The shrieks of thousands of elementary and middle school students filled the Denver Coliseum on Wednesday morning as kids with homemade signs, pompoms and light-up toys leaped in the stands with enough enthusiasm to match a greeting fit for a pop star.
The celebrities who took the stage may not be household names just yet. But to the households packed into the venue, they were far more beloved.
More than 200 Rocky Mountain Prep high school seniors made a grand entrance on the floor of the roaring coliseum, clutching the hands of their escorts who, in many cases, were mom and dad.
Seniors graduating from the Denver-area charter school network’s 12 schools were celebrated for achieving a 100% college acceptance rate. The students had the honor of standing before their peers, teachers and families to declare their next steps.
The “signing day” event — a play on the tradition when high school athletes formally commit to their college of choice — brought more than 4,000 of the younger Rocky Mountain Prep students to watch the seniors celebrate their academic success.
“We are celebrating the incredible accomplishments of these 200-plus students, but also taking time as a community to show all of our students that this is what you’re working for,” said Tricia Noyola, Rocky Mountain Prep CEO.
During the ceremony, the students presented a rose to whoever they deemed their biggest supporter. Senior Ashley Prycel beelined toward her mother, Amanda Prycel. Ashley Prycel placed the rose in her mother’s lap, bending down to embrace her and accommodate her mother’s wheelchair.
The two stayed locked in embrace while Mom wept.
“I’m so proud and overwhelmed,” Amanda Prycel said. “This ceremony is amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It’s been a rough year, and she worked really hard, and I’m just so proud.”
She said her daughter pushed through post-pandemic social anxiety to achieve good grades and stick with school even when it felt tough. Now, Ashley Prycel is headed to the University of Northern Colorado to study forensic science.
By the end of the ceremony, the attendees knew where each soon-to-be graduate would be studying next.
The students lined up and stormed the stage, screaming their names and their postsecondary destinations while hoisting flags from the institutions in the air.
Metropolitan State University of Denver. Colorado State University. University of Colorado. Cornell College. The U.S. Army. Pickens Technical College. Tennessee State University. Pima Medical Institute.
Each proud declaration elicited raucous clapping and hooting from the crowd.
Vianey Gonzalez, 18, was nervous as she awaited her turn. She looked into the stands at the adoring younger students and remembered being one of them.
“I remember turning to my friend in sixth grade and saying, ‘Can you believe one day that’s going to be us?’ ” Gonzalez said. “Now, it’s here.”
Gonzalez, who is headed to MSU Denver to study sports medicine, said an event like this made going to college feel special.
“It feels good and sad that we’re all moving on, but I know we’ll be going onto better steps toward our futures,” she said.
Wednesday’s ceremony marked Rocky Mountain Prep’s second year of reaching a 100% college acceptance rate among its seniors.
Getting there is no accident, CEO Noyola said.
“We’re relentless about making sure our students have what they need to live a life that really matters to them,” Noyola said.
Talk of college and postsecondary opportunities begins early in Rocky Mountain Prep classrooms, Noyola said. Teachers discuss goal-setting with students and research together what steps students need to achieve different career paths.
Students receive college counseling, but their teachers all incorporate lessons about goals and the future, too. They fill out college applications together. They discuss what careers match up with their talents and interests.
Then, when college acceptance comes, Rocky Mountain Prep throws a big bash in front of everyone to celebrate its commitment to a higher education.
The event was unlike a regular school graduation. At one point while Noyola was talking, fire shot out of the stage while Katy Perry’s “Firework” blasted through the arena. Halfway through the ceremony, students performed a musical number from “The Wiz.” A DJ blasting Selena and top 40 hits kept the ceremony moving.
During the event, Rocky Mountain Prep educators and leadership shouted out statistics that brought the crowd to its feet. The entire senior class earned more than $9 million, collectively, in scholarship money. One student, Jaquelyn Fuentes Pacheco, earned the most scholarship money at more than $725,000 and scored 20 college acceptances.
“It’s an entire system that supports this,” Noyola said.
Senior Geoffrey Juniel, 18, was all smiles when he declared his commitment to the University of Northern Colorado, where he’ll study acting.
He shook his head in awe as the arena erupted for him and his friends.
“It’s so surreal,” Juniel said. “This puts a big highlight on the academics, which is cool. It feels nice to get that spotlight.”
Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter.