Westgate Community School

Really disappointed in our experience at Westgate. We found the students to be unwelcoming to new students, extremely immature. We experienced bullying, classes mates who did not respect personal boundaries or informed consent. We also experienced teachers who did not have a mastery in what they are teaching. The singular HS science teacher for instance teaches, earth science, biology, chemistry, environmental science and forensic science. How can she possibly have a high understanding all of these extremely different subjects? The answer is she can’t and it shows. The school lunches are awful. They are basically TV dinners that are soggy and unappetizing.
We feel as though we were highly misled when we toured the school. They are great marketers but have little follow through. Looking forward to a fresh start somewhere else next fall.

I’ll start by saying that writing this review has taken a lot of thought. I’m not in the habit of reviewing on-line, but, I think this is very important for parents who may be considering Westgate.

Headline first, the executive director and the dean demonstrated to me that are simply not capable of supporting the needs of kids with a 504, IEP or any unique learning profile. Moreover, although they always have time to promote the school and any positive recognition that they can get, they just won’t have tough conversations about parent and student engagement.

There was some good stuff to mention. The teachers get one extra star for being nice, dedicated and energetic. In fact, I was 100 sold on the school during my campus visits and the shadow day. Just like anywhere, some teachers are stronger than others, but, I think that most tried hard and my child did fine in class.

The really big problem with Westgate is that the actions of the administration don’t support any type of authentic partnership and communication with students and families. Everything seems fine and first glance (and they certainly talk a good talk), but, if a 504, IEP, or a social challenge exists, then the school dean, executive director and staff just can’t handle the challenge. They make A LOT of excuses and they always focus more on ways to protect their reputation and public image than on the kids well being.

In other words, I found the school leadership to be so focused on their own status that they isolate parents and students from conversations that don’t reflect the perfect image that they want to promote. To put it bluntly, my child’s learning profile was absolutely neglected. They are quick to ask for cheerleaders from the community and they never accepted any crucial conversations.

Like some of you who are reading this, I simply wanted an environment in which my child could thrive. I was expecting open and honest communication and instead I actually even felt bullied by the dean and executive director (and so did my child). Crazy, right?!?

Having the privilege of seeing first hand what great leadership at Adams 12 can look like at another school, there is no way I could ever trust Westgate to care for anyone important to me.

In short, my reflection is that the actions of the administration are ironic in the face of their stated school values, frustrating to me as a parent and extremely sad in he context to my child’s experience.

Some great individuals teachers at this school. Unfortunately to many of the good teachers keep leaving. Future parents...ask about staff turnover. Many of their departures were due to issues with the school management. I live in Broomfield and have run across a few of the ex-teachers club. Needless to say their inside perspective was interesting, but not surprising. I've been going to the school meetings for several years now and its easy to see that although the top level management of the school wanted to do great things,they don't have a plan or the ability to achieve it. They may get there one day, but not in time for my child to get the education she deserves and needs to succeed in life. We aren't going back this year. I would only go to this school if I had no better option. Fortunately Broomfield has some very good local schools. If you really want to go the charter route, go to Stargate, Prospect Ridge, Hulstrom or STEM, not here!!!