Sad is the word students and teachers often use to describe the coming closure of Foothills Academy in Wheat Ridge.
Staff, students and parents were alerted to the closure to come right before winter break because it was important to give everyone time to make plans, Interim Head of School Diane Dunne said.
She first came to the pre-K to 12th grade school at 4725 Miller St. to enroll her son, who is now in engineering graduate school. She then taught elementary grades and migrated to upper grades and administration.
She remembers walking in that first day and thinking she had “found a home.” She said “home” describes the visceral effect of the campus.
“I think we all found a home, and I think that is why the loss is so significant,” Dunne said.
One building is part of a farmhouse built in 1918, and the five or so light earth-tone-colored campus buildings have a welcoming residential feel with playground equipment here and there.
But it was in part the cost of a building with science classrooms built in 2002 that she said slowly stressed the school’s finances. The school thrived in 2004 and 2005 with enrollments reaching about 250 students, but then there was a steady decline in the recent sluggish economy that reduced enrollment to the current 100 students, with eight students in the senior class.
Dunne said the school had hoped to attract a stronger high school enrollment with the new building.
Mitchell Friermood is a senior doing his final project and will be attending Colorado State University in the fall
“It’s kind of sad for the class … but it’s sad for other kids who won’t get the experience to attend,” Friermood said.
Zoe Hudson, who will also attend CSU, said it’s sad to lose a program “that should spread to other schools.”
Erik Wypiszymski, who will attend Red Rocks Community College, said he did not like school before attending Foothills but thrived in the program.
Dunne said the school has always had a strong emphasis on outings. This experiential learning with strong academics and arts has defined the school, which opened in 1984 and followed an organic model directed by the founding board rather than an existing model.
In addition to the economy, she said the school might have also been affected by marketing with a lack of buzzwords, such as “Core Knowledge,” as well as the presence of public school charter schools that provide suitable options for parents without the cost of a private school.
“There is so much emphasis on test scores and standards, and I am not sure (some schools) measure real understanding,” said Dunne, noting the teachers at the school encourage students to ask questions and seek depth in understanding.
The Mountain Phoenix Community School is in the process of acquiring the campus and will provide “a Waldorf-inspired, arts-infused, experiential education,” according to a recent release from the school.
Dunne said the school had its last fundraiser, “The Last Dragon Night,” on Saturday. The night featured a strong turnout with more than 200 people, representing people who have been involved in the school past and present, Dunne said.
She said there will be a final open house Sunday, May 1, to allow people who have been involved with the school to see the campus one last time and say goodbye.
“It was a very good place and a loss to the community,” said art teacher Lynn Reitmeyer, who has taught there 23 years.