Lowry Elementary School
 

Lowry Elementary School Family Update
 

May 26, 2026

Message from Dr. Larkin:

Our last week of school always brings up a mix of emotions: excitement for the summer and planning for next year, pride in our students’ progress over the year, gratitude for our staff for helping our students learn and grow, and a little sadness about our 5th graders leaving Lowry, as well as some of our staff members transitioning to new adventures. Please read below for some important end-of-year updates, including information about staff transitions and exciting data points. 

Staff Transitions:

  • We bid a fond farewell and wish the best of luck to:
    • Gabrielle Brugato, who will be moving to Durango, CO.
    • Lauren Schuster, who will be working with Cherry Creek Options Homeschool Program in their secondary program.
    • Katie Gray is moving to California.
    • Grace Clark will be a full-time special educator at Park Hill Elementary.
    • Nurse Cathy Zirkelbach is retiring after a long and wonderful career in nursing.
  • We are excited to announce the following hires:
    • Ty Smith has been hired as a 5th grade teacher; Mr. Smith is coming from Aurora Public Schools and has a wealth of experience as an educator. 
    • Michael Weber will be our new art teacher. Mr. Weber is joining the Lowry family after being a member of the McAuliffe Middle School staff.
    • Kendall Ballard will be our new 2nd grade teacher (Mrs. Horn will still be at Lowry, but in a new role as a special educator and Senior Team Lead). Ms. Ballard completed her student teaching at Lowry and has been a regular substitute this year.
    • We are currently in the hiring process for our open 1st grade position, as well as for one of our Multi-Intensive Autism Center classrooms. Those hires will be announced in August.

Data Celebrations:

  • Our Kindergarten and 1st Grade students have met and exceeded the literacy target of 70% of students reading at or above grade level! 81% of our Kindergarteners were reading at or above grade level at the end of the year, which is a 60% increase from the beginning of the year. 71% of our 1st graders were reading at or above grade level at the end of the year.
  • As a school, 63% of our students were reading at or above grade level at the end of the year. This is a 5% increase from last year, so we are making steady progress. 
    • At the beginning of this year, 51% of our students were reading well below grade level, while only 25% were reading well below grade level at the end of the year.
    • 34% of our students were reading at or above grade level at the beginning of the year, while 63% were reading at or above grade level at the end of the year.
  • Lowry is part of the DPS Black Student Success (BSS) Plan. Our staff receives professional development in literacy as part of their work with the BSS Plan; while the work supports the educational progress of all of our students across all grade levels, it is important to recognize the growth that our Black students in the cohort (Kindergarten-2nd Grades) made this year.
    • After end-of-year testing, 72% of our cohort students were reading at or above grade level. This is a 38% increase from the beginning of the year. The BSS cohort outperformed the school’s average.
    • Equally amazing is the decrease in cohort students that were well below grade level: 51% at the beginning of the year to 19% at the end of the year.
    • At the beginning of our BSS partnership in the fall of 2024, just 26% of cohort students were reading on grade level. At the end of this year, we have shown nearly a 50% increase in reading proficiency among the cohort students in just two years!
    • 91% of Black students in Kindergarten are reading at or above grade level at the end of the year. Less than 1% of Black students in Kindergarten are reading below grade level!
    • Nationally, Lowry’s Black students in Kindergarten-2nd grades made well above average progress compared to their grade level peers on the same assessment. 

A few end-of-year reminders:

  • If you did not complete the Panorama survey, which was available from the Family & Community Engagement Office during our Variety Shows, we ask that you fill it out here (click the text next to the globe icon to translate the survey). This brief survey will help us plan communication and engagement for the 2026-2027 school year. The survey is open through May 31.
  • If your student rides their bike to school, they should walk their bike as soon as they get to campus and until they leave campus in the afternoon. Bikes are not allowed in the building. We have bike racks near the parking lot out front and near the garden in the back. 
  • All students are dismissed at 11:30 a.m. on Friday! If you typically pick your student up in the afternoon, please make sure you are here at 11:30 on Friday.
  • Please remember to pick up items from our lost and found by Friday at 11:30 a.m. Items will be donated on Friday afternoon!

Thank you for entrusting us with caring for and teaching your children. I am grateful for our Lowry community. Good luck to our students who are moving on to other schools and I look forward to seeing most of you back here in August! Have a safe and wonderful summer.

In partnership,
Dr. Annie Larkin

 

Important Dates:

  • May 25: No School for Students (Memorial Day).
  • May 27: HipPOPs Dining for Dollars, after school on the blacktop (2:30-4:30 p.m.). You can preorder HipPOPs using this link (be sure to select pick up on 5/27 and your preferred time)! You will pick them up at the truck window.
  • May 28: 
    • 5th Grade Continuation & Reception, 8:45-10:15 a.m.
    • ECE Continuations:
      • Ms. Wingard’s Class: 10-10:30 a.m. on the ECE Playground
      • Mr. Paul’s Class: 10:10-10:45 a.m., meet in the classroom, then move to the playground.
  • May 29: Last Day of School! Dismissal for all students at 11:30 a.m.
    • Kindergarten Continuation, 9 a.m..
    • “A Day at the Park”: The PTO will host a day at the park on the school field. You are welcome to join your students for lawn games, snacks, and kickball! 
      • 8:30-9:00 a.m.--4th Grade
      • 9:00-9:30 a.m.--1st Grade
      • 9:30-10:00 a.m.--ECE & Kindergarten (come out after Continuation activities)
      • 10:00-10:30 a.m.--2nd & 5th Grades
      • 10:30-11:00 a.m.--3rd Grade
 

What's Happening at Lowry:

Check out our school website for the 2026-2027 school supply lists and school-year calendar. Events will be updated over the summer.

 

What's Happening in Denver Public Schools:

The Southeast Community Hub, located at Place Bridge Academy, has a number of resources for community members. At no cost to visitors, the Hub has food & clothing markets, can help with utility and electricity payments, provides job and career support, has dental and healthcare appointments through the Denver Health Mobile Clinic and on-site providers, and can assist in applying for food and healthcare benefits. 

The Southeast Hub is open in June (Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.) and begins regular hours on August 1 (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.). The Hub will be closed in July. 

Feel free to share this information with friends or family in Denver–you do not have to have a student in a DPS school in order to utilize the Hub!

 
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