Meet the Principal
Principal Karen Barker
I was born in Chicago and my family relocated to Applewood when I was 3 years old. After graduating from Wheat Ridge High School I attended Metropolitan State College and received my Bachelor’s in Elementary Education in 1988, and my Master’s in Educational Administration and Supervision from the University of Phoenix in 1992. I was a classroom teacher for 13 years and this is my 18th year as a school leader. A fun fact about me is I grew up raising, riding, and training horses. I spent my childhood riding with the Westernaires. My husband and I have been married 32 years. We have two children Brady and Clare. Brady and his wife, Aly are teachers in Cherry Creek. Clare and her boyfriend, Steven currently live in Las Vegas and are moving to Austin, TX in November. Clare will be working for American College Communities and Steven will finish his degree at the University of Houston. Our Grizzlies have shown outstanding growth in literacy the past two years with our new literacy program, Into Reading. This year I am looking forward to learning alongside teachers and students as we implement our new math curriculum.