American Academy Charter School reminds me in many ways of Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station.
You could drive by the building ump-teen times and never know it was there. But once you enter the building you realize the imperative program which is hidden inside.
The Lone Tree facility where American Academy is temporarily leasing until the completion of the permanent facility is a classic example of charter school startups. It is tucked into the back of a retail shopping center.
Parents that only shop schools according to cosmetic amenities may throw their Caravan in reverse, peel out of the parking lot and not give the school another glance over.
Images of new charter schools are more like mug-shots than glamour shots.
Parking spaces are compact, which is a theme for the rest of the school building. The playground reminds me of a blacktop urban backyard complete with a chain link fence, and lacking everything one would imagine as playground equipment. There is a warehouse with an unattached entry behind the building that hosts a variety of functions that most other schools take for granted. The space is sectioned off into three areas. The center of the room is methodically lined with foldable picnic tables and used daily as a lunchroom. Cubicle partitions surround a group of bookshelves and serve as the school library. A series of white sheets are tacked up and act as the art room.
However, if you want proof that great education is not always a shiny building--American Academy is a perfect example.
AA is a parent driven K-8 th public charter school. The curriculum