I say pretty normal, the central mountains where most of my favorite ski resorts are located, have been hurting for some fresh powder.  They’ve gotten a little again this week, but by this time of year, the base should be in the 50 inch range, and while some resorts have it, many do not.

  This week was a little busy. I showed quite a few houses in the $350 – $450k price range. The selection is pretty good in this range, though I was surprised there weren’t more builder ‘spec homes’ available. Several had sold just recently, so this segment may be picking up a bit. Generally, homes for sale in Colorado Springs in this price range are going to have some pretty nice amenities, such as granite countertops, nice lots in good areas, and will range from 3000 to 4,500 square feet. Most of the homes we looked at were in the Monument and northern Colorado Springs areas (Briargate, Northgate), as the client was most interested in D38 and D20 schools, and larger lot sizes.

 Here is a brief summary:

I will admit that I am into the numbers a bit. The state average is 70% of 3rd graders are proficient readers. All of the area’s main districts were at or above the state average, except Harrison, D2, which was only 59% reading proficient. That means in a class of 25 3rd graders, roughly 10 kids were not proficient readers. That compares with D20, 12 or 38 where the proficiency levels are all around 87- 90% where only 2 or 3 kids would not be proficient readers.
In the larger districts, what is striking, is how much disparity can exist between schools. District 11 (Colorado Springs) has schools ranging from 95% proficient (way to go Madison, huge jump!) to a low of Rogers Elementary school at only 51%. D11 had 12 schools with proficiency above 80%! Harrison D2 saw a high of 85% at Wildflower Elementary, and low of 25% at Monterey Elementary (a huge drop from last year). Interestingly enough, there were only 3 schools above the state average in D2, and 5 that were at or below 50%.
A good friend of ours, Jim Kretchman (who is considered with his wife Mary the co- founder of the Classical Academy in D20 and founders of Preschool Partners) is fond of saying something along the lines of “there is really no such thing as ‘the best’ school, only ‘the best’ school for your child”. I guess the same can be said about school districts.