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Coyote Ridge Elementary
Principal: Diane Spearnak

Name/History: Coyote Ridge, the northernmost school in the Thompson School District having opened in 2008, serving the neighborhoods of Ridgewood Hills and Registry Ridge in Fort Collins. The school is named for the geographic area in the foothills west of the school.

Mission Statement: We provide our students with a challenging inquiry-based education to:

  • Pursue academic excellence
  • Embrace differences
  • Encourage lifelong learning
  • Become responsible world citizens

Special features - Coyote Ridge, Thompson School District's newest elementary school, opened in 2008. Special building features at Coyote Ridge include natural daylight in classrooms and hallways, air conditioning, a multi-tiered computer lab, and a music room whose wall opens to serve as a stage in the gym. The media center features floor-to-ceiling windows and hosts over 8,000 children's books written in several languages. Parents are offered the choice of a tuition-based full-day kindergarten program or a tuition-free half-day program. A before- and after-school "Champions" program is available. The parent volunteer program and active PTO provide solid support to the school.

International Baccalaureate - Coyote Ridge Elementary School aspires to become an authorized Primary Years Program (PYP) International Baccalaureate (IB) School. The IB program encourages students and staff members to become internationally minded, lifelong learners. The PYP provides opportunities for children to become inquirers, thinkers, communicators and risk takers and to be knowledgeable, principled, caring, open minded, well balanced, and reflective.

Serving special needs - Our GAIN (Group Approach to Individual Needs) program includes students with moderate through severe special educational needs. These students are mainstreamed with support, when appropriate, into regular classrooms. We believe our broad spectrum of students with diverse academic needs develop compassion, empathy and tolerance as they grow into young adults.

Spanish classes - As part of the IB philosophy, all students in kindergarten through 5th grade are offered an hour a week of instruction in Spanish. These classes feature lessons that encourage students to develop the confidence to speak and write in the second language and present opportunities for them to learn about the culture and customs of people in Spanish-speaking countries.

Special needs - Coyote Ridge Elementary takes pride in its GAIN (Group Approach to Individual Needs) classroom for students who have varying disabilities. The program is designed to provide learning opportunities for students in the least restrictive environment. Many of the GAIN students are included in the regular education classes for appropriate portions of the day, which allows all students to learn from each other. The teacher of the GAIN program, along with caring paraprofessionals, has designed an effective program for this group of youngsters.

High-tech classrooms - Most classrooms feature Promethean interactive whiteboards onto which anything that can be seen or done on a computer can be projected. Students can actively participate through the use of measuring tools such as interactive rulers and protractors. Teachers can bring any country or subject into the classroom and display it on the board. In addition to Mac desktop computers, students benefit from a mobile lab that contains a classroom set of laptops that can be used anywhere in the building. Most classrooms have document cameras that can project pieces of student work, books, or student demonstrations onto the whiteboard."