A Rundown of Denver High Schools' 2007 Average ACT Composite Scores

The Colorado Department of Education released a report today of the 2007 Colorado High Schools’ average ACT composite scores. Since this is a very important indicator of educational quality, TeamCox Realtors combed through the data to determine the top ten highest scoring high schools in addition to the top scoring school distircts in the Denver metro area. The Boulder Valley School District fared very well with the 2007 ACT test.

Top Ten Denver Area High School Average ACT Composite Scores*

1. ‘D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School (Jefferson County) - 26.2

2. Peak to Peak Charter School (Boulder Valley) - 23.2

3. Fariview High School (Boulder Valley) - 23.3

4. Cherry Creek High School (Cherry Creek) - 23.2

5. Denver School of Science and Technology - 23.6

6. Boulder High School (Boulder Valley) - 23.2

7. Mountain Vista High School (Douglas County)- 22.5

8. Monarch High School (Boulder Valley) - 22.4

9. Arapahoe High School (Littleton) - 22.2

10. Denver School of the Arts - 22.0

Which Denver area school districts fared the best? Here is the rundown:

1. Boulder Valley School District - 21.9

2. Littleton Public Schools - 21.7

3. Douglas County School District 20.9

4. Cherry Creek Schools - 20.5

5. Jefferson County Public Schools - 20.0

6. Adams 12 Five Star Schools - 18.3

7. Aurora Public Schools - 16.0 (tied with DPS)

7. Denver Public Schools - 16.0 (tied with Aurora)

For more information on this report or to see how your favorite high school fared, please visit the Colorado Department of Education’s website. If you have questions about Denver area schools or regarding Denver real estate, please contact TeamCox Realtors at 303-400-6060.

* Please note that this list includes only high schools in the Denver metro area. There were higher scoring high schools in other parts of Colorado.

New Palazzo Verdi Office Building and LEED-Certified Home Preview the Future

TeamCox Realtors recently completed both the EcoBroker Energy Advantage and the Environmental Advantage Courses, which gives us a greater appreciation of environmentally friendly real estate projects. Two eco-friendly projects that deserve recognition are Greenwood Village’s new Palazzo Verdi, a new Class AA, 15-story, LEED Certified office building, and McStain Neighborhood’s new LEED-certified home at Stapleton.

Palazzo Verdi, which is located in the prestigious Greenwood Plaza Office Park, is our new neighbor since it is next to the Re/MAX Masters office, the Plaza Tower One Building at 6400 S. Fiddler’s Green Circle. Our newfound knowledge gives us a much better understanding of how the Palazzo Verdi will function beyond the capabilities of the beautiful Plaza Tower One Building, which was built in 1985. The high-performance Palazzo Verdi masterpiece will be proudly performing well into the next century. Light rail access immediately out the back door compliments the Palazzo Verdi’s beautiful exterior and built-green concept. This is what Denver’s office space will look like in future. Up to 285,000 GSF of office space is available for lease and occupancy in the first quarter of 2008.

On the residential side, McStain Neighborhoods recently completed the first LEED-certified home at Stapleton, which is one the most environmentally friendly homes in the Denver area. The LEED home, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, features many upgrades including plumbing that conserves water, low-maintenance landscaping, tightly sealed framing and drywall and a natural ventilation system. The 2,872 sq. ft. home is priced at $621,562.

According to some experts, LEED homes, which are slowly catching on with the homebuilding industry, have an energy savings of up to 45 percent. Having completed the real estate ECO-brokers Energy Advantage Course as well as the Environmental Advantage Course, I truly believe the most energy efficient homes are the homes that buyers are willing pay a premium price to own. What is now being written as a new trend will almost certainly be a "very normal home" in 2015!

For more information on environmentally friendly real estate projects, please contact TeamCox Realtors at bonnie@teamcox.com.