Westminster Window

The greenhouse on the Westminster High campus will remain open in spite of cuts to the school’s horticulture pathway. Westminster Public Schools will eliminate three International Baccalaureate courses at Westminster High School next year, along with a horticulture pathway that serves about 21 students and the school's animal science program.

Westminster Academy for International Studies in Westminster, Colo. The Westminster Public Schools Board of Education voted 4-0 Tuesday to formally adopt its school consolidation plan, converting more than a year of community deliberation into binding policy. The vote makes official a phased restructuring that will close two campuses, move programs to new buildings and eliminate middle school grades at five schools through 2030.

Westminster Public Schools has blocked ChatGPT on school networks, joining Jeffco and Denver in directing students to Google Gemini instead. If your kid has tried to use ChatGPT at school lately, they may have hit a wall. Westminster Public Schools blocked the popular AI tool on district networks last month, joining Jeffco and Denver in restricting student access.

Westminster Public Schools will close two school buildings and create a unified PK-8 campus opening in 2028, district officials announced Nov. 4. The $40 million project, approved by voters in 2024, will combine John E. Flynn A Marzano Academy with Shaw Heights Middle School on a single campus. The district plans to reconstruct the Flynn building starting in 2026, adding high-tech classrooms, a regulation-size gymnasium and an outdoor learning complex.

Starting immediately, Jefferson County Public Schools juniors and seniors who maintain a 3.0 weighted GPA or higher are guaranteed admission to the University of Colorado Denver, with no application stress, no waiting for acceptance letters and no admission fees. The landmark agreement, signed Wednesday at Lakewood High School, creates what Jeffco officials are calling "CU Denver Direct," opening college doors for students in the Class of 2026 and beyond.

Westminster's current school board will serve together through 2027 after Dan Orecchio and Aaron Martin secured second terms without opposition. No other candidates filed to run, allowing the district to cancel this November's election as permitted by Colorado law. But that continuity comes as Westminster faces significant academic challenges.

David Maki's eyes light up when he talks about the kid who poked his head out from behind the bushes at a Westminster park one summer, nervous but hungry. "He says, you know, Mister, can I get something to eat? How much is it?" said Maki, Chartwells' director of culinary services for Westminster Public Schools. "It's free.

During summer break, 18 volunteers gathered in the library of Jefferson Jr./Sr. High School, armed with chart paper, sticky notes and a shared determination to save their school. For months, Jefferson County Public Schools had proposed shuttering the small seventh-through-12th-grade campus in Edgewater, citing declining enrollment and unsustainable costs. The district offered two alternatives: convert the building into a career-focused academy or a part-time technical education center.

Jane Reuter jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com The district attorney this week dropped charges against a Thornton man accused of violating a protection order that required him to stay clear of Mayor Jan Kulmann.