Denver Public Schools · Est. 1960 · The Spartans

Home of the
Spartans.

1960
Year founded: 1,375
Students · Grades 9–12: 18:1
Student–teacher ratio: Brown & Gold
School colors

Identity

A big school that runs like a family.

Brown & gold, since day one

Thomas Jefferson opened its doors in 1960 and took its colors — brown and gold — from the original Denver Broncos uniforms of that same year. Six decades on, the palette still reads across the building, the field, and the crowd.

Students and staff call the school TJ, and they describe the culture the same way year after year: a large, diverse student body that somehow stays close-knit. The mascot is the Spartan; the ethos is belonging.

Spartans Est. 1960 Southeast Denver DPS

The Spartan

Mascot since 1960 · brown & gold · Spartan Athletics →

“TJ is a big family — everyone finds their people here.”

— A recurring theme in student & family reviews

Academics

The newsroom that made TJ famous.

Center for Communication Technology Magnet

Launched in 1994, the CCTM is TJ's signature: a four-year magnet program with industry-standard training in robotics, software engineering, web applications, 3D design, and broadcast journalism — taught across seven computer labs, robotics workshops, and digital studios.

Students can earn up to 21 college credits at no cost before they graduate. Around the magnet sits a college- and career-readiness core with a broad AP catalog open to any student ready to push.

1994

CCT magnet founded

21

College credits available through CCTM — free

69%

AP participation rate

Community

Drawn from all of Denver.

Diversity is the default

TJ pulls students from neighborhoods across the city, and the result is a genuinely mixed hallway. Two of every three students identify as students of color, and the school serves a large share of families who qualify as economically disadvantaged.

Staff treat that mix as the point, not a footnote — the range of backgrounds is what makes the “big family” feel real.

66%

Students of color

50%

Economically disadvantaged

1,375

Total enrollment · 2023–24

Athletics

Spartan sport, dawn to Friday night.

Fifteen-plus programs

The Spartans field a full slate across the seasons — enough that most students who want to compete can find a team. Brown and gold show up on the turf, the mat, the court, and the track.

Football Soccer Basketball Lacrosse Baseball Softball Volleyball Wrestling Swim & Dive Track & Field Cross Country Tennis Gymnastics Golf Cheer

The Neighborhood

Southeast Denver, best explored on two wheels.

Bible Park & the High Line Canal

TJ sits in the Southmoor Park neighborhood — quiet, tree-lined streets tucked between Hampden Avenue and I-25. Pedal a few minutes north and you're in James A. Bible Park: open fields, cottonwoods, and the High Line Canal Trail running straight through it — 71 miles of car-free riding across the metro.

Riding electric? Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are welcome on Denver's park trails (class 3 too, since 2020) — keep it under the 15 mph trail limit and call your passes. Rosamond and Southmoor parks are minutes away, the light rail at Southmoor Station takes bikes, and Cherry Creek State Park's reservoir loops make a perfect weekend mission.

71

Miles of High Line Canal Trail

15

mph — trail speed limit for e-bikes

20

Minutes by e-bike to Cherry Creek State Park (approx.)