Some Douglas County School District (DCSD) students will be starting at new schools Monday following recent consolidations.
The DCSD Board of Education unanimously voted last year to consolidate six Highlands Ranch elementary schools starting in the 2026-2027 school year.
At the time, board members acknowledged the consolidation was one of the most difficult decisions they had faced. Ultimately, they cited unequal growth across Douglas County as the reason. Communities like Sterling Ranch are booming, as families with young children move to areas other than Highlands Ranch.
Acres Green and Fox Creek combined into the Fox Creek building and are now Silver Spruce Elementary.
Saddle Ranch and Eldorado combined into the Eldorado building and are now Golden Ridge Elementary.
Heritage and Summit View combined into the Summit View building and are now Mountain Peak Elementary.
The Saddle Ranch building will house the district's Child Find and Bridge programs, offering developmental assessments for children ages 3 to 5 at no charge. The Heritage building will become a homeschool enrichment program.
For families, that means more than just a new school name. They’re also adjusting to new bus routes, new schedules, and for some, new routines just to get their kids to class each day.
“All three of my kids attended Acres Green Elementary, which we could see from our front yard. Our school was completely closed down. They are at a different location, which is only about 10 to 15 minutes away,” Acres Green Elementary parent Alyssa Williams said.
Douglas County School District parent Alyssa Williams said Acres Green Elementary was a community for not just her kids but so many others.
“My son was the last sixth grade graduating class because they're also moving sixth grade to middle school this year as well. My twins were in kindergarten last year, and now they are going to what was Fox Creek, but is now Silver Spruce Elementary,” Williams said.
Parents from the former Acres Green Elementary told Denver7 they were told they wouldn’t see rolling bus cancellations and wouldn’t have to pay for transportation this school year. Denver7 took their concerns straight to the district for answers.
The district said there will always be a bus route available, but individual routes can still be canceled as part of its rolling cancellation schedule.
“Bus routes that service Silver Spruce Elementary will be part of rolling bus route cancellations but never all at the same time. So when one of those routes is canceled, others will run as normal so families are welcome to drop their children off at the bus stop at Acres Green to access transportation to Silver Spruce,” Douglas County School District public information officer Paula Hans said.
Rolling bus cancellations have been taking place since the 2023-2024 school year due to a shortage of bus drivers.
“At that time, we surveyed our families about possible solutions. 80% of families who responded to the survey said they would prefer scheduled rolling cancellations vs. sporadic cancellations with little advance notice,” Hans said.
The district also said a billing glitch caused some families to be charged and are actively working to resolve the issue.
“Acres Green families who are now part of the Silver Spruce family will not be charged for bussing for the 2026-2027 school year,” Hans added.
During the consolidation process, the district told Denver7, no staff members were laid off.
“Any staff member in an ongoing position affected by the school pairing process, who was interested in continuing their employment with DCSD, was offered a commensurate position within the district," the district said.
For parents, finding new ways to bring their child to a new school isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a concern for some already stretched thin.
“Kids might be missing school or going in super late. Some parents work multiple jobs, or both parents work just to make ends meet. These little things may not seem like a big deal to somebody at the district, but it's a huge deal to some of these small families that are barely getting by with the economy we're in right now,” Williams said.
The district said it's added six bus routes to help those affected by these consolidations in Highlands Ranch and are continuing to hire drivers.
“While we’ve made significant progress, some routes have to remain on the rolling cancellation schedule for at least the first part of this school year,” Hans said.
Families will get an updated cancellation schedule in October.
