The two main ways I would describe Sky Vista Middle school to another parent are "lack of information provided" and "uncooperative". E-mails to the teachers and principal to try to get information about a graded test often are unwelcome.
Here's the problem: You can never see your student's graded work. Graded or corrected work is almost never sent home and tests are never sent home. Teachers will tell you to check Cherry Creek's computer website for parents, mycherrycreek to see grades. Well, yes, you can see grades, but you can never, never, ever see the actual test or written assignment, just a number grade and maybe, if you're lucky, a written description of the assignment. Imagine trying to help your kid on a test or written assignment, when you can never see what your kid did.
With respect to the math program, expect nothing but hostility and resistance from Sky Vista teachers. An extremely deferential and polite e-mail from a parent asking to see a graded test or asking what a student is having trouble with is usually met with hostility, obfuscation and a lack of information. It took six e-mails on one occassion to find out information about a graded math test and the last 3 of the six had to be copied to the principal, assistant school superintendent and school board. The school does not believe in having students use text books for 6th and seventh grade math, so you can't see what your kid is working on. You can never see math tests because the school wants to reuse the identical test next year, instead of writing a new one. and tests are never sent home.
My son has never written a book report, a report on a topic for social studies science or any other class from 1st grade through 8th grade. He had his first essay in three years in 8th grade, but when I wanted to look at it, you cant. It's not on schoology or power school or any where else on mycherrycreek. It might as well be burning in a pot bellied stove in the principals office to save on the power bill.
Writing to the old principal or the current principal as of 2016 is an exercise in futility. You won't get information, just statements that Teacher Smith is a good teacher, even though you can't see any graded work graded by Teacher Smith. That kind of response serves the teachers' union well, but is completely useless for a parent, which is a great summary of Sky Vista and the Cherry Creek School District- it serves the teachers' union well, but not the parents. The "1-4" grading system in the elementary schools is terrible if you want to know whether your student;s passing work is at grade "C" level or grade "A" level, and again, specific requests to teachers and principals is met with lack of knowledge, lack of information and obfuscation, if not occassionally with dishonesty, like "federal law prohibits us from grading elementary students' work with letter grades". Baloney.
There are few if any club activities at Sky Vista, no student newspaper, and few sports to participate in. Rumor around town is that, in spite of self-congratulatory e-mails from the school district about how great Cherry Creek School District is, Cherry Creek has been in decline and that the teachers and administrators are much more welcoming, interested and responsive in the Littleton District. That's not saying much, since you are essentially starting with an unwelcoming, uninterested, hostile and unresponsive school district in Cherry Creek to compare Littleton with, but anything is better than nothing, right? read more