Welcome
Carl Sandburg, the poet
Carl Sandburg was born of Swedish immigrant parents in Galesburg, Illinois, in 1878. Mr. Sandburg is the author of the children's classic Rootabaga Stories (for which one of our buildings is named); a collection of folk songs, The American Songbag; and an autobiography, Always the Young Strangers. In addition, he is the author of a number of well-known books such as The People, Yes; Wind Song; Harvest Poems, 1910, 1960; The Sandburg Range; Abe Lincoln Grows Up; Abraham Lincoln, The Prairie Years; Honey and Salt; and Early Moon.
Mr. Sandburg won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1951 for Complete Poems which included Cornhuskers; Smoke and Steel; Slabs of the Sunburnt West; Good Morning, America; The People,Yes; and Chicago Poems. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in History in 1940 for Abraham Lincoln: The War Years.
About Our School
Carl Sandburg Elementary School, a Littleton Public School at 6900 South Elizabeth Street, Centennial, Colorado, is a neighborhood school conveniently located south of Arapahoe Road and east of University Boulevard. Its proximity to Cherry Knolls Park with green space, walking path, stream, and pond provide a huge backyard for physical education and science exploration.
Sandburg is fondly called “my school” by about 500 Kindergarten through 5th Grade students, their parents, and about 60 staff. Our school neighborhood prides itself on providing a safe, nurturing environment for children to learn since opening its doors in 1966. While about 90% of our students are from the Sandburg attendance area, including the surrounding neighborhoods of Cherry Knolls, The Knolls, Tiffany, Forest Park, Bristol Cove and Four Lakes, the other approximately 10% are open enrolled from areas around the Denver metro area. Most students continuing from Sandburg attend Newton or Powell Middle School and then Arapahoe High School.
Our school follows a traditional school year from mid-August to late May. We are a high-performing school with a tradition of quality education supported by highly qualified staff and high volunteerism through our PTO.
Sandburg's Campus
CONNEMARA is the name of the south section of our main building. It contains the cafeteria, Library/Media Center, Learning Support Services room, conference room, the teacher's lounge, gym, art and music rooms. Connemara is named after the Connemara Farm in North Carolina where Carl Sandburg lived from 1945 until he died in 1967.
PHIZZOG is the name of the northern section of our main building. Connemara and Phizzog are connected by our main office. Phizzog is named after a poem written by Carl Sandburg. Phizzog is derived from the word physiognomy, the art of discovering temperament and character from outward appearance.
ROOTABAGA is the building on the hill northeast of Connemara. It was named for the children's classic Rootabaga Stories.
KIVA is a Pueblo Indian word for a ceremonial structure that is usually round and partly underground. We use this word to describe the meeting places in our buildings.