Best Public Schools in Zip Code 80218

Zip code 80218 in Denver, Colorado contains four schools within School District No. 1 — Morey Middle School (grades 6–8), Dora Moore Ece-8 School (PK–8), Denver Center for 21st-Century Learning at Wyman (6–12), and Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design (9–12) — serving a combined 1,038 students in a district ranked 71st out of 115 Colorado districts with a 2-star rating. Families in this area have access to a mix of school types and grade configurations, but school performance varies enormously even within the same neighborhood.

Morey Middle School is the clear academic standout, ranking in the 98th percentile statewide for three straight years with a 5-star rating. Its proficiency rates are roughly double the district and state averages — 81.6% proficient in ELA and 76.0% in math — and its chronic absenteeism rate (20.3%) is well below the state average (28.4%). Just a few blocks away, Dora Moore Ece-8 School sits in the bottom quarter of state rankings with 1-star ratings, posting just 24.8% ELA and 22.7% math proficiency while serving a student population with more than double the poverty rate (65% FRL vs. 29% at Morey). Among high schools, Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design achieves an impressive 95.0% graduation rate, though its 8.9% dropout rate is notably high. Denver Center for 21st-Century Learning at Wyman faces the greatest challenges, with a 0th percentile state ranking, a 61.9% graduation rate, 86.7% FRL eligibility, and 57.2% chronic absenteeism.

Chronic absenteeism is a widespread concern — every school except Morey exceeds the district average of 38.1%. Dora Moore shows a troubling grade-level pattern, with ELA proficiency falling from 30.8% in 3rd grade to 19.4% in 4th grade. Both high schools offer attractive student-teacher ratios (8.5:1 at Innovation, 10.1:1 at Wyman), but Wyman's outcomes show that small classes alone can't overcome high poverty and absenteeism. For parents, the takeaway is clear: school choice matters enormously in 80218, where one of Colorado's best middle schools and several schools in the bottom quarter of state rankings share the same neighborhood.