Best Public Schools in Zip Code 80112

Zip code 80112 in Centennial/Englewood, Colorado is served by 15 schools spanning elementary through high school — 5 elementary, 1 middle, 7 high schools, and 2 alternative programs — enrolling 8,655 students across five districts. The two alternative schools, Colorado Connections @ 27J and Colorado Summit Connections Academy, enroll 38% of all students in the area, making 80112 a hub for online education. The median enrollment is 404 students, though large virtual programs push the average to 577. Cherry Creek School District No. 5 serves the most schools with 8.

The strongest academic performers are Homestead Elementary School, Willow Creek Elementary School, and Dry Creek Elementary School, all with ELA proficiency above 70% and chronic absenteeism below 8%. At the high school level, Colorado Early Colleges Douglas County ranks in the 91st percentile of Colorado high schools with an 88.7% graduation rate and 57% SAT Math proficiency. For graduation rates, eDCSD and Cherry Creek Elevation both report 97.0%, though eDCSD is a tiny online school with just 61 students. The area's biggest challenges are concentrated in online and alternative programs: Endeavor Academy has a 65.7% chronic absenteeism rate and 60.1% graduation rate, while Hope Online Learning Academy County-Op has 69.32% free/reduced lunch eligibility and only 18% SAT Reading/Writing proficiency. Red Hawk Ridge Elementary School is the clear outlier among traditional elementaries, with 29.4% math proficiency and 38.0% chronic absenteeism.

District affiliation does not predict performance. Hope Online Learning Academy County-Op sits within the highly rated Douglas County School District No. Re 1, yet ranks in the 1st percentile statewide, while Colorado Early Colleges Douglas County belongs to the State Charter School Institute but earns 5 stars. Schools with lower poverty and attendance challenges consistently outperform those serving higher-need populations. An unusual finding: Homestead Elementary's science proficiency dropped from 61.1% to 34.7% in one year despite leading the area in ELA and math. Some schools, including Colorado Skies Academy and Marvin W Foote Youth Services Center, have little public performance data, and eDCSD lacks current test scores despite its strong graduation rate.