Claire Lavezzorio is a reporter at KMGH Denver7 in Denver, Colorado.
Douglas County Schools broke ground Wednesday on Elementary School 50 in Lone Tree 's RidgeGate Development, addressing the needs of a rapidly growing area on the east side of Interstate 25.The new school is set to open next fall, serving 750 students in grades pre-K through 5th grade.
Wes Olis, a father of two young boys, has been watching the development unfold around his neighborhood.'The construction, the school, everything that's coming up here…this is the side to be on now,' Olis said. For families like his, the new school addresses the current gap in neighborhood amenities.The school construction became possible after voters passed a bond in 2024 that allowed the district to build two new schools, with Elementary School 50 being one of them.Superintendent Erin Kane explained that the growth in Lone Tree contrasts with enrollment trends in other parts of Douglas County.'We have the right number of schools... in all the wrong places,' Kane said during the groundbreaking ceremony.That challenge led the Douglas County School Board to vote last April to consolidate six Highlands Ranch elementary schools into three, addressing declining enrollment in that aging part of the county.But back in Lone Tree, Kane said Elementary School 50 represents the district's solution for growing areas experiencing the opposite problem.'We can avoid having kids on buses for long periods of times to go to other communities,' Kane said.For families in the RidgeGate development, the school means convenience and connection to their neighborhood.'Having something locally, having something close, now the bus stop doesn't have to be where you pick them up from, it's actually where they go home to,' Olis said.
Douglas County Schools Elementary School 50 Highlands Ranch School Consolidations Lone Tree Lyric Community Ridgegate Development Superintendent Erin Kane New Elementary School School Closings Douglas County
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