My name is Suzie Murphy and I am the parent of two Gilpin County School students, and we are an out-of-district family. We live on the BVSD side of Gilpin County, so we had the choice of sending our boys to Nederland Elementary or to Gilpin County for Kindergarten.

Just as we began our research, I saw a flier touting the Montessori program at Gilpin County and it piqued our interest. My aunt was a Montessori teacher in the 80s and I was always fascinated by her stories and her teaching on the concepts of Montessori, so it felt like a natural fit for us. Once we visited the school and met the teachers, the decision was made and we enrolled our older son Caleb into the full day Montessori Kindergarten program.

At the same time our younger son Isaac started daycare at Eagles’ Nest, and we became a fully embedded Gilpin County School family.

Fast forward 13 years and Caleb is now a senior, about to graduate and move on to college, and Isaac is wrapping up 7th grade. Our experience at Gilpin County School has been wonderful and I cannot recommend the school to other out of district families enough.

The class size has always been the perfect ratio for my boys, allowing them personal support from their teachers, and a positive work environment with their friends and peers. Both of my boys have solid friend groups that they have grown and matured with, many of them having met in Kindergarten and moving through their school years together.

They have both discovered extracurricular activities they enjoy engaging with, such as sports and theater, and they have both done well academically because of the supportive and nurturing environment they are learning in. We do not feel that either boy is missing anything by attending a smaller, more close-knit school, but rather are benefitting from it.

In our time at Gilpin we have also witnessed the school transform and excel, becoming an accredited learning institution with a top-10 ranking in the state. As Caleb was approaching high school, we researched the possibility of sending him to Boulder High or Fairview, but we very quickly realized that he was already in the right school for him.

High school has been a satisfying experience for him, Covid-19 interruptions aside, and although he would say the workload cramped his social life, he, too, feels that Gilpin County School is where he was meant to be. We are now looking forward to Isaac’s high school years and the experiences he will have.

For my husband Scott and me, Gilpin County School opened a new world of social opportunities for us. As is true in many communities, school and church are often the centers for parents to meet others and expand their social circle. Most of our adult friendships over the years have stemmed from meeting the parents of kids the boys played and interacted with, developing into lasting relationships. Our village is vast and strong, and we support each other in meaningful ways.

Gilpin County School has undoubtedly been the right school for our kids to attend and our family to support. We are proud to be a part of this community, and thankful for the students, teachers, staff, administrators, and school board. We know our boys are getting a top-level education and numerous opportunities to grow, learn, fail, succeed, and mature in a nurturing and supportive environment. I encourage you to give Gilpin County School a try and I truly believe you will not be disappointed.