On September 10th, the Aspen Peaks School District Board heard a presentation from Director of Transportation David Ludwig and Chief of Schools Doug Webb outlining the district’s “Portrait of a School,” a framework designed to define what a high-quality learning environment should look like across the district.
The blueprint establishes guidelines for school size, instructional programs, support staffing and physical facilities. District leaders said the goal is to provide students with a consistent, well-rounded and supportive educational experience, regardless of which school they attend.
“This is a guideline for us to use as we go about boundary changes,” Ludwig said. “And as we consider decisions that will impact kids, this is our guideline for making those decisions.”
According to Ludwig, the district will consider several competing priorities when evaluating changes, including fairness, overcrowding and under-utilization, balancing community priorities and protecting student transitions.
“There are competing priorities and when you adjust one it has an impact on the other,” Ludwig said. “And so we want to not tread lightly but be mindful of the decisions we're making and the impacts they have on other areas of our work.”
The Portrait of a Thriving School outlines different expectations for elementary and junior high schools. For elementary schools, the district identifies an ideal range of 350 to 950 students. Smaller schools are intended to maintain a close-knit community, while larger schools can provide more program options but require careful management of shared spaces.
Elementary schools are also expected to provide Professional Learning Communities for teachers, specialized programs such as Dual Language Immersion and Advanced Learning Labs, as well as principals, counselors and other student support staff. Adequate cafeterias, gyms, playgrounds, bathrooms and drop-off areas are also part of the framework.
For junior high schools, the district identifies a target enrollment range of 1,050 to 1,800 students. The larger enrollment base can support a wider variety of electives, honors courses, STEM, fine arts, world languages, athletics and extracurricular activities.
Webb emphasized that the framework was developed with student needs in mind.
“Everything we present here tonight is what we as a committee have gathered as far as what is best for students as they attend school,” Webb said.
He also thanked residents for their involvement and encouraged continued community participation.
“We want to say thank you to our community. We really appreciate the feedback we've received and we encourage people to continue to give us feedback.”
The district said its current boundary review work is focused on elementary and junior high schools. No high school boundary adjustments are currently under consideration as part of a formal boundary study.
To offer feedback on current boundaries, visit this survey prior to October 1st.