It stood at around today's 1304 Washington Avenue and was a rented log cabin, with school taught by Thomas Daughterty, with 18 students, financed through tuition and subscription.

After a mill levy was created in 1862, the first two school districts, Golden and Vasquez (roughly today's Wheat Ridge/Arvada area), were organized in 1863.

[9] Over time, as the population grew and spread across the county, more and more school districts were organized, each with its own elected board to govern them.

Its replacement, the first completed public school building in Jefferson County, still stands today at 1420 Washington Avenue in Golden.

They serve many uses from private homes to museums, and several are designated Jefferson County, Colorado and National Historic Register landmarks.

[14] On April 7, 1982, Scott Darwin Michael was shot and killed by classmate Jason Rocha at Deer Creek Middle School.

On February 23, 2010, eighth-graders Reagan Webber and Matt Thieu were shot and wounded at Deer Creek Middle School.

[16] The incident ended when math teacher David Benke tackled the perpetrator, Bruco Strong Eagle Eastwood, who was armed with a .30-06 Winchester Model 70.

[17][18] In September 2014, students and teachers in schools around the district protested the conservative ideology of the school board, which had proposed reviewing the APUSH curriculum set by the College Board, to focus history education on citizenship and patriotism, while condemning civil disobedience and strike actions.

[21] Many Jefferson County schools make use of constructed wetlands for managing stormwater and contributing to the health of local watersheds.

The wetland project at Oberon Middle School has been lauded by the National Resources Defense Council for setting "an example for local governments seeking new ways to manage stormwater on municipal grounds with some value added.

[23] The school district headquarters, which has a Golden postal address, is in an unincorporated area completely surrounded by, but not in, Lakewood.