Centaurus High School is located in a racially and socioeconomically diverse suburban community between
Boulder and
Denver. It had an enrollment of 1,482 students in the 2020–2021 school year, with 39% minority enrollment (majority Hispanic), lower than the state average enrollment of 48% minority enrollment. Approximately 35% of the students at CHS are economically disadvantaged. In 2015, CHS received national attention for its "package of reforms designed to create a school community that is welcoming and caring as well as academically challenging and supportive". A support program,
AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), serves students with potential for college success, but whose families may be economically disadvantaged or whose parents may not have graduated from college. According to Carol Burris and Kevin Weiner, who wrote the first report on the CHS Schools of Opportunity project, Students at CHS have also joined students and staff at
University of Colorado Boulder to create an elective ethnic studies course. Students wanted to explore other cultures, including their dance, food and the arts. Researcher have correlated ethnic studies courses with better attendance, graduation rates and academic performance. == History ==