The top reported proficiency rate is 19% in Math. The lowest is 12% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Center for Talent Development at Greenlee
The Center for Talent Development at Greenlee is a Denver public elementary school serving preschool through fifth grade. Its name may suggest an accelerated or selective focus, but the school is classified as a regular public school, and its magnet or choice status is not recorded in the data. It sits within the Denver Public Schools system, the largest district in Colorado, which covers the entire city and county of Denver. Enrollment is moderate for a PK‑5 school, and the student body is diverse. A substantial share of students come from Hispanic backgrounds, with Black students making up the next largest group, followed by White students, and smaller shares of Asian, multiracial, and Native American students. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced‑price meals, indicating that the school serves a population with widespread economic need. Data on students receiving special education services or English learner supports was not available in the data provided.
Academically, state testing results place the school well below the typical range for elementary schools in Denver County. On the most recent Colorado Measures of Academic Success assessments, the share of students scoring proficient or above in both math and English language arts was modest, and science scores in fifth grade followed a similar pattern. When compared to other schools in Denver County using an overall proficiency index that averages performance across tested subjects, the Center for Talent Development at Greenlee falls in the bottom quartile. In fact, its proficiency index is lower than the lowest value recorded among the county schools that had comparable data. This is a straightforward signal for families to investigate further: a parent may want to ask about the school’s instructional approach, interventions, and how the school supports students who arrive below grade level. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and chronic absenteeism data was also missing.
The school is located in Denver, a major city that functions as Colorado’s capital and the economic hub of the Rocky Mountain region. The local economy is diverse, anchored by telecommunications, aerospace, financial services, health care, and tourism. The city has many parks, a downtown cultural district, and professional sports teams, but the neighborhood immediately around the school is not described in the data. Housing in the area is relatively expensive. Median home values and rents are near the state average and well above the national median, though home prices have softened recently. The typical monthly mortgage payment is estimated to be higher than the typical rent, and the rent‑to‑income ratio suggests that housing costs absorb a reasonable but not trivial share of a median household’s income. For families considering moving to the attendance zone, this context matters: entry‑level homes are not cheap here.
Parents considering this school may also want to factor in recent district‑wide changes. Denver Public Schools passed a major bond measure in 2024, the largest in district history, funding facility upgrades and new construction across the system. The district also adopted a new literacy curriculum for elementary grades starting in the 2023‑2024 school year, shifting to evidence‑based reading instruction. And for the 2024‑2025 year, Denver moved to a centralized “Unified Enrollment” system that changes how families apply to schools, including choice schools like magnets or charters. These changes could affect the instructional quality and facilities at Greenlee over time, but the data does not detail what specific improvements or curricula are in place at this school.
In short, the Center for Talent Development at Greenlee is an economically diverse Denver elementary school where most students qualify for meal assistance. Academic proficiency on state tests is low relative to other schools in Denver County, and the gap warrants a close look from families weighing their options. The school’s immediate neighborhood is part of a larger, expensive urban housing market, and the district has recently made large‑scale investments and policy shifts that may eventually reach the school.
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