FAQs

At C3 we aim to keep class sizes between 25-28  students. There are two classrooms per grade for a total of 300-312 students in kindergarten through 5th grades.

C3 is an open-enrollment school with no entry requirements, which means anyone can enroll in C3 through the DPS SchoolChoice process. In the event there are more students interested than available spaces, the students who are matched with C3 will be determined by a lottery that takes into account C3’s enrollment priorities, including neighborhood, sibling, and NCLB priority. There is not a special application process to enroll in C3. First-round choice runs from the middle of January through the middle of February.

Priority Enrollment:

1. Children of Staff members
2. Siblings of current C3 students
3. Students that qualify for free and reduced lunch from the district OR whose school attendance boundary is a Priority Zone School: Ellis, Steele, Cory
4. Denver residence
5. Families outside of Denver

Discovery Link offers before and after school care at C3. If you are interested in registration information, please call the DPS Community Education Registration Office at (720) 424-8291. Discovery Link number at Creativity Challenge Community is 720-692-7981.

C3 also offers an Enrichment Program for after-school enrichment. This will be updated each quarter.

C3 infuses creative thinking, challenge, and collaboration with community partners into all aspects of learning. The school day begins and ends by highlighting this focus. We start every day with a classroom community meeting often incorporating a creativity or community experience that sparks our thinking.

The school day is divided into a morning block and an afternoon block, with two hours for literacy and two hours for math/science/social studies. Large blocks of time allow for creative-inquiry activities that help children solve problems and develop creative products by using their imagination and collaborating with other students.

The school day structure changes when students meet with community partners. Departing students head to their community partner’s location, such as the Denver Art Museum, Denver Botanic Gardens, or History Colorado to name a few. Teachers and community partners work together to connect curriculum to concepts of art, finance or theater. Students get to participate in real-life learning and develop a deep understanding of the knowledge and resources our partners possess.

C3 will continue to ensure that the needs of all learners are met. CTS allows teachers to differentiate more effectively. For instance, when preparing a literacy lesson, the teacher will plan for extensions to the lesson for those students who quickly master the standard and multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery of a standard, maybe one where students practice the standard using technology and another where students use art. Students identified to receive special education services and/or gifted and talented services will receive additional support through identified service providers. C3 teachers are happy to meet with parents individually to discuss how these services are specifically provided for your child.

Students will be assigned a home-teacher before the beginning of the school year. Room parents will be assigned for these groups. The focus on community at C3 ensures that all students are well-known by many teachers, not just their home-teacher of assignment. Students are grouped and regrouped throughout the week for morning meetings, field trips, and Curiosity Crews. This provides a chance for students to get to know all teachers and students outside of their home classroom. Parents’ primary contact will be the home-teacher, but parents should expect to receive communication signed by both grade-level teachers. Parents should also expect to send their communication to both teachers. C3 conferences will include both grade-level teachers. The two teachers at a grade level will be in constant communication and determine together if one or the other will reach out to a parent at any given point.

• Daily fluency and flexibility in thinking exercises
• Morning meetings in large group for creativity experiences
• Off-site experiences with creative businesses and organizations
• Product-based learning and other creative thinking experiences
• Tools and strategies to improve student’s creative thinking
• Blocks of time to work on creative product

DPS allocated the necessary funding to update the shared Merrill campus to accommodate and meet the needs of C3 and Merrill Middle School. We also share an updated cafeteria, library, and auditorium. Our PE teacher has the use of one of the gyms. C3 and Merrill enjoy the opportunity to learn and work with each other and have created what feels like a great K-8 school.

No. C3 is a new district-run performance school with innovation status granted by the state. C3 is also part of an Innovation Zone within DPS called the Learning Luminary Network.