School choice is an important responsibility of all families.  In an environment of increasingly distinct educational options in our county and state K-12 educational system, the thoughtful consideration of school choice for our children is a critical decision for all families.  As a liberal arts option school for students in grades 6 - 12, D’Evelyn requires thoughtful parent consideration of the school philosophy, as 100% of D’Evelyn students enroll as “choice” students.  

We have entered the season of choice enrollment in Jeffco Schools.  As of November 5th, the updated EnrollJeffco School Finder system is available for all families in our community to review options available to students in Jeffco for the 2020-2021 school year.  I encourage all families to thoughtfully review and consider Jeffco options, prior to choosing the most educationally appropriate school option for their children.

The 1st round Choice Enrollment window will run from December 10, 2019 - January 15, 2020.  This is a critical window for all families, but particularly those interested in enrolling their students at D’Evelyn for 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th grade in 2020-2021.  

To be considered for priority enrollment, all students must be entered into the EnrollJeffco system as seeking enrollment at D’Evelyn by January 15th.  This includes current Dennison 6th grade students, children of D’Evelyn faculty/staff, and students with older siblings already enrolled at D’Evelyn.

Additionally, families interested in D’Evelyn for their rising 6th, 7th, 8th, and/or 9th grade children should plan to attend one of our Prospective Student Information Nights in December or January.  All Information Nights begin at 7 pm in the D’Evelyn Auditorium, on the following dates:

• December 12, 2019
• December 19, 2019
• January 7, 2019 - presentation geared towards both current and prospective 8th grade students/families considering D’Evelyn for 9th grade
• January 9, 2019 

 
D’Evelyn offers a unique academic program to all of its students, a program based in a liberal arts curriculum with high academic and behavioral expectations for all of our students.  The school is based on the belief that all students can succeed in a challenging environment, where consistently high expectations are maintained. We specialize in offering a rigorous liberal arts academic program to all of our students.  As a liberal arts junior/senior high school, our focus is different from our surrounding comprehensive neighborhood junior and senior high programs. Because of this contrast, it is important for parents/families to know, understand, and embrace this philosophy before enrolling their child(ren) at D’Evelyn.

I encourage all D’Evelyn families to stay up-to-date with reminders and updates about the Enroll Jeffco system this year.  The enrollment program is only in its 2nd year of usage, and as a result, we know that there will be frequent reminders and updates for our families.  Please stay tuned for forthcoming updates regarding EnrollJeffco. If you have questions about the D’Evelyn enrollment process, please visit our Enrollment webpage, or contact our Registrar, Kathy Hays, at 303-982-6128 or Kathy.Hays@jeffco.k12.co.us. 

​I hope that D’Evelyn students and families enjoyed the four-day break last weekend. We have just three weeks of school before the Thanksgiving Break. I look forward to the many great achievements our students reach in the upcoming weeks, both inside and outside the classroom.

Given the recent weather in the Denver metro area, it is important that D’Evelyn students, teachers, staff, and families understand our protocols in response to adverse weather conditions.  There are three basic modifications that D’Evelyn may follow in the event of inclement weather:

• 15-minute delayed schedule
• 2-hour delayed schedule (along with Jeffco Schools)
• School cancellation (along with Jeffco Schools)

D’Evelyn follows Jeffco Public Schools decision-making regarding 2-hour delays and school cancellations in weather-related incidents.  Jeffco Schools communicates decisions on these cancellations via their School Messenger system to families/staff, their website, and their official social media platforms.  Additionally, local media stations like CBS4, Denver 7, and 9News (among others) work to broadcast this information to the community.  

In the past few days, we have received questions from our community members regarding where D’Evelyn fits in the district decision-making.  D’Evelyn does and will continue to follow all district decisions on school delays and cancellations. 

In addition to the district decisions on 2-hour delay and school cancellation, D’Evelyn maintains its own 15-minute delay protocol.  This is decided by the D’Evelyn administration, generally around 7:15 am, on days with inclement weather when the district is on a regular start.  The purpose of the 15-minute delay is to help provide relief in the case that a large number of students are running late due to weather conditions.  We do not announce this delay publicly but do share the information with students and teachers in the building.  

In the event of inclement weather, our school district personnel have a thorough and thoughtful process for deciding about whether school should be delayed or cancelled, or whether we should follow a regular start.  These important decisions are made in consideration of over 80,000 students and their families across the broad geographic area of Jefferson County.  

In a broadcast to the nation about rubber manufacturing capacity in 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt remarked, “there are as many opinions as there are experts.”  I was disappointed and disheartened to hear about the significant negative feedback towards the school district regarding the use of the 2-hour delay protocol on Wednesday, October 30th.  However, upon reflection, I even found myself playing the role of “weather expert” late Tuesday night as I waited to hear if we would have school, have a delayed start, or have school cancelled on Wednesday.  

It is my understanding that on Wednesday, many Jeffco families and students provided negative, and at times nasty, feedback to district officials, particularly via social media.  It is my hope that going forward, D’Evelyn students and families will be able to accept and support the difficult decisions made by our school district during inclement weather, while providing respectful, constructive feedback at the appropriate time.  Please keep in mind - families that wish to keep their students at home due to inclement weather may do so, and the absence will be excused.

From a D’Evelyn perspective, the 2-hour delay was the perfect solution to the inclement weather situation that we faced Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.  It allowed for traffic to reduce and roads to clear so that students and families could get to school safely.  It also allowed our teachers to work with students in all 6 classes with reduced class periods throughout the course of the day - we did not lose a day of instruction or the opportunity to help our students learn and grow on Wednesday.  I am grateful that the district created a 2-hour delay protocol and that we were able to implement it smoothly in its first usage.  I also appreciate the efforts of students, teachers, and families to make the 2-hour delay work so well on Wednesday.  

As Coloradoans, we are familiar with quickly changing weather conditions and significant snow storms throughout the fall, winter, and spring.  Over the course of this school year and beyond, there will most certainly be days where school is either delayed or cancelled.  It is my request of the entire D’Evelyn community that we remain positive and respectful in how we respond to district-level decisions regarding school during inclement weather. 
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Thank you for your continued support of your child(ren) and our school.  

We are excited to host our second annual Veterans Day assembly on Monday, November 11th, starting at noon at D’Evelyn.  On behalf of the D’Evelyn students, faculty, staff, and administration, I invite D’Evelyn parents, family members, and friends that have military experience from our school community to attend this assembly.  It will be hosted in the D’Evelyn Main Gym.  Please extend an invitation to veterans among your family and friends.  In order to start our assembly on time, we ask that our veteran guests arrive at D’Evelyn by 11:30 am on the day of the event, so that they may check in at the D’Evelyn Main Office and get settled in the gym prior to our assembly.  We will also have a luncheon for veterans after the assembly.

​The D’Evelyn Founding Document calls for an emphasis on patriotism among students, staff, and parents.  The Veterans Day assembly is one way that we can honor the veterans of our school community while helping our students deepen their appreciation of our great nation, and the men and women that have dedicated their lives to protect it.  As a community, we are honored to have the opportunity to recognize the dedicated veterans of the American armed forces.  We hope to see a great turnout of veterans at our assembly - thank you to our students, parents, and families for sharing this invitation with interested veterans.