Located in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, the PK-5 school has built its identity around a simple belief: when children feel valued, supported, and connected, they are ready to learn. Its CRUN family culture is not simply a phrase but a daily practice that shapes relationships among students, families, and educators.
Principal Shannon McPherson who has been a staff member for 17 years describes Cougar Run as a place where collaborative leadership guides decisions and where the whole child remains at the center of every initiative. “We do things together through a PLC. Our teachers have uninterrupted professional learning community time where they are looking at Tier 1 instruction, planning together, planning their assessments together, and looking at data together.”
Building Character through ROCKS
The school’s character education program, ROCKS, stands for "Power of ONE" where students learn to use their own power to make a positive impact. It provides the foundation for its welcoming environment. Respect, responsibility, compassion, kindness, and safety are embedded into everyday experiences rather than treated as occasional reminders. Through classroom lessons, PA announcements, student leadership opportunities, and family engagement, these values help students understand how they contribute to their community.
The program extends beyond teacher instruction through the ROCKS Council, where older students become role models for younger learners. Fourth- and fifth-graders lead tours, create videos, and demonstrate what it means to live out the school’s values. Younger students also benefit from book buddy partnerships that connect different grade levels and strengthen relationships across the school.
A System Designed for Student Growth
What differentiates Cougar Run is the structure behind its academic success. The school’s professional learning community model gives every teaching team protected weekly time to analyze student learning, examine data, strengthen Tier 1 instruction, and adjust Tier 2 interventions. This discipline ensures that support is proactive and that students receive targeted assistance when they need it.
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We do things together through a PLC. Our teachers have uninterrupted professional learning community time where they are looking at tier one instruction, they are planning together, they're planning their assessments together, they're looking at data together.
The school has invested in its people to make this approach effective. Each grade level includes an academic interventionist who works alongside classroom teachers, reducing student-to-adult ratios and allowing educators to build stronger connections with learners. Additional support comes through the Cougar Den, behavior technicians, counseling services, and the BEST team, which reviews student needs and develops strategies to help children succeed.
Partnerships That Strengthen the Community
Families are essential members of the Cougar Run experience. Through weekly communication, an active PTA, WATCH D.O.G.S. participation, and consistent visibility from school leadership, the school creates meaningful connections between home and the classroom. The result is a community where families feel welcomed and students recognize that many adults are invested in their success.
Cougar Run’s collaborative approach has produced measurable results. The school has experienced five consecutive years of growth in English language arts and continued improvement in math, earning recognition through the John Irwin Award for academic excellence four years in a row. These achievements reflect a staff culture in which educators plan together, assess together, and share responsibility for every learner.
“We just had our 30th year celebration and the majority of our staff have been at our school a decade or longer,” says McPherson. “We even have two teachers who have been on staff for 28 and 29 years. Eight staff members are 20 years or more.”
The future of Cougar Run continues to focus on improvement through stronger instructional alignment, deeper PLC practices, and ensuring that classroom rigor matches learning expectations. By protecting collaboration time and investing in its people, the school demonstrates that academic achievement is built through relationships, systems, and a shared commitment to children. Cougar Run Elementary is not simply a school with strong academics and a warm culture; it is a community where character and collaboration work together to create student success.
