Adams 14 students kick off the 2024-2025 school year for the Denver metro area

Students in the Adams County School District 14 returned to class Monday. It’s the first district in the Denver metro area to start the 2024-2025 school year.

There are a few changes this year, most notably for sixth graders. Starting this school year, sixth grade will remain a part of elementary school. The district’s two middle schools will be seventh and eighth grades only.

Next year, Kearney Middle School and Adams City Middle School will merge into one school. This year’s sixth graders will get to participate in naming the new school.

Superintendent Dr. Karla Loría spoke to Denver7's Nicole Brady about the district's efforts to support students and families, beyond academics alone

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“Many of our students come from poverty, and so we want to make sure that they feel comfortable that they are healthy, that we engage the community,” Dr. Loría said.

For several years, the Colorado State Board of Education has been monitoring Adams 14 for improvements . As recently as 2022, the district faced the possibility of losing its accreditation, which would have been a first for a Colorado school district.

Adams 14 is a district of under 6,000 students — a large number of whom are English language learners. Data shows it continues to lag behind other metro districts when it comes to standardized reading and math scores. Dr. Loría said the district continues working to improve academic performance.

“We appreciate accountability, so this is not about being against the test scores, it is about really ensuring that people understand our students are more than a score,” Dr. Loría said.

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In May, the Colorado State Board of Education voted 8 to 1 to allow the district to continue its work. The district has made changes, including adding career academies to the flagship Adams City High School to allow students to learn skills that could lead to jobs. Adams 14 also recently received accreditation by the national non-profit Cognia, which recognizes school districts for meeting certain standards.

Another new addition this year, the district received an EPA grant to add 14 electric buses to its fleet. Operations director Dr. Josh Cochran said this will help mitigate environmental impacts in Commerce City, which has struggled with pollution from the Suncor plant. The district transports 60% of its students each day.