, so bullying is very common. they couldnt care less about the well being of anyone. if you are reading this, ignore all the good comments and DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES ATTEND THIS SCHOOL. it might be good for the first year or 2, but after that it is awful. please, save your education, and DO NOT GO HERE.
Submitted by parent on April 25, 2022

This school educates the whole child. IMO, education has gotten a little full of itself. (Don't be offended. I drank the Kool-aid. I have my Bachelor's Degree. Tranquilo.) All I'm saying is: this school teaches for life (not for college). I love that. And the administration walks the walk of creating an inclusive learning environment. Love that, too! My kids are in 5th and 6th grade, finishing out their first year here. We've tried three other schools in the area. Some scholastically strong. Others, artistically inclined. They both told me they want to stay here as long as possible. I don't see any reason not to.
Submitted by parent on July 19, 2020

Over all a 3. There are defiantly wonderful things about this school and we were there quite a few years. I would say k-4 is pretty sound but after is a serious mixed bag. There are definitely not enough electives for 7th and up and the "specials" teachers for the most part are not great and pretty lack luster. Also they have changed around their philosophy and it is no longer the Westgate it used to be of combined differentiated classes and help and understanding of GT students. There are getting to be fewer and fewer actual GT learners at this school and more creative learners which is a difficult combination. Most of the fantastic teachers leave and you are left with teachers who have no clue how to handle the highly sensitive GT kids who need guidense and understanding. Not harsh one size fits all punishment. The point is the Westgate we came into 6 years ago is not the Westagte that we have left and I am completely sad about that. This school could be wonderful and a breath of fresh air but instead they have decided to make it like most other schools and whittle away at its uniqueness. I would say just go in knowing that what they tell you and what they do at this point are two different things.
Submitted by parent on May 27, 2019

Excellent. Our children are GT 2E and need certain classroom considerations. In Adams12 public schools, their needs weee not met easily or with kindness and understanding. Their needs are not difficult or comprehensive either. At Westgate, requesting a 504 was not hard and working with staff was simple. My kids enjoy school and thrive academically. It is not for everyone, as the 7-12 grades do not have the extracurricular options public school has. For us, it is a perfect fit.
Submitted by parent on March 07, 2019

We are lucky yo be at Westgate. We have watched this school grow with our kids and it has been a great fit for our family. This school is different - they get kids and they understand GT better than any school I know.
Submitted by parent on January 12, 2018

Headline first, the executive director and the dean demonstrated to me that are simply not capable of supporting the needs of kids with a 504, IEP or any unique learning profile. Moreover, although they always have time to promote the school and any positive recognition that they can get, they just won’t have tough conversations about parent and student engagement. There was some good stuff to mention. The teachers get one extra star for being nice, dedicated and energetic. In fact, I was 100% sold on the school during my campus visits and the shadow day. Just like anywhere, some teachers are stronger than others, but, I think that most tried hard and my child did fine in class. The really big problem with Westgate is that the actions of the administration don’t support any type of authentic partnership and communication with students and families. Everything seems fine and first glance (and they certainly talk a good talk), but, if a 504, IEP, or a social challenge exists, then the school dean, executive director and staff just can’t handle the challenge. They make A LOT of excuses and they always focus more on ways to protect their reputation and public image than on the kids well being. In other words, I found the school leadership to be so focused on their own status that they isolate parents and students from conversations that don’t reflect the perfect image that they want to promote. To put it bluntly, my child’s learning profile was absolutely neglected. They are quick to ask for cheerleaders from the community and they never accepted any crucial conversations. Like some of you who are reading this, I simply wanted an environment in which my child could thrive. I was expecting open and honest communication and instead I actually even felt bullied by the dean and executive director (and so did my child). Crazy, right?!?Having the privilege of seeing first hand what great leadership at Adams 12 can look like at another school, there is no way I could ever trust Westgate to care for anyone important to me. In short, my reflection is that the actions of the administration are ironic in the face of their stated school values, frustrating to me as a parent and extremely sad in he context to my child’s experience.
Submitted by parent on December 15, 2017

What is most exciting to me about this school ranking announcement is that Westgate Community School works to support all kids....kids that excel are supported as well as those that don't thrive in a traditional school. Little ones don't have homework and they all get plenty of free time for recess and quiet, free space to work (read, write, rest, do Legos, etc). Even if they didn't have the scores that many seem to over focus on, they are still a great school model. The great scores they have are a bonus in my mind, showing some that more work and less freedom is NOT the way (or at the very least not the only way) to produce awesome results for kids. It is a true effort at whole child and differentiated support (rather than a buzz word that can often be thrown around but not really used in practice). The scoring announcement follows: "It is with great pleasure and excitement that I announce that Westgate Community School is in the TOP 1% of all Colorado Schools in Academic Achievement & Growth (from the CDE School Performance Framework). That’s over 1,500 schools, folks! We rank as number 13 in the state for Academic growth between 2014 – 2017. Wow! This is an amazing accomplishment! Top 1%!Along with this exciting news, we are also the top scoring charter school in Adams 12 Five Star School District for 2017. This goes to show that the innovative approach to teaching and learning coupled with intentional support of the social-emotional needs of our students, works for kids"
Submitted by parent on December 11, 2017

Overall, this past year has been terrible. When we first started at Westgate a few years ago, it seemed to be everything we wanted in a school, especially for children with learning differences. However, what they present at the prospective parent meetings is ABSOLUTELY not what is actually happening inside the classroom. I have been on campus to volunteer and witnessed so much yelling from teachers to students, and the school is always chaotic, scattered and disorganized, a nightmare for a kid with sensory issues (or really any kid, for that matter). Kids on both ends of the spectrum: well behaved and gifted, all the way to low-functioning, and needing more support, have had problems here.
Submitted by parent on June 21, 2016

After my son being with Westgate Community School for awhile, there is one thing, though it might seem small, that has touched me the most about this school. Though my son falls into the standard gifted categories; my father, my brother, and I fall into the twice exceptional category. I see kids with apparent disabilities to non-apparent ones, being treated with the same respect as any other gifted child. I am sure many take this for granted since this is the normal at this school. Coming from the other side, the amount of discrimination, harassment, and closed doors to twice exceptional gifted people is appalling. I’ve seen it in the education system, from administration, from the “high” IQ societies, from grants, and much more. But Westgate looks beyond the child’s limitation and allows them to flourish. The brain of a gifted person is amazing and can overcome obstacles that a normal person could never overcome, making the twice exceptional look just as an average person. For this amazing, truly a real revolutionary, but the ethical and correct treatment of these twice exceptional children, I have to thank the school from the bottom of my heart. Yes, my son could have gone to any gifted school we wanted him to go to, but I would never have a second doubt placing him in this school that will treat all gifted kids equally, as being gifted.
Submitted by other on May 22, 2016

We have not officially started yet, but the admin has been transparent from the original tour through enrollment. We were invited to their school fundraiser carnival and we were impressed at their parent community and their commitment to raising funds for Westgate. We are excited to join a school that does not shame children through discipline charts and instead involves children in problem solving.
Submitted by parent on March 04, 2016

We have attended Westgate for 5 years, and absolutely love it. My kids get what they need from educational support to emotional support. The admin and staff are amazing!! WE love Westgate. I would like to post about the comments below being false. There are not numerous people leaving Westgate. We had one teacher leave. (its not our business to know why!!) and the admin, they both left for personal reasons, not because of our principal. And by the way she is licensed!!You can find her license on the CDE website .
Submitted by parent on February 28, 2016

Members of the administration and teaching staff have been disappearing at an alarming rate and I think that it's because of the principal. The school is supposed to be for gifted students but there seem to be far too many that aren't even at grade level in many subjects. Recently I learned that our principal isn't even licensed. I have asked for information about what is going on with our school, but get nowhere.
Submitted by parent on November 24, 2015

Westgate has been an excellent match for my children. I love that the school has needs based learning so that my children can learn and grow based on how they are performing. If they are exceeding grade level in a subject, there is no cap as to how far above grade level they can work. There are groups for all levels and skills. My children are challenged and I love that.