We all have opinions about the schools in our district, some people have opinions that are stronger than others. Most students enjoy the aspects of competition between the schools in their city. In the Poudre School District, all four high schools have somewhat friendly rivalries between one another.

Perceptions are based on culture, individuals and inclusion at each school. The culture of a school is the environment created by those in the school; how safe people feel, what allowances there are for students and how student relationships work.

Each individual interviewed will have different perceptions on the all the schools in PSD. Everyone is involved in different aspects of their school; each activity they are apart of has different levels of participation, so it is rare that two people will ever be involved in the same way at school.

Collins, Fossil, Rocky and Poudre all have different school cultures, their students are all different, but they all compare their school to each other.

To honestly evaluate other schools, a student must also look at their own school. They’re typically aware of how their school is viewed, but focus more on other schools.

The next few articles on Culture Shock will be what students have said about their schools and the other schools in PSD.