Peak Expeditionary - Pennington

4645 Independence Street

School District

Jeffco Public Schools
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
Type

public

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 February 12, 2025

Peak has exceeded our expectations by leaps and bounds. We wanted a safe place where our kids could get out of the classroom and learn by doing and that’s what you’ll get. My kid is excited to go to school and learn everyday. The school and PTA put so much love and effort into creating a welcoming, engaged community. My family adores this school and everyone who works here.
Submitted by parent on December 04, 2022

Outdoor focused, which is amazing. Pump track and climbing wall. But even more important is the focus on social/emotional while still academically advancing students. It’s truly a great school.
Submitted by parent on December 04, 2022

We choiced into Peak after a very bad year at our “higher ranked” neighborhood school and we couldn’t be happier. The staff, the social emotional curriculum, the importance of community and being a good person is beyond what I could have expected. I’m blown away at the difference in schools. My kids are happy, love learning here, and we couldn’t be bigger fans of this special school!
Submitted by parent on August 16, 2022

My son started Kindergarten at Peak remotely because of the pandemic, and spent the year back and forth between in person and remote. I went into it expecting to repeat kindergarten the next year. That didn’t happen. Thanks to the hard work of the teachers and staff, my son thrived. I just dropped him off for his first day of second grade and I’ve never seen a kid so happy to be going back to school.
Submitted by parent on February 05, 2021

My student loves the teacher and staff! They are pleasant and very helpful. The way that they teach is a way that my son can understand and he is learning so much here at Peak!This school has been very difficult with COVID. But the staff have stepped up to the challenge of this pandemic and have managed it successfully!
Submitted by teacher on February 05, 2021

I highly recommend Peak Expeditionary School at Pennington. This is my 7th year working at this school. My two Jeffco High Schoolers attended Pennington Elementary from Kindergarten through their continuation to middle school. In my opinion, this school has always drawn amazing adults that enjoy teaching and caring for students. In the past 3 years, I have watched as Pennington Elementary has become Peak. We now embrace CREW culture. We ask students to have Courage as they dive deep, into challenging Expeditionary Learning topics, Respect each other as they explore a different type of learning, have Empathy for one another as they are asked to think in different ways and connect field experiences to their classroom learning and are asked to provide quality Work (often involving multiple drafts and critique). Our new bike park is phenomenal. Our future plans are robust. Our principal and assistant principal are passionate, driven and continue to collaborate with our Peak Staff CREW to improve this amazing school and school community.
Submitted by parent on February 05, 2021

We looked at several schools before choosing Peak Expeditionary for our daughter to start Kindergarten. We were looking for a school that focused on allowing kids to explore, have choices, and had a blend of academics and experiences. We put in for Peak and when we were accepted, we jumped at the chance. Our experience has been amazing so far. The way the whole staff has welcomed our daughter, but also the whole family has been appreciated. They have handled the pandemic with grace and I have been so pleased with both the in-person learning and the remote options. Our kiddo is outside for several hours during the day and was even able to go on a field trip this year. Her teachers are always welcoming and make her feel valued at school. Communication from the principal, her classroom teacher, the para support, the front office, the clinic aide - all have been pleasent, responsive, and kind. We are so excited to be a part of the CREW at Peak! We hope to see this school grow and become a K-8!!!
Submitted by parent on February 04, 2021

We started out my daughter’s kindergarten year in the middle of a pandemic. I could not be prouder of how Peak handled the challenge of teaching young kiddos in a remote environment, and the thought they put into in-person learning to keep it safe for everyone was beyond my expectations. They push my daughter to excel in everything she does, including developing her character and building her confidence. Even online, they maintained an interactive curriculum that encouraged discovery and exploration. The balance between digital work and hands-on work was perfectly balanced, as is their emphasis on outdoor education and activities. I knew I was going to like Peak when I registered my daughter a year ago; I didn’t know I was going to love it.
Submitted by parent on February 04, 2021

This school is so good - we love it. We've had our son in preschool and now kindergarten at Peak. Our daughter will start in preschool this fall. The teachers are so committed to the students. Principal Tim is connected and engaged with every student. They focus on project based learning with a key focus on outdoor learning and development. They even put in the first every school bike park and provided donated bikes/helmets for the kids to learn to ride!
Submitted by parent on February 04, 2021

