In May of 2020, Jenna Wright found out that her son Jackson’s school was closing.
“I freaked out,” she said. “The first round of SchoolChoice was over, and we didn’t have a school.”
Jenna applied to nine schools in the North Denver- area during Round 2 of DPS SchoolChoice. Rocky Mountain Prep (RMP) Berkeley was on that list, and while Jenna had seen it driving by, she had never been inside. Within 24 hours, Jackson was accepted at RMP Berkeley, and Jenna received a call from the school’s operations coordinator, to whom Jenna asked many questions.
“She was super attentive and helpful,” Jenna said. “She spent so much time with me answering all of my questions, and she never rushed to get me off the phone.”
Over the summer, Jenna began speaking with Ana de Vries, RMP Berkeley’s Principal, and pre-K teacher Jamison Williams over the phone. After those conversations, they were sold on RMP Berkeley.
Two years later, Jackson is now in Ms. McLaren’s kindergarten class, and Jenna said they’re lucky to have worked with such amazing teachers.
“Ms. McLaren is caring and gentle,” she said. “She spends really good time with her students, and they’re learning a ton.”
When RMP Berkeley’s charter contract with Denver Public Schools (DPS) was up for renewal this year, Jenna took action by emailing the Board of Education about why her school deserved to continue serving the community. Thanks to the RMP community and the DPS Board, RMP Berkeley’s charter was renewed for two years with the possibility of an automatic two-year extension in 2024.
“[RMP] Berkeley is a public school, but it has a private school feel,” Jenna said. “The classes are smaller, the teachers genuinely care, and I feel like my child is getting a quality education.”
Looking back at the summer of 2020, Jenna felt like she made the right decision. “I wasn’t interested in going anywhere else. I really feel like RMP is our home.”
Learn more about joining the Rocky Mountain Prep community on our Enrollment page.
