Conifer High School is a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

Conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

, an unincorporated town located in the

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...

of Jefferson County, southwest of

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, United States. The school is located about 20 minutes southwest of SH 470 and a short distance north of U.S. Highway 285.

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 A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

, 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 Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...

, 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.

Enrollment

Areas in the school's attendance boundary include: Indian Hills CDP. Enrollment by grade in the 2013–2014 academic year: Enrollment by race/ethnicity in the 2013–2014 academic year: Enrollment by gender in the 2013–2014 academic year:

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. 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.

Architectural distinction

Designed by architectural firm LKA Partners, 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 A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

, 1997 *Citation Award, American Association of School Administrators, 1998

Extracurricular activities

Conifer High School is a member of the

Colorado High School Activities Association The Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) is the governing body for all high school activities throughout the state of Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United Stat ...

(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.Conifer High School
. Colorado High School Activities Association

Athletics

Conifer High School students have the opportunity to participate in the following athletic activities under the

:Conifer High School Athletics Home
Conifer High School * 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

Gymnastics

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

Softball

2003 Conifer High School's

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

team won the 4A state championship.

Marching band

The 2006 Conifer High School

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

, the Lobo Regiment, won the 3A state championship.

Faculty and staff

The following individuals have been principals of Conifer High School.

In the news

In May 2007, Conifer High School had a controversy over their yearbook, which included photographs and text depicting student alcohol and drug use.

References

External links

* {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1996 Public high schools in Colorado Jefferson County Public Schools (Colorado) Schools in Jefferson County, Colorado 1996 establishments in Colorado