When you first visit Cougar Run Elementary, you will notice several majestic Bradford Pear trees lining the walkways and several hundred painted rocks along the xeriscape areas. At first glance, you might think these rocks look like jelly beans, but upon closer inspection, you will notice that each rock is painted with unique designs, colors, dates, and many include names of students, staff, and families. Together, the rocks capture the essence of the eclectic but connected learning community at Cougar Run Elementary. Separately, each rock represents an individual, but together they provide a pathway to excellence. Each spring, students add their own unique rock as a symbol of their place in our community.
Some of the ideals that set our school apart include our investment in student performance data, our support of the social and emotional growth of our students, our priority on creating/nurturing a strong school culture, our teachers, and our parent community.
Our school is highly invested in collecting and analyzing student performance data to appropriately drive meaningful and differentiated instruction for each student’s individualized learning needs. Our Multi-Tiered System of Support is a district model that supports at-risk and advanced students. The MTSS program has been instrumental in Cougar Run’s achievement of the Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award. This award acknowledges schools that demonstrate exceptional student growth. We also just received the John Irwin Award of Excellence in 2022 for our work on outstanding academic achievement.
We are also fully invested in supporting the social and emotional growth of our students and helping them become responsible citizens who give back to the community. Our ROCKS Character Education Program, focusing on Respect, Responsibility, Power of One, Compassion, Kindness, and Safety, as well as our emphasis on Restorative Practices, illustrates our belief in the importance of identifying and recognizing positive behavior. We intend to decrease challenging behaviors, create a better understanding of positive/healthy relationships and their influence on building a quality learning community, and identify a process to restore relationships when they have been negatively impacted.
Cougar Run Elementary has consistently been rated as a high-performing school for the past decade. Student achievement and growth are celebrated and consistently keep pace with the top schools in the state. We focus on creating our instructional philosophy to encompass balancing the Colorado Academic Standards with research-based best practices into our pedagogy. With our focus on pedagogical best practices, we developed our library into what we call a Learning Commons. This unique educational space provides support for staff and students engaging in a variety of activities, such as the use of information technology, library research, collaboration, content creation, meetings, and an all-around place for students to learn and grow.
Our teachers are exceptionally caring and dedicated professionals. 90% of our teachers have advanced degrees, and many of these teachers work on district leadership committees. The experience of our teachers provides authentic staff development in support of district initiatives and enhances the craft of instruction. Our support staff consistently works to support the staff, students, and parents of Cougar Run to achieve a culture and climate that values thoughtful communication, respect, attention to detail, and puts customer service as the highest priority.
Our parent community is actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the building. Volunteers are key in supporting the teachers, classrooms, clubs, health and wellness initiatives, Learning Commons, and safety initiatives. Our parent teacher association, PTA, and our SAC (School Accountability Committee) are instrumental in providing fundraising opportunities, managing community engagement events, and providing recommendations to our leadership team that represent the thinking/desires of our community for the benefit of our students. Uniquely, there are many staff members who are also parents of Cougar Run students. This fact offers a clear affirmation of one of our catch phrases, “Cougar Run is a great place to work and learn."
We look forward to seeing you on your next visit to the school!
