Fairview Elementary School

A Caring Community for Learning in an Urban Setting

Location: 2715 W. 11th Avenue, Denver CO

Principal: Norma Giron

Background

Located in the Sun Valley neighborhood, Fairview Elementary is an urban school of high diversity and many cultures. Much more than a place where children come for education, Fairview is a happy, safe place where parents, teachers, students and others from the community converge to learn and grow. Many of the children who attend Fairview are second or even third generation Fairview learners.

Fairview benefits from relationships with a number of community partners such as the Piton Foundation that funds extended day services for early childhood students through the school’s Early Excellence Program. The Toyota Family Literacy ESL program helps integrate the community’s parents into the learning programs available at the school. The schools’ prize-winning community garden encourages families and students to grow their own fruit and vegetables. The garden recently yielded enough produce to supply a farmers’ market in the fall. This garden is a fitting symbol of this small school community that is dedicated to learning, academic achievement and healthy lifestyles.

Partnering to Prepare Urban Teachers in the P-16 Zone for Student Achievement

Fairview Elementary School is among a strand of feeder schools that make-up the Center for Urban Education’s (CUE) P-16 Zone for Student Achievement in northwest Denver. Currently, Metro State pre-service teachers conduct field experiences in the school. However, beginning in fall 2011, the school will serve as a host-site for elementary teacher preparation classes and provide residency support for pre-service teachers who have demonstrated their commitment to professionally serve the educational needs of children in high poverty schools as CUE Fellows.

School Community

Student Population: Fairview Elementary’s student body includes approximately 250 students. A total of 56.7 percent of these students are Hispanic, 27 percent Black, 9.5 percent Asian and 5.2 percent White. A large number of the Black population is comprised of newly immigrated students from the African nations of Somalia, Liberia, Libya and Uganda. The school has 56 students who qualify for ELL services and all teachers are ELL certified.

Staff: Fairview has two teachers per grade in the primary grades and one per grade in the intermediate grades. Ten Fairview teachers and the principals hold Master’s degrees. The average number of years in the teaching profession is 9.7 and the average number of years at Fairview is five.

Parents/Families/Community: Fairview Elementary School serves the Sun Valley neighborhood that includes many families who have lived in the area for generations. The neighborhood offers three early childhood programs that feed into Fairview. Fairview offers two Ed Center programs that have been instrumental in attracting 32 non-resident students to enroll at Fairview.