florence crittenton school

The Florence Crittenton School is a middle and high school, providing an education and a comprehensive range of services to pregnant and parenting teen girls.

The Florence Crittenton School helps teen mothers stay in school and graduate, give birth to healthy babies, learn how to be nurturing mothers, prevent repeat pregnancies, obtain post-secondary education and acquire marketable job skills and work experience.  Recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as an exemplary program, the Florence Crittenton School is the largest provider of services to teen mothers in Denver, serving over 200 teen mothers in the 2005/2006 school year.

Through a unique and successful public/private partnership, the Florence Crittenton School has operated in collaboration with Denver Public Schools since 1982, offering students the opportunity to earn Denver Public Schools credit and a Denver Public Schools diploma.

Join us as we celebrate the achievements made by the Class of 2008. Commencement Exercises will be held Friday evening, May 16, 2008 at Central Presbyterian Church - 1660 Sherman Street, Denver. Please email us at events@parentpathways.org to RSVP or for more information.

Below you can meet the Class of 2007, another incredible group of Florence Crittenton School graduates... read their stories to see what plans they have for continued success.

meet the class of 2007

The Florence Crittenton School graduated 34 seniors at a moving and excitement-filled graduation ceremony held on May 22, 2007 at Central Presbyterian Church.

Many of these young mothers are the first in their families to experience this success and they are all confidently moving forward in their future as a mother and a high school graduate. Click here to read about the plans they have for their future and how Parent Pathways’ Florence Crittenton School has helped them to realize all that they are capable of.

Special thanks to those who helped make celebration an evening to remember: COPIC, Denver School of the Arts and Zonta Club of Denver II.

The Florence Crittenton School Provides:

• Parenting and child development education
• Middle school classes
• High school classes that earn Denver Public Schools credit
• Career planning and job readiness training
• Case management services
• Support groups
• Individual counseling
• Vocational and business education
• On-site infant/toddler early childhood education
• Prenatal and infant health education
• RTD passes
• Support services (baby supplies and equipment, diapers, clothes etc.)
• Literacy, special education and bilingual support services
• Student leadership organizations
• Referrals for other services
• Home visitation program

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The Florence Crittenton School Success

2005/2006 School Year

• 100% of eligible seniors graduated;
• 74% of graduating seniors pursued post-secondary education (college or vocational school) after graduation;
• The average daily attendance rate was 66.6% (Colorado Department of Education).  Given maternity leave, “morning sickness”, and other health pregnancy concerns for teens, as well as the particular challenges faced by our population of teen mothers (mental health issues, physical and emotional abuse at home, substance abuse, homelessness, poverty etc.), our attendance rate is not out of proportion;
• TABE (Test of Adult Basic Education) scores for students at Florence Crittenton showed an average improvement of about three grade levels for Reading Comprehension and one grade level for Math over the 2005-2006 school year;
• TABE scores showed greater than average increases in Reading Comprehension and Math after students attended Florence Crittenton for at least one year;
• CSAP (Colorado Student Assessment Program) scores for the 9th & 10th grade Reading Assessment at Florence Crittenton School had the highest percentage improvement from the previous year of all Denver Public High Schools.

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The Florence Crittenton School Details

Populations Served: Adolescent girls aged 12-21 in grades 7th through 12th who are pregnant or parenting teen mothers.

Capacity: The school has a capacity of 175 students per quarter.

Geographic Boundaries: Students must be eligible to enroll in the Denver Public School district.

Location: Florence Crittenton School, 96 S. Zuni, Denver, Colorado 80223-1209

Length of Program:  Open enrollment

• The Florence Crittenton School follows the Denver Public School schedule.
• The Florence Crittenton School is a school of choice. This means that student can choose whether or not to attend our school.  Students have a choice of how long they would like to attend; they could be a student from 1 semester to 5 years.  They also have a choice to return to their former DPS School.  (This process is facilitated through the Florence Crittenton Academic Coordinator.)
• The minimum/maximum stay at FCS is dependent on the need of the individual student, most students typically stay in the program from 18-24 months.
• The School operates on a quarter schedule rather than semesters. Student schedules change every 9 weeks. The schedules are built on a block system of four 85 minute blocks per day. Offering four different opportunities to enroll during the year.

Entrance Information, Procedures and Dates: Students who are interested in enrolling at Florence Crittenton School should contact the school at 303-733-7686. A referral form must be filled out prior to enrolling. New students are able to enroll at the start of each quarter (August, October, January, March) unless they are in middle school. Middle school students can enroll at any time through the school year. It is preferred that the referral form be filled out at least two weeks before the start of the new quarter.

Courses Offered: Florence Crittenton School offers all the courses required for completion of the DPS high school graduation requirements. The electives offered at Florence Crittenton School are centered on the needs of pregnant and parenting teens.

Grading Procedures: Are similar to those of other DPS schools. Attendance is very important at Florence Crittenton School. Students who miss more that 10 class periods/quarter cannot receive higher than a “C” in that class.

Earning Credit Potential: If students are enrolled full time and receive passing grades in all their classes, they are able to earn 20 credits per quarter or 80 per school year.

Hours of Operation:  The Florence Crittenton School is open from 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday -Friday, with classes in session from 8:15 a.m. -3:00 p.m.

Contact: 303.733.7686

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