High Schools in Westminster Public Schools

Westminster Public Schools is home to two high schools—Westminster High School (grades 9–12, 2,010 students) and Hidden Lake Secondary (grades 6–12, 340 students)—serving a high-poverty area where the district itself ranks in the bottom 20% of Colorado districts. The two schools present dramatically different pictures, with Westminster High School performing far better on nearly every measure despite facing similar economic challenges.

Westminster High School is the clear standout, graduating 90.0% of students—above the state average of 85.6%—and holding a dropout rate of just 1.4%, better than the state’s 1.6%. In contrast, Hidden Lake Secondary graduates only 44.0% of students and has a staggering 18.2% dropout rate, more than 11 times the state average. Chronic absenteeism is a crisis at both schools, affecting 46.1% of Westminster High students and 80.2% of Hidden Lake students, compared with 28.4% statewide. Academic proficiency is low everywhere: Westminster High’s SAT reading and writing proficiency is 40% versus the state’s 62%, while Hidden Lake sits at just 6%. Even with a smaller student-teacher ratio (17.8 vs. 23.5), Hidden Lake’s outcomes are far worse, suggesting the intensity of student needs and attendance issues matter more than class size alone.

Both schools serve predominantly low-income families—82% free/reduced lunch at Westminster High and 87.7% at Hidden Lake—but Westminster High still achieves much stronger results, showing that poverty does not fully determine outcomes. Ranking trends remain discouraging: Westminster High fell from the 14th percentile in 2022–23 to the 9th percentile in 2024–25, while Hidden Lake dropped from the 3rd percentile to the 0th. One positive sign is Westminster High’s PSAT 10 reading and writing proficiency improving from 34% to 40% in one year, while Hidden Lake declined. For parents, the key takeaway is that Westminster High School offers a much more stable and academically viable option, while Hidden Lake Secondary appears to serve students with significant challenges and is in urgent need of intervention around attendance and engagement. District leadership in Westminster Public Schools will need to address these deep disparities to improve outcomes for all students.