For a third, consecutive year, D49’s Ridgeview Elementary School earned top recognition among schools across our state and country as a Capturing Kids’ Hearts National Showcase School. Ridgeview is one of 17 schools in the state of Colorado selected for the honor for the 2019-20 school year. 

The Capturing Kids’ Hearts program promotes socio-emotional techniques to foster student engagement. Ultimately, the belief is once you have a child’s heart, you have a child’s mind. 

“Capturing Kids’ Hearts focuses on building strong relationships, which aligns with the district’s cultural compass, directing how staff and students treat each other,” shared Kim Moore, principal. “These relationships are key to everything we do at Ridgeview and help ensure we always stay focused on what is best for students.”

Warm welcomes remain the standard at Ridgeview, and begin at the front entrance and continue at every classroom where students find their teachers waiting at the door to offer a personal greeting each day. Classes start with sharing “good things.” During this time, teachers invite students to share something good in their life. Classrooms also have social contracts in place to hold both students and staff accountable.

The school began its journey to meeting, or surpassing, the Capturing Kids’ Hearts benchmarks in 2015, and is among 285 schools nationwide to earn the Showcase School distinction for the most recent school year. 

The program was created by the Flippen Group, a management consultant company in Texas.  The nomination included a rigorous application process, and a site visit from the Flippen Group to gather data and talk with members of the school community.

. .