Original Research by School Decision on Hinkley High School
Hinkley High School is a large, regular public high school in Aurora, serving ninth through twelfth grades. It is part of the Aurora Joint District No. 28. The school’s student body is large for a high school of its grade range.
The student population is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial share of students who are Black, and small shares of students who are Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, White, American Indian or Alaska Native, and of two or more races. A large majority of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on the share of students with an Individualized Education Program and the share who are English learners was not available in the source material.
State assessment results for Hinkley High School were not available in the data provided. Similarly, a four-year graduation rate was not reported. Because these standard academic performance metrics are absent, the data does not support a characterisation of the school’s academic attainment or its rate of completing students on time. A parent should look into this further with the school directly to understand student performance on state tests and the high school completion rate. The same gap applies to the chronic absenteeism rate. Because the comparison set for the county’s districts relies on these three metrics — proficiency index, four-year graduation rate, and chronic absenteeism rate — and none are available for this school, it was not possible to position Hinkley High School relative to other districts in Arapahoe County.
Program offerings, such as course access, career and technical education pathways, or Advanced Placement courses, were not detailed in the source material.
Hinkley High School sits in Aurora, the third-largest city in Colorado, a sprawling suburban city composed of hundreds of subdivisions, master-planned communities, and commercial centers. The built environment is predominantly car-dependent, though the city is served by RTD light rail lines and feeder buses. Civic life is distributed across the city’s large footprint, anchored by the Anschutz Medical Campus, Buckley Space Force Base, and the Aurora Municipal Center. Major employers include Buckley Space Force Base, the Anschutz Medical Campus, University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora Public Schools, Cherry Creek Schools, and the City of Aurora. Aurora was one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. in the late 1970s and 1980s, and growth continues, particularly in areas near Denver International Airport and around the Anschutz Medical Campus.
The housing market in the area around the school shows home values that are lower than the state benchmark but higher than the national benchmark, with values having declined on a year-over-year basis. Rents are in line with what one would expect to see nationally, and the cost of renting is more affordable than the cost of buying a home when comparing a typical monthly mortgage payment to a typical rent. The area falls within Arapahoe County.
The district that operates Hinkley High School has recently taken actions that affect the educational landscape. In a recent election, voters approved a bond measure that funds facility improvements, safety upgrades, and school modernization across Aurora Public Schools. The district has also undertaken a school consolidation and repurposing process, which involves closing or repurposing underutilized school buildings. This restructuring directly impacts school assignments, feeder patterns, and campus availability for families. These district-wide changes represent lasting shifts in the district’s physical footprint and are relevant for any family considering the school.
See more original research from School Decision →