Cherry Creek Elevation

Cherry Creek Elevation is a small public school in Centennial, Colorado, serving 248 students in grades 6–12 within Cherry Creek School District No. 5, a district ranked in the top quarter of Colorado districts. With a student-teacher ratio of just 7.5-to-1, this is a highly personalized learning environment compared to nearby comprehensive high schools like Grandview High School, Smoky Hill High School, and Chaparral High School, which all have ratios above 19-to-1.

The school's defining strength is graduation. The 97.0% graduation rate outpaces the district (91.6%), the state (85.6%), and nearby schools including Smoky Hill High School (88.1%) and Grandview High School (95.3%). Dropout rates are also very low at 0.7%. Among similar small alternative schools, Cherry Creek Elevation stands out dramatically: Endeavor Academy, less than a mile away, has a 60.1% graduation rate and 65.7% chronic absenteeism, while Cherry Creek Elevation's absenteeism rate is 27.8%. Academically, the picture is more mixed. Literacy performance has been strong at times — 9th graders scored 86% proficient on PSAT Reading/Writing versus 74% districtwide — but CMAS English Language Arts scores dropped sharply from 57.9% to 26.1% in one year. Math remains a persistent challenge, with CMAS Math proficiency hovering between 22% and 30% over four years, below district and state averages.

The sharp rise in chronic absenteeism (from 15.8% to 27.8% in one year) and a significant decline in state ranking from the 90th to 68th percentile are worth monitoring. However, given the small enrollment, test scores can swing dramatically from year to year simply based on which students are tested. For parents, the key takeaway is that Cherry Creek Elevation offers an unusually supportive, small-school environment with an exceptional track record of getting students to graduation, though families should ask about math instruction and attendance trends.