High Schools in School District No. 1

School District No. 1 in Denver is home to 54 high schools serving roughly 28,500 students, from large comprehensive neighborhood campuses with over 2,000 students to small alternative programs with fewer than 100. The district as a whole ranks 71st out of 115 Colorado districts and carries a 2-star rating, but that middling average hides a deeply divided system: its best schools perform in the top 3% of the state, while its most challenged schools land near the very bottom.

At the top, Denver School of the Arts is the clear standout, ranking #11 statewide with a 96.6% graduation rate, 90% SAT Reading/Writing proficiency, and the district's lowest chronic absenteeism at 12.1%. Northfield High School holds the highest graduation rate in the district at 98.0%, while East High School, South High School, and DSST: Cedar High School also rank in the top 100 statewide. The DSST charter network forms a sturdy middle tier — DSST Conservatory Green, Montview, and Green Valley Ranch all post graduation rates above 94% while serving mostly low-income students. Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy is another small-school success, ranking #111 with a 95.7% graduation rate despite 68.5% free/reduced-lunch eligibility.

The other end of the spectrum is equally stark. Emily Griffith High School, Florence Crittenton High School, and Denver Justice High School all show graduation rates below 35%, dropout rates above 28%, and chronic absenteeism above 89%. District-wide chronic absenteeism runs 38.1% — nearly 10 points above the state average. A high graduation rate also doesn't guarantee academic readiness: Bruce Randolph School graduates 95.9% of students but only 6% test proficient in SAT math. This gap between getting students across the finish line and truly preparing them for college defines the district's biggest challenge — a deep concentration of poverty and low proficiency in its alternative and high-poverty comprehensive high schools.