Summary:
Zip code 80216 in Denver, Colorado, contains three schools within School District No. 1: Garden Place Academy (PK–6), Swansea Elementary School (PK–5), and Colorado High School Charter - GES (9–12), serving a high-poverty area where nearly nine out of ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. School District No. 1 ranks 71st out of 115 districts in Colorado, and all three schools perform well below state averages. None stands out as high-performing; instead, each faces distinct and serious challenges.
Among the two elementary schools, Garden Place Academy ranks just ahead of Swansea Elementary School (870th vs. 871st out of 943 schools statewide). Garden Place posts the stronger English language arts proficiency in the area at 22.9%, far above Swansea's 14.6%, yet Swansea actually beats Garden Place in math, with 17.6% proficiency versus 13.6%. Both schools trail their district and state averages by roughly 20 to 30 percentage points. Chronic absenteeism is also a crisis-level issue at both: 42.9% at Garden Place and 48.0% at Swansea, compared with 28.4% statewide. With student-teacher ratios near 14 to one, class sizes are not the primary driver; poverty and attendance challenges appear to weigh heavily on outcomes.
The most severe warning signs come from Colorado High School Charter - GES. Its graduation rate is just 32.5% versus 85.6% statewide, its dropout rate of 19.2% is twelve times the state average, and two-thirds of its students are chronically absent. Only 30% of 11th graders are proficient in SAT reading/writing, compared with 62% statewide. Additionally, there is no middle school in the zip code, so students must leave the area for that transition. These schools have remained stably low-performing for years, indicating persistent structural challenges that require intensive support around attendance, family engagement, and academics.
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