Excellent attention to community and culture, while keeping rigor on academics. Our child jumped right in and felt a part of the environment. Excellent focus on equity and great balance at hearing everyone's voice.
Submitted by parent on February 04, 2021

A great school with a different take on learning. My kids love it. All the teachers and staff seem to make a point to get to know the students and nobody gets lost in the crowd. The kids get to take part in a wide variety of experiences. Mr Tim is super involved with the kids and makes school such a fun place to be.
Submitted by other on February 04, 2021

We are so happy we tried Peak! Great school, great staff. They offer so many after school activities. My daughter couldn't be happier.
Submitted by parent on February 04, 2021

Peak is a welcoming and diverse community for active learners. The expeditionary learning model works well for my child. The school has managed an effective pandemic response and although learning in masks is not ideal for Kindergarten, the outdoor experiential model allows them to spend more time outside which we like in non pandemic times too! My son is happy at school, the teachers have time for us and we are happy!
Submitted by parent on January 30, 2021

My son was never happy to go to school before attending Peak. Now he tells me he can’t wait to go to school and comes home saying best day ever. He has an IEP and gets so much support that works. He has already moved up a grade in reading this year and it is only February. He has his days and issues with friends but the teachers and administrators handle them so effectively that he is becoming a stronger person and community member. My son is mixed race and he has people that look like him in his class. School focuses on diversity and equity as well as rigorous academics so my son is very well rounded. They also do trips and experiences which have been put on hold in Covid but they took a trip anyway the first week of school and now opened a bike track on campus so kids can still get outside. This place is just so cool and I’m happy my kid actually loves school.
Submitted by parent on September 17, 2020

We have been very happy so far at Peak, and look forward to the years ahead.
Submitted by parent on July 26, 2017

It's a great school with great teacher!
Submitted by parent on September 11, 2015

Amazing teachers, great principal. Really good with Special Needs kids.The only reason I can't give 5 stars is that one on their Administration staff is extremely intolerant and rude to single, non-traditional parents.
Submitted by parent on April 24, 2015

My daughter started attending Pennington her PreK year. Now a 5th grader and one month left until summer break and she goes onto 6th grade. I have liked almost every teacher, although 3rd and 4th grade I feel she wasn't encouraged to push ahead. All her previous teachers had been awesome at providing an individual learning plan that allowed her to advance. The 5th grade teacher, teaching his first year at Pennington, has lots of teaching experience and I believe he has been doing awesome with the kids. I have heard some parents complain about bullying, but I have seen the school and community here hold a zero tolerance and encourage parents to approach any issue immediately, the Principal, counselor and staff are readily available to be contacted and give support. I'm afraid bullying is a sensitive subject, but ultimately takes the whole community, home life, peers etc... In teaching our kids to be confident, compassionate and responsible individuals in society.
Submitted by parent on April 01, 2014

this school is horrible!!! my son has gone there for two years in the preschool program and is almost finished with kindergarten, he has been bullied and sad everyday he comes home, he tells me the teachers do nothing and call him a tattle tail!! seriously!!! but when I come to lunch with him all the sudden they do something about it???they are all fake and put on a front! not to mention the whole school is full of bullies and just plane mean kids you can tell there parents ignore them and could care less......... switching schools in September, hopefully prospect is a better option??
Submitted by parent on September 03, 2012

My daughter has gone to this school for 5 years. She has had 3 really great teachers and one just ok one. The first principal Mr. Cormier was really terrific and a hard act to follow. The recent one, Mrs. Craig, was a little bumpy at first but seems to be doing well now, and is very enthusiastic and accessible to all students and parents. My daughter has been testing advanced in both reading and math, and this is a warm and friendly small community school. It is mainly low-income families, but the school itself is not "ghetto." They have art, gym, and music. My main criticism is they aren't very focused on science or have school plays. They are very reading and math driven. She has had quite a lot of special ed kids on IEPs in her classes (around 6 students per class of 15-20 kids), so I think any low scores reflect this. They do promote parent involvement. There is an awesome parent run after school program called step up which is like yearbook, but video and photography focused. My daughter loves her school, even though she's had the normal social issues kids go through (girl drama, a bully, etc...) I would not recommend the YMCA aftercare however.