Adams County 14 (0030)
5291 EAST 60TH AVENUE
COMMERCE CITY, CO 80022
4,976
Total Students Served
11
Schools in District
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Superintendent:
Karla Loria
District Profile
About Adams County 14 (0030)
A MESSAGE FROM:
Adams County 14
2025-2026
Who We Are Adams 14 is a small, urban school district nestled in Commerce City. Adams 14 is one of the most unique school districts in the Front Range. The school district is in the Denver metropolitan area, yet retains a small-town feel, where the community takes pride in its long-standing traditions and history. Residents know their neighbors, share traditions with family and friends, and enjoy the many amenities the city has to offer. The school district began in 1906, when the first grammar …
school was built along the banks of the Sand Creek tributary. Over the next 54 years, the school district consolidated with other small school districts and adapted to the growing surrounding city. Starting in 1960, Adams 14 faced many of the same challenges as other school districts in Colorado, yet how it responded to these challenges is what set the district apart. Adams 14 became known throughout the state as a model school district. It was one of the first school districts to integrate students with disabilities into the classroom, place child advocates at each school to address social-emotional issues, create after-school programs, and house the first health school clinic in the state. Today, that legacy continues. Adams 14 is proud to serve its more than 5,000 students in 12 schools and is committed to providing first-class and equitable instruction to all of its students. With a strong focus on language acquisition, students in the district have the opportunity to become linguistically gifted. The district embraces equity and diversity among its students, staff, and community. The Adams 14 culture is based on high expectations for all students and employees, supporting both academic and social growth. Our 13 schools offer choices to meet the diverse needs of students. 2 Preschools 6 Elementary Schools 1 Junior High 2 Middle Schools 2 High Schools  The district serves a diverse demographic of students from Commerce City as highlighted in the table below: As a district that serves a population of majority minority, multilingual students who qualify for free or reduced price lunch, Adams 14 has set up the day-to-day structures and systems to best serve its unique population. Where We Have Been Before hiring Dr. Karla LorÃa as superintendent in 2021, the district had been under various superintendents and leadership structures. In May 2017, having entered its sixth year of a Priority Improvement or Turnaround Plan, the leadership in Adams 14 came to the state board for the district?s first accountability hearing, with a plan for partial management in academics by Beyond Textbooks. Due to a transition in leadership in the district as well as evidence that the partnership with Beyond Textbooks was not sufficient to support the needs of the district, the district came back before the Colorado State Board of Education in November 2018. In this hearing, the district initially proposed to the state board to have a management arrangement with bordering school district Mapleton Public Schools. When the state board rejected that proposal, the district settled on a new course of action in alignment with state board direction for the district to be fully managed by MGT Consulting, LLC. MGT fully managed the district through the COVID pandemic until the hiring of Dr. Karla LorÃa in 2021. Upon her hiring, Dr. LorÃa, along with the district?s school board, did not believe the work of MGT was in the best interest of the district and its students. In response, the district terminated the relationship with MGT and subsequently entered into a series of hearings with the state board to identify new transformation strategies for the district. These hearings culminated in a 2022 amendment of the existing order that 1) named TNTP as a partial manager over specified areas, 2) removed the district?s accreditation, and 3) launched the district into the pursuit of reorganization. In 2022-2023, the district regained its accreditation status and completed the reorganization process, with the reorganization committee unanimously voting against reorganization. This reorganization report was accepted by the Commissioner of Education in the fall of 2023. Beginning in 2022, district leadership, the district?s school board, and TNTP worked to rethink the direction of the district in pursuit of improved outcomes for students. Having developed an Academic Playbook to guide the district?s instructional focus, the district welcomed TNTP as a key partner, entrusted with enhancing the student and adult culture and setting high expectations for instructional planning. This focus on academic habits and high-quality student outcomes is ensuring a brighter future for our students. The district worked with TNTP to revamp professional learning, principal leadership coaching, expectations for curriculum use and instructional planning, and talent management throughout the district. Simultaneously, and in partnership with TNTP, the district embarked on a year-long Strategic Planning process that engaged stakeholders from across the Adams 14 community tailored to the community's needs and designed to accelerate student learning throughout the district. This Strategic Plan demonstrated a collective commitment to student success and well-being that was designed to propel the district forward. Continuing in 2023, TNTP, in its role as a partial manager, has been instrumental in reviewing and supporting our progress through various initiatives such as the Academic Excellence Playbook, internalization of units and lessons, the establishment of Professional Learning Communities, and the refinement of focused areas for district-wide professional development. TNTP provides heightened and intensive supports at two focus schools - Central Elementary School and Adams City High School. As outlined below, Adams?s 14 achieved improvements in academic achievements and growth across schools last year. The focus of this pathway plan is to deepen our focus on instruction to continue to deliver on our promise to students. Where We Are Heading The district?s Strategic Plan (see Appendix B ) was unveiled in the spring of 2023 to the Adams 14 community. The Strategic Plan is focused on a variety of initiatives and is an important context to understanding the district?s proposed pathway plan. While the pathway plan focuses on the district?s academic infrastructure and talent strategy (primarily Strategic Plan priorities one and two), the Strategic Plan overall provides important information regarding the other work of the district that provides the foundation and focus of the proposed pathway plan. The district?s Strategic Plan focuses on the following areas: Priority 1: Students experience high-quality instructional programming and aligned student support systems. Priority 2: Recruit, retain, and support high quality professionals. Priority 3a: Staff continuously interrogates and improves upon equity-centered policies and daily practices. Priority 3b: Cultivate an asset-based culture of trust and high expectations. Priority 4: Manage resources to remain fiscally solvent and emotionally and educationally responsive to staff and student needs. Simultaneously, and in conjunction with the strategic planning work during the 2022-2023 school year, the district tackled significant challenges, such as aging buildings, declining enrollment, and a central office structure that no longer matched the current needs of the district. In response, we made significant shifts in spring 2023. First, the superintendent restructured the central office organizational chart by eliminating many positions and shifting others in order to place resources closer to schools and students. Part of this restructuring included the addition of vital roles in the form of Chiefs who bring specific areas of expertise and leadership to the district team. The introduction of a Chief of Human Resources has led to a greater commitment to staff members and is meant to support all staff in receiving the support they need to excel in their roles. The Chief of Business Services plays a pivotal role in streamlining the district?s business operations, making sure that the district?s resources are used efficiently and effectively. The Chief of Finance provides leadership to the district?s finances, ensuring that budgeting and financial divisions align with the district?s strategic goals. The new Chief of Schools is an experienced school and district leader who has implemented strong supervisory strategies for schools in pursuit of academic excellence. This role works closely with building leaders to maintain high standards across the district and drive continuous improvement. The restructuring strategy was designed to ensure that our central office is well-equipped to support students, staff, and schools efficiently and effectively. These priorities from the Strategic Plan also set the path for many aspects of the district?s academic strategies and theory of action regarding the major challenges facing the district. One outworking of this Strategic Plan was the aforementioned central office restructuring to support a streamlined approach to supporting schools, shifting more resources closer to schools and students, and providing some fiscal relief to the district?s budget. Similarly, the district underwent a facilities planning process in which leadership and the board made important decisions regarding the long term viability and focus of the district. This facilities plan, known as Project 5B , included merging Hanson and Monaco Elementary Schools ahead of the 2023-24 school year, shifting Lester Arnold to the Hanson campus, and beginning the process of combining the two district middle schools and shifting sixth grade back to the elementary schools. Given the district?s student population with the majority of students being linguistically gifted (multilingual learners), the district?s overall academic strategy also focuses on capitalizing on students? first language to support students pursuing biliteracy. To this end, the district has supported various language plans at different schools and levels and is working to create a coherent approach to language plans. Four schools: Dupont, Kemp, Monaco and Central Elementary Schools host dual-language programs. The other elementary schools run English Language Development programs. The district has invested significant resources in recruiting Spanish-speaking teachers, including teachers on J-1 visas. Adams City High School has developed a program in which students can graduate with a seal of biliteracy. Along with the possibility of a seal of biliteracy, and as is highlighted in the high school?s pathway plan, Adams City High School has also started to fulfill the district?s long-term promise of building out college and career pathways for students. The district contracted with ConnectEd as their partner to support the development and implementation of these pathways. The new pathways plans started with ninth grade in the 2023-24 school year and will culminate in numerous concurrent enrollment, industry certificate, and advanced course offerings for students. As part of this district holistic improvement effort, these course offerings are also open to students from Lester Arnold High School who have daily opportunities to cross campuses in order to engage in this coursework. For more information on these pathways, see Major Improvement Strategy 3 of Adams City High School?s pathway plan. Finally, the district?s core focused work in improving academics has centered on development and implementation of the district?s academic playbook. The academic playbook was first developed in 2022 in consultation with district?s consultant Darryl Williams, and was supported in execution by both Darryl Williams and TNTP. The playbook guided implementation of teacher and leader coaching, classroom observations, professional learning communities (PLCs), and teacher and leader professional learning opportunities. Designed to be implemented over the course of a given school year, the academic playbook serves as the guide for the work of district academic leadership, school leaders, instructional coaches, and teachers. The actions, benchmarks, and description of the Major Improvement Strategies in this pathway plan are drawn from the district?s academic playbook. For more information about the playbook, see the summary of it in Appendix C . The positive changes we've witnessed over the past few years are only the beginning of the progress that lies ahead. Together, we are transforming the future of education in our community.
Final 2025 Performance Rating
Average SAT & PSAT Scores
SAT Grade 11:
803PSAT Grade 10:
723PSAT Grade 9:
696School Year: 2024-2025
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