Ascent Classical Academy of Douglas County is a public charter school that opened in Fall 2018.
Q: What is a charter public school?
A charter school is a non-profit, tuition-free, independently operated public school granted greater flexibility in curriculum, staffing, and operations. Ascent Classical Academy of Douglas County is authorized by the Charter School Institute.
Charter schools:
- Receive state “per-pupil revenue” (PPR) and some local mill levy dollars but do not typically receive funding for capital expenses, which must be paid for from operational funding;
- Offer seats to children based on a random lottery. Charter schools do not select children;
- Offer a variety of curricula, instructional styles, and sometimes differ in their philosophy toward education. Parents choosing a charter school as an option for their children doesn’t indicate a weakness in district-run schools, but a preference for a different approach and focus for their child;
- Serve students with specials needs;
- Allow parents a choice in the education of their children! They are not right for everyone.
For more information on charter schools in Colorado, visit the Colorado League of Charter Schools or the Charter School Institute website.
Q: What grades does the school serve?
Ascent Classical Academy of Douglas County offers grades K-12, including half-day kindergarten.
Q: Does Ascent Classical Academy of Douglas County serve students with special needs?
Yes, the school serves students with special needs. Direct instruction, the structure, and coherence of the Core Knowledge curriculum along with the Riggs phonics program are very effective and the school supports a broader spectrum of special needs. The focus of the school and its Student Services is to provide support and tools to enable all students to be successful in school and life.
Ascent Classical Academy will ask applicants if their children have special needs only after they have an accepted seat in the school. At that time, the school will review any Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) or 504 plans to determine the school’s ability to serve an individual student and ensure they will thrive and be successful. Working within all applicable laws, regulations, and the guidance of its authorizer, ACA’s IEP team will determine students’ needs including the setting in which the school will provide the required services and will communicate this determination to parents as required by law and regulation.
Q: Where is Ascent Classical Academy of Douglas County Located?
Our school campus is located at 10004 Park Meadows Drive, Lone Tree, CO 80124.
Q: Where can I view the annual school calendar and school hours?
Click here to view the most current school calendar and daily bell schedule.
Q: What is classical education?
The underlying philosophy of a good classical school differs from how most other schools are educating today.
Read our page on classical education and our content-rich curriculum.
Q: What are the core elements of the academic program?
Ascent Classical Academy takes a classical, liberal arts approach to educating young people, as described above. Other key elements of the academic program include:
- Core Knowledge sequence in grades K-8;
- Riggs, an explicit phonics approach to literacy. The school also requires a mastery of spelling and proper grammar as well as good handwriting and cursive;
- Singapore Math;
- Highly engaging, direct, teacher-led instruction with increased use of Socratic techniques as students progress through the school;
- Primary source documents are used to the maximum extent possible.
Q: Does Ascent Classical Academy of Douglas County require teachers to be licensed?
All Ascent Classical Academy teachers are highly qualified.
Ascent Classical Academy hires the most highly qualified teachers for our classrooms and seeks out content experts.
After involving parents, it’s known that highly effective teachers, using an excellent, proven curriculum in the classroom, have the greatest impact on student success. Ascent Classical Academy seeks staff with expertise in their content area and the best teachers for each position may or may not be licensed teachers.
One of the automatic waivers granted charter schools by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) is a waiver from teacher licensure requirements (Colorado Revised Statutes 22-63-201), which most, if not all, charter schools in Colorado have. View a complete report of all waivers granted to charter schools throughout Colorado.
Rather than having licensed teachers, the state of Colorado allows charter schools to hire “highly-qualified” teachers. To earn this designation a teacher must have a college degree or other demonstrated expertise in a content area that person will be teaching. At the 6th grade level and below, a teacher may take a placement test. Details on the “highly-qualified” qualification is found on the CDE website.
This waiver allows Ascent Classical to hire a teacher with a master’s degree in Chemistry to teach science, or a retired college English literature professor to teach high school English. Liberty Common School in Ft Collins, the school that set the all-time ACT record in Colorado, does not have a single “licensed” teacher.
Q: What sports and co-curricular activities are available?
As with most charter schools, the school offers co-curricular activities based on student demand and the school’s access to quality coaches and advisors to lead activities. View the most updated list of athletics programs available on our campus.
Children in Colorado are fortunate that they are able to participate in a sport or activity at another school if that sport is not offered at their school.
Q: How did Ascent Classical Academy of Douglas County get started?
Ascent Classical Academy of Douglas County is a joint effort of several Douglas County parents, other parents who have been involved in starting classical schools, and classical school leaders in Colorado.
Q: What is the role of the Hillsdale College Barney Charter School Initiative?
Ascent Classical Academy of Douglas County collaborates with the Barney Charter School Initiative, a win-win for the school and Douglas County.
Ascent Classical Academy of Douglas County initiated a partnership with the Barney Charter School Initiative at Hillsdale College. Hillsdale College is a national leader in liberal arts education and has provided help to K-12 schools across the country to create high-quality classical, liberal arts programs.
Mentorship and Experience
The Barney Charter School Initiative brings additional mentorship and experience to the table to help ensure our team is replicating a high-quality school. This reduces the risk to Douglas County by providing the Ascent Classical Academy team with more guidance and advice to facilitate our implementing a top-notch program and establishing our culture.
Teacher Professional Development
Hillsdale College assists Ascent Classical Academy of Douglas County with professional development for its staff at its annual training program in Michigan, with other teachers from across the United States. This allows our teachers to receive high-quality training from college-level instructors with experience in the liberal arts and classical education, while also having the opportunity to network and connect with teachers from other classical, liberal arts charter schools. Ascent provides training on Core Knowledge, Riggs phonics, Singapore math, classical education philosophy, and other topics critical for success in the classroom. This is in addition to the professional development Ascent Classical Academy staff conducts among itself.
The professional development and support provided by Hillsdale College are conducted at no cost to Ascent Classical Academy.