New Erie elementary students will be Colliers Hill foxes

Students at Erie’s newest elementary school will be the Colliers Hill foxes.

The St. Vrain Valley school board voted Wednesday to approve the school’s name, mascot and attendance boundaries. Colliers Hill Elementary, paid for through 2024’s $739.8 million capital construction bond issue, is under construction in the Colliers Hill neighborhood on West Ridge Circle. The school is set to open in fall 2027.

With a capacity of about 600 students, the new school is expected to relieve enrollment pressure at Soaring Heights PK-8, which was projected to grow to 114% of capacity by next school year. This year, Soaring Heights’ elementary grades enroll 676 students, while the school’s total enrollment is 1,228 students.

The new attendance boundary uses County Road 5 as the eastern dividing line between Colliers Hill Elementary and Soaring Heights. To the south, the boundary follows Erie Parkway. The west boundary follows the Cottonwood Ditch, extending north to County Road 3. County Road 12 marks the northern boundary.

“It will hopefully create a sustainable boundary for years to come,” St. Vrain Valley Planning Director Brendan Willits said.

The top two names forwarded to the school board were Colliers Hill and West Ridge. Principal Andrew Moore, who is leading the planning efforts before the school opens, said a name with a connection to the community was a “huge theme” based on suggestions made through a school survey.

A school advisory group recommended Colliers Hill because it connects the school directly to the neighborhood while honoring Erie’s mining history, according to information in the school board packet. The word collier has historic ties to coal mining. About a third of the community submissions also suggested a Colliers-based name.

A fox, Moore said, was recommended as the mascot because “foxes are curious, clever, adaptable and resourceful: qualities that reflect the kind of learners we hope to develop. They explore their surroundings, solve problems and thrive through both independence and connection with others.” Plus, he joked, the school community wanted “​a good costume we can wear.”

The school’s colors will be dark blue and bright gold.

While Erie continues to grow, other areas of the district are experiencing enrollment declines.

The school board on Wednesday also formally voted to approve the new attendance boundary for Longmont’s Northridge Elementary, which will be consolidated with Sanborn Elementary in the fall because of low enrollment. All of Sanborn’s current attendance boundary will be added to Northridge’s boundary.

The consolidated school, at 1200 19th Ave., will have a capacity of 490 students.

Sanborn this year enrolls about 80 K-5 students, while Northridge enrolls 263 K-5 students plus 46 preschoolers. Last school year, Sanborn enrolled enrolled about 170 students, but  many families — who found out about the consolidation in January — took advantage of a district offer to choose a different school for the current school year. 

Sanborn’s building, at 2235 Vivian St., will be used to house the district’s APEX homeschool program.

“We’re not going to let it sit idle,” Willits said. “It’s great stewardship to repurpose that building.”