Moving to Castle Rock, Colorado
Castle Rock Schools: DCSD, Charters and How to Enroll
Every address in Castle Rock has an assigned neighborhood school, and every family can apply anywhere else in the district. Here is how that works, with the dates, the documents and every school in town.
By Connor Tien, DougCo Social · Updated September 2026
I am not a parent, so this is the guide I would want if I were one: no ratings-site opinions, just how Douglas County School District actually works, pulled from the district's own pages on September 29, 2026. Castle Rock has eight DCSD neighborhood elementary schools plus a magnet elementary, two middle schools, two neighborhood high schools, Daniel C. Oakes High School and four charter schools, and the good news is you do not have to figure out which one is yours. The district tells you, and then lets you choose anyway.
How DCSD Works
An assigned school for every address, and open enrollment on top of it.
Douglas County School District runs 45 elementary schools, 9 middle schools, 9 high schools, 6 alternative schools and 20 charter schools across the county, for about 61,000 students. Your address puts you in an attendance zone, and the school for that zone is what DCSD calls your address-assigned school: a public, non-charter school "where you are guaranteed placement because you live in that school's attendance zone." Plug the address into the district's School Locator Map and you have your answer before the moving truck is booked.
Then there is open enrollment. District policy lets any student attend any school they are eligible for on a space-available basis, so you can request a different DCSD school, including one in another town. Placement there is not guaranteed. For the 2027-28 school year, Round 1 runs from 8am on Monday, November 2, 2026 to 4pm on Tuesday, December 1, 2026; notifications go out December 8 and you accept by December 15. Round 2 runs from 8am on Friday, January 22, 2027 to 4pm on Monday, August 2, 2027 and is first come, first served. If a school has more Round 1 applicants than seats, they are prioritized by grade level under district policy, and anyone not accepted in Round 1 is placed on a prioritized list ahead of Round 2 applicants. Students already at their assigned school do not reapply each year.
Local tip: Two calendars matter if you are moving mid-year: the district's open enrollment windows above, and your own closing date. Your assigned school will take you whenever you arrive; a specific other school will only take you if it has room.
Enrolling a New Student
Four steps, all online, from the district's Student Enrollment page.
Elementary Schools in Castle Rock
DCSD's Castle Rock Region list, filtered to addresses inside town. Sedalia, Larkspur and Cherry Valley elementaries are in the same region but outside Castle Rock.
| School | Grades | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Castle Rock Elementary | K-6 | 1103 Canyon Drive · 303-387-5000 |
| Clear Sky Elementary | PreK-6 | 1470 Clear Sky Way · 303-387-5900 |
| Flagstone Elementary | PreK-6 | 104 Lovington Street · 303-387-5225 |
| Meadow View Elementary | K-6 | 3700 Butterfield Crossing · 303-387-5425 |
| Renaissance Expeditionary Magnet School | K-6 | 3960 Trailboss Lane · 303-387-8000 |
| Rock Ridge Elementary | PreK-6 | 400 North Heritage Road · 303-387-5150 |
| Sage Canyon Elementary | K-5 | 2420 Autumn Sage Street · 720-433-0110 |
| Soaring Hawk Elementary | K-6 | 4665 Tanglevine Drive · 303-387-5825 |
| South Ridge Elementary | K-5 | 1100 South Street · 303-387-5075 |
Local tip: Renaissance Expeditionary Magnet School is a district magnet, not a charter, so it runs on the same enrollment system as the neighborhood schools. It sits next door to the Renaissance Secondary charter on Trail Boss Lane.
Middle and High Schools
Note the grade splits: Castle Rock Middle is 7-8, Mesa is 6-8, and the elementaries feeding each run to 6th or 5th grade accordingly.
| School | Grades | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Castle Rock Middle School | 7-8 | 2575 Meadows Boulevard · 303-387-1300 |
| Mesa Middle School | 6-8 | 365 North Mitchell Street · 303-387-4750 |
| Castle View High School | 9-12 | 5254 N Meadows Drive · 303-387-9000 |
| Douglas County High School | 9-12 | 2842 Front Street · 303-387-1000 |
| Daniel C. Oakes High School | High school | 961 S Plum Creek Boulevard |
Castle View sits in The Meadows on the west side of I-25 (the East Plum Creek Trail starts there); Douglas County High School is downtown on Front Street, a few blocks from the library. Both are neighborhood schools with attendance zones; the School Locator settles which one is yours. The district groups the town's schools into "Castle View and Douglas County feeders" in its Castle Rock Region.
Charter Schools in Castle Rock
Public and tuition-free, authorized by DCSD, each with its own application. Four are inside town limits.
Academy Charter School
Founded in 1993 by a group of parents. academycharter.org
Renaissance Secondary School
Next door to the Renaissance Expeditionary Magnet School. renaissancesecondary.org
Local tip: American Academy and DCS Montessori are DCSD charters too, but their campuses are in Castle Pines and Parker, not Castle Rock. Each charter runs its own enrollment; check the school's site for its lottery dates.
School Buses
Who rides, from the district's transportation pages.
DCSD bus service is for students at their assigned neighborhood school who live roughly a mile or more away (elementary) or two miles or more (middle and high school). Open-enrolled students are not eligible. Eligible families request a bus pass and make their transportation fee choices for the coming year at engaged.dcsdk12.org, and routes are posted on the district site.
FAQ
Yes. DCSD calls it your address-assigned school: a public, non-charter school where you are guaranteed placement because you live in its attendance zone. Find yours with the district's School Locator Map. You can also request any other DCSD school through open enrollment, where a seat is not guaranteed.
Round 1 runs from 8am on Monday, November 2, 2026 to 4pm on Tuesday, December 1, 2026; families are notified December 8 and must accept by December 15. Round 2 runs from 8am on Friday, January 22, 2027 to 4pm on Monday, August 2, 2027 and is first come, first served. Students already at their address-assigned school do not need to reapply each year.
DCSD's Online Registration (through Infinite Campus) asks for a parent or guardian government-issued ID, the student's government-issued birth certificate, immunization records and one proof of residency (a lease, purchase agreement or property tax notice, for example), uploaded as PDF or JPEG. Questions: 720-433-0095 or [email protected].
Two DCSD neighborhood high schools, Castle View (5254 N Meadows Drive) and Douglas County (2842 Front Street), plus Daniel C. Oakes High School (961 S Plum Creek Boulevard) and the Renaissance Secondary School charter (3954 Trail Boss Lane).
No. DCSD provides bus service for students at their assigned neighborhood school who live roughly a mile or more away (elementary) or two miles or more (middle and high school). Open-enrolled students are not eligible, so plan on driving or carpooling.
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More Castle Rock Guides
Moving to Castle Rock
Cost of living from the Census, the sales tax, who your utilities are, the I-25 commute and what a year of weather feels like at 6,200 feet.
Castle Rock Neighborhoods
The Meadows, Crystal Valley, Terrain, Founders Village, Castlewood Ranch, Plum Creek and more: which side of I-25, what the metro district covers, what is nearby.
Things to Do in Castle Rock
Challenge Hill, Rock Park, Lost Canyon Ranch, downtown, the breweries and coffee shops, and the events that fill the calendar every year.
New Resident Checklist
Driver license, plates, voter registration, water, power, gas, trash, the library card and the local stuff, in the order to do it.
Sources
Every school, grade span, address, date and rule on this page was read on the district's or the school's own site on September 29, 2026. Dates were checked against a calendar. If the district changes a window, the district's page wins.
- DCSD, Castle Rock Region schools (grades, addresses, phones): dcsdk12.org/castlerock
- DCSD, Charter Schools: dcsdk12.org/schools-academics/schools/charter-schools
- DCSD, High Schools: dcsdk12.org/schools-academics/schools/high-schools
- DCSD, Why DCSD (district counts, graduation rate): dcsdk12.org/about/why-dcsd
- DCSD, Open Enrollment (2027-28 windows, priority): dcsdk12.org/about/departments/choice-programming/open-enrollment
- DCSD, Student Enrollment (Online Registration, documents): dcsdk12.org/admissions/student-enrollment
- DCSD, Admissions (address-assigned school definition): dcsdk12.org/enrollment/open-enrollment
- DCSD, School Locator Map: dcsdk12.org/schools-academics/schools/school-locator-map
- Castle View High School, Transportation (bus eligibility): cvhs.dcsdk12.org/enrollment/transportation
- Academy Charter School: academycharter.org/
- Aspen View Academy: aspenviewacademy.org/
- World Compass Academy: worldcompassacademy.com/
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