Conifer High School

Conifer High School is a secondary school in Conifer, an unincorporated town located in the foothills of Jefferson County, southwest of Denver, Colorado, United States. The school is located about 20 minutes southwest of SH 470 and a short distance north of U.S. Highway 285.

Conifer High School
Conifer High School, view from US-285
Address
10441 County Highway 73

Conifer
,
Colorado
80433

United States
Coordinates39°31′40.53″N 105°19′0.99″W
Information
TypeComprehensive public high school
EstablishedAugust 19, 1996 (1996-08-19)[1]
Founded1996
School districtJefferson County Public Schools
NCES District ID0804800
SuperintendentJason Glass
NCES School ID080480001542
PrincipalWesley Paxton
Staff42.75 (FTE)[2]
Grades9–12
Enrollment857 (2018-19)[2]
Student to teacher ratio20.05[2]
Schedule typeBlock
Hours in school day7:35 AM – 2:35 PM
Campus size105 acres (42 ha)
Color(s)Forest green and silver         
Athletics3A/4A
Athletics conferenceJefferson County
SportsBaseball, basketball (men's and women's), cross country (men's and women's), football, golf (men's and women's), lacrosse (men's and women's), soccer (men's and women's), softball, swimming and diving (men's and women's), tennis (men's and women's), track (men's and women's), volleyball, wrestling
MascotLobo
Team nameLobos
RivalEvergreen High School (athletics)
Colorado Measures of Academic Success average
  • Math (2017) 84.2
  • English/Language Arts (2017) 84.6
  • Science (2017) 76.6
YearbookCanis Lupus
WebsiteSchool website

History

Conifer High School opened in the fall of 1996 to serve students in the southern portion of what had previously been Evergreen High School's matriculation area. The area encompasses a large part of southwestern Jefferson County, including the communities of Aspen Park, Buffalo Creek, Pine, and Pine Junction, as well as parts of southern Evergreen and southwestern Morrison.

The land for the school campus was acquired in a county action of eminent domain, which gives landowners the choice of either a county purchase of the land or condemning the property. One parcel was a picnic area named "Rancho Lobo;" when it came time to choose a mascot, the vote decided upon the Lobos.

The opening of the school coincided with changes in the divisions of secondary, junior high, and elementary schools for the district. This meant that the first year of students consisted of eleventh grade students who had attended Evergreen High School during the previous year, and two classes of "freshmen" in ninth and tenth grade students from West Jefferson Middle School. The first year had no senior class; the first graduating class was in 1998.

In September 2014, the school gained notoriety when many teachers called in sick in response to pending actions by the Jefferson County School District. These included possible censorship of the AP US History curriculum as well as a lack of transparency in a new performance-based pay system for teachers. The following week, students and teachers at several other Jefferson County Schools joined in vocal response to the district.[3]

Enrollment

Areas in the school's attendance boundary include:[4] Indian Hills CDP.[5]

Enrollment by grade in the 2013–2014 academic year:[6]

Grade Enrollment
9 210
10 188
11 216
12 211

Enrollment by race/ethnicity in the 2013–2014 academic year:[7]

Race/ethnicity Enrollment
American Indian/Alaskan 4
Asian/Pacific Islander 12
Black 4
Hispanic 48
White 748

Enrollment by gender in the 2013–2014 academic year:[8]

Gender Enrollment
Male 438
Female 387

Campus

Community use

The building houses a substation of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. It also once housed a campus of Red Rocks Community College. This relationship with Red Rocks allowed students to take some college courses, after normal school hours, and receive both college and high school credit.[9] As of 2007 Red Rocks no longer operates this campus.

Conifer High School shares its library with the Jefferson County Public Library system. During school hours the library is restricted to school staff and students. After school and on weekends the library is open to the public. The public library is open six days a week, and is closed on Friday.

The building is also used for many events including health drives, holiday boutiques, and community festivals. During the wildfire season, the school has been used as a Red Cross shelter.[10][11]

Architectural distinction

Designed by architectural firm LKA Partners,[12] Conifer High School's architecture has been awarded several honors:

  • Project of Distinction, Council of Educational Facilities Planners, 1996
  • The James D. McConnell Award, Council of Educational Facilities Planners International, 1997[13]
  • Citation Award, American Association of School Administrators, 1998

Extracurricular activities

Conifer High School is a member of the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) in District 4. It participates in activities in both the 3A classification and the 4A classification, situated between the 600 and 1400 student breakpoints for each of these classifications.[14]

Athletics
Conifer High Lobo

Conifer High School students have the opportunity to participate in the following athletic activities under the Colorado High School Activities Association:

  • Fall sports
    • Football
    • Men's soccer
    • Women's/men's cross country
    • Softball
    • Men's tennis
    • Volleyball
    • Men's golf
  • Winter sports
    • Men's basketball
    • Women's basketball
    • Women's swimming and diving
    • Wrestling
  • Spring sports
    • Baseball
    • Women's tennis
    • Men's lacrosse
    • Women's lacrosse
    • Men's swimming and diving
    • Women's soccer
    • Men's/women's track
    • Women's golf

[15]

Gymnastics

In 2002 Rachael Lehmkuhl was the 4A State Gymnastics All Around Champion.[16]

Softball

2003 Conifer High School's softball team won the 4A state championship.[17]

Marching band

The 2006 Conifer High School marching band, the Lobo Regiment, won the 3A state championship.[18] This was one of Conifer's many times back to competing in 3A class, as previous marching seasons had been competed in class 4A. The 2009 Lobo Regiment again competed in class 4A. They got 10th in 4A State in 2009, 2010, and 2011. In their 2012 season the Lobo Regiment finished 4th in the state. This was their first time making state finals in 4A since 2007.[19] The Lobo Regiment again competed in 3A during the 2013 season where they sat atop the leader boards all year but somehow only placed 3rd in State competition after receiving the caption awards for best music and best general effect. Remaining in 3A, Conifer took 4th in 2014, 5th in 2015 and 8th in 2016. Most recently, the Lobo Regiment took home 7th in 2017.

Conifer High School's music program has always been turbulent as the school has seen eight different directors in only 22 years. Only the first director of the program remained longer than three years. All other directors have fallen to, what is known by students as the “three year curse.”

Faculty and staff

The following individuals have been principals of Conifer High School.

Principal Years
Barry Schwartz 1996–2003
Cyndi Whitlock 2003–2006
Pat Termin (interim principal) 2006–2008
Mike Musick 2009 – 2013
Wes Paxton 2013–Present

In the news

In May 2007, Conifer High School was featured in national news due to controversy over their yearbook, which included photographs and text depicting student alcohol and drug use.[20]

Spirit Rock

Conifer's Spirit Rock is painted on a regular basis, for special school sporting events, awareness months, or to celebrate seniority at the school. This is a means to reflect school spirit. Conifer has had two rocks; their first was destroyed by a rival Evergreen High School student in an effort to bring the rock back to Evergreen High School. The rocks originally called Evergreen home, but were then stolen by Conifer students.

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References
  1. – Conifer High School. LIKE A ROCK High school students grow close on retreat
  2. "CONIFER SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  3. http://www.9news.com/story/news/education/2014/09/23/jeffco-student-protests-tuesday/16088213/%5B%5D
  4. "High Schools". Jeffco Public Schools. Retrieved 2020-03-28. - Detail map
  5. "Indian Hills Map" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  6. "The Student Body at Conifer Senior High School in Conifer, CO". www.usnews.com. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  7. "The Student Body at Conifer Senior High School in Conifer, CO". www.usnews.com. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  8. "The Student Body at Conifer Senior High School in Conifer, CO". www.usnews.com. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  9. "College Courses at High School". Rocky Mountain News. 1996-08-20. A branch of Red Rocks Community College is contained in the new Conifer High School, providing high school students with college courses, and evening classes for adult mountain residents.
  10. Bartels, Lynn (2000-06-16). "For Conifer Principal, School is Busy Place". Rocky Mountain News. School's out but the principal is in. Barry Schwartz has been a busy man since Monday, when fire forced the evacuation of hundreds of mountain residents and turned his Conifer High School into a Red Cross shelter.
  11. Yettick, Holly (2002-04-06). "Conifer High is Big on Character". Rocky Mountain News. For the past two days, Red Cross shelter and senior high school have been cohabiting.
  12. "Designs for Learning: Ten New Metro School Buildings Range from the Daring to the Drab". Rocky Mountain News. 1996-10-06.
  13. James D. MacConnell Award Site Archived March 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  14. Conifer High School Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. Colorado High School Activities Association
  15. Conifer High School Athletics Home. Conifer High School
  16. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-04. Retrieved 2008-11-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. 2003 STATE GIRLS' SOFTBALL RESULTS Archived 2007-02-17 at the Wayback Machine. Colorado High School Activities Association.
  18. Colorado Bandmasters Association. 2006 1A/2A/3A State Marching Band Championships Archived 2007-07-10 at the Wayback Machine.
  19. Perez, le (2006-10-24). "Conifer tops County in marching band finals". Pueblo Chieftain. Pueblo County High School's battle for the top spot in the Class 3A state marching band competition went down to the final note Monday night. And when the final numbers were tallied, Class 3A newcomer Conifer High School was just a tad sharper than the Hornets in the Colorado Bandmasters Association's state marching band championships held at Dutch Clark Stadium.
  20. http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5952321
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