The Adams County School District 12, commonly known as the Adams 12 Five Star Schools, is a public school district located in western Adams County, Colorado, United States. The district serves the suburban area immediately north of Denver including the communities of Broomfield, Federal Heights, Northglenn, Thornton, and Westminster.

As of 2011, the Colorado school district consists of 32 elementary schools, 9 middle schools, 5 high schools, 4 charter schools, 1 alternative school, 1 technical education center, and 1 adult education center, with nearly 39,000 students enrolled in the district. Although there are approximately 68 different spoken languages throughout the district, the ESL (English as a second language) population of nearly 5,000 students consists of mainly native Spanish speakers. Almost 3,000 students participate in the gifted and talented program, and almost 3,500 students have special education needs. Over 14,000 students travel to school by bus, and over 10,500 students receive a free or reduced lunch.

Along with the large student body, the district also has a large teacher work force. At the end of 2006, the district contained 1,918 classroom teacher, and 917 of those teachers had some kind of advanced degree. The teachers in the district have, on average, 10.65 years of total teaching experience and 9.19 years of employment within the district. Only .01% of the entire teacher workforce have emergency licenses.

• Hispanics 62.11%
• White/Caucasian: 23.00%
• Asian/Pacific Islander: 5.15%
• African–American: 2.71%
• Native American: 0.99%

• High Plains High School

Northglenn High School has offered a STEM program for those who went to STEM middle schools in the district, or who sign up before freshman year.

Thornton High School is the site of the district's IB (International Baccalaureate) and MYP (Middle Years Programme). The International School at Thornton Middle and Century Middle School are authorized for the MYP Program for young people in sixth through eighth grades. Leroy Drive and Coronado Hills Elementary Schools are authorized for the PYP Programme for students in grades kindergarten through fifth.

Legacy High School is the site of the Legacy 2000 Program, an academic program that focuses on math, science, and technology. The program has been in place since the school's founding in 2000.

Horizon High School is the site of the district's SOAR Honor Program. SOAR has existed at the school since 2008, and is a pre-collegiate program developed by Horizon High School's teachers.

At Mountain Range High School, the nationally recognized High School of Business is an accelerated college program that prepares students for success in their future careers and in the changing global workplace and society. Throughout the program, students receive ongoing ethics education and leadership development. Program students are dual enrolled in high school and college with the opportunity to earn up to 21 transcripted college credits during high school! In addition, students in the High School of Business work towards achieving fluency in a second language. High School of Business students also complete a career focused internship in their designated career pathway and have the option to expand their learning through travel.

The Adams 12 district provides adult education, driver's education, and outdoor education courses. The district also provides pre-school and summer school services along with the BASE (Before and After School and Summer Enrichment) program, which is offered at its elementary schools.

Board of Education

• Lori Goldstein – President – District 1
• Amira Assad-Lucas – Vice President – District 4
• Paula Battistelli - Secretary – District 2
• Courtney Potter – Director – District 3
• Alexis Marsh-Holschen – Director – District 5

• "Five Star District offers a wealth of opportunities". Adams12 Five Star Schools. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2007.

• "2006 Annual Report" (PDF). Adams12 Five Star Schools. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 17, 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2007.

• "Schools in Adams 12 Five Star Schools". greatschools: The Parents' Guide to K–12 success. Retrieved February 11, 2007.

• Official website