The top reported proficiency rate is 24% in English language arts. The lowest is 14% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Soar at Green Valley Ranch
SOAR at Green Valley Ranch is a public charter elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in the Denver Public Schools system. It is located in the Green Valley Ranch neighborhood, a residential area on the eastern edge of Denver near Denver International Airport.
This is a school with a diverse student body. Hispanic students make up the largest share of the enrollment, with Black students also representing a substantial portion. Smaller populations of Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and white families are also present. A very large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the student population comes from households with modest economic resources.
On the Colorado Measures of Academic Success state assessments, the school's proficiency rates were well below the state and county averages. In math, a relatively small portion of students scored proficient or above. In English language arts, the share of students meeting the proficiency benchmark was higher than in math but still substantially below the typical levels seen in Denver County and across Colorado. Science proficiency, tested only in fifth grade, was the lowest of the three subjects. Compared to other schools in the county, overall academic performance placed this school in the bottom quartile. For a family considering this school, these are the central academic facts to weigh.
As a charter school, SOAR operates with some autonomy from the district while remaining a public school with no tuition. The school is part of the city of Denver, a major consolidated city-county and state capital with a diverse economy anchored in telecommunications, aerospace, financial services, healthcare, and tourism. Denver has experienced sustained population growth over the long term, and the city has a sprawling geography with extensive parks and a wide range of cultural amenities from the Denver Art Museum to the Denver Performing Arts Complex.
The Denver Public Schools district has been active on several fronts. In late 2024, voters approved a substantial bond measure, the largest in district history, for facility improvements, safety upgrades, and new construction across the district. The district has also shifted to a new literacy curriculum aligned with the science of reading, and a new unified enrollment system for school choice was launched in 2024. A mill levy override passed in 2022 is funding increased teacher pay and expanded mental health services. These district-level changes will affect SOAR as part of the broader system, but how they translate to this specific school will depend on implementation.
The school's enrollment is moderate for an elementary school. The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade, so there is no state testing data for high school subjects and no graduation rate because those metrics do not apply to this grade band. The student body is evenly distributed across grade levels. Data on special education identification rates and English learner status was not available, so a family may want to ask the school directly about how these populations are supported.
For a parent or guardian, this school presents a clear trade-off. It serves a diverse student community in a growing part of Denver, and it has the autonomy of a charter school. However, the state test results show that student proficiency in core subjects is well below what is typical for the area. A family placement here would want to investigate the school's instructional approach, what interventions are in place for students who are not meeting grade-level benchmarks, and how the school communicates academic progress to families. The school is part of a large district that is investing in infrastructure and curriculum, so the context is one of active change, but the present academic results are the primary signal to consider.
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