The top reported proficiency rate is 18% in English language arts. The lowest is 10% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Kepner Beacon Middle School
Kepner Beacon Middle School serves grades six through eight in southwest Denver as a regular public school in Denver Public Schools, the city’s single unified district. The school’s enrollment is small for a middle school and its student body is almost entirely Hispanic and low-income, with a very large share qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school is not a charter or magnet; it is a traditional neighborhood school on a side street of Hazel Court, within a residential area of Denver’s 80219 zip code.
The performance picture on state assessments is a serious soft spot. In the most recent testing year, the share of students scoring proficient or above was in the low double digits in reading, and in the low double digits in math. Science proficiency was similarly in the low double digits. Participation rates were high, above nine out of ten tested, so the results reflect near-universal student participation rather than a selective testing group. When placed against other districts in Denver County, the school’s overall proficiency index fell in the bottom quartile of the comparison set. A parent considering this school would want to ask the administration directly about what academic interventions, curricula, and support structures are in place to address these attainment levels.
The zip code’s housing market is a relevant factor for families looking at this area. Home values are below the state average, and the market has seen a decline in the past year. Rents are also below the state average and have softened. The affordability picture is moderately strained: monthly mortgage costs on a typical home are well above the median rent, and the price-to-income ratio is elevated, meaning homeownership is priced out of reach for many local households. For a family that already lives in the neighborhood, this school is the default middle school. For a family considering moving into the boundary, the lower housing costs relative to Denver’s more expensive neighborhoods may be a draw, but they should weigh that against the academic data.
Denver Public Schools as a district has been in motion on several fronts that shape the context this school operates in. Voters approved the largest bond measure in district history in 2024, funding facility improvements and new construction across the system. A previous mill levy override passed in 2022 focused on teacher pay and expanded mental health supports. The district also moved to a unified enrollment system for school choice starting in the 2024-2025 school year, changing how families apply to schools. A literacy curriculum shift to science-of-reading-aligned instruction in elementary grades rolled out in 2023-2024, which may affect the reading readiness of students entering Kepner Beacon in coming years. These are district-wide changes; how they land at this particular school would be a natural question for a family to ask during a visit.
The school’s data does not include a graduation rate, which is expected because it serves only middle grades and does not graduate students. Information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, staffing ratios, and special education or English learner counts was not available in the data used for this account. A parent should request those figures directly from the school.
Denver itself is a major consolidated city-county and state capital, functioning as the principal commercial and transportation hub for the Rocky Mountain West. The economy is diverse, spanning telecommunications, aerospace, software, financial services, health care, and tourism, with eight Fortune companies headquartered in the city. The downtown core holds the State Capitol, cultural institutions, and a concentration of civic anchors. The University of Denver sits on a separate campus south of downtown. The present-day metropolitan area has experienced sustained population growth and suburban expansion along the Front Range, forming a nearly continuous built-up corridor. Public schools are distributed across the city’s neighborhoods rather than clustered in a single center, and this school sits in a southwest residential area within that broader urban fabric.
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