Heritage Elementary to Summit View Elementary Pairing

District staff very much regrets that the October 23 meeting was inadvertently not recorded. The slide deck contains important information, as do the other school recordings, which contain some of the same information and answers to questions. If you have any questions, please reach out to your principal or Chief of Staff Steve Colella.

Additional resources from the meeting include:

• The slideshow presentation  

• Renderings of the building upgrades

• The school name, colors, and mascot survey

Traffic and Transportation: 

• Schools are in very close proximity (0.8 mile by car, 20 minute walk) with no major (4 lanes) roadways to traverse. Traffic mitigation recommendations are minor.
• One additional bus route will be needed for Heritage Elementary students to go to Summit View Elementary. With the boundary adjustment, there will likely be a reduction of one bus as students south of Wildcat Parkway can be addressed on existing routes.

Heritage Elementary Building Use: 

• The Heritage Elementary School building will be maintained and available for community use (playground, fields, etc.) in addition to housing school district programming, to be determined during school year 2025-2026.

Student Programming:

• Ensure the sustainability of full-time Specials teachers to support a well-rounded curriculum and expand Specials programming (e.g., STEM, instrumental music) based on community input and student needs.
• Maintain consistent student support services, including academic intervention and mental health resources.
• Integrate Significant Support Needs (SSN) programming to support students from both schools.
• Increase Special Education, English Language Development (ELD), and Gifted and Talented (GT) programming to better serve all students.
• Expand preschool programming from one to two classrooms to meet early childhood education demands.
• Before and After School Programming (BASE) will continue to be available.
• Summit View Elementary is currently an Expeditionary Learning (EL®) school; the newly paired community can evaluate specialized programming moving forward.

Leadership:

The following leadership changes are planned:

• George Boser, who currently serves as the Summit View Elementary principal, would become  the Growth and Decline Liaison to assist all of the elementary schools in Highlands Ranch through the consolidation process. He would also serve as a mentor/partner to all of the schools as the district works to transition sixth grade into middle school.
• Katie Lawson, who currently serves as the principal at Heritage Elementary, will serve as principal of the consolidated school, effective for the 2026-2027 school year.
• Marlo Franks, current assistant principal at Summit View Elementary, will assume the role of interim principal at Summit View for the 2025-2026 school year. 

Boundary Adjustment: 

• Homes south of East Wildcat Parkway (currently 102 students) will be assigned to Copper Mesa Elementary. Current Heritage Elementary families in this area have the option of moving to Summit View Elementary or enrolling in Copper Mesa Elementary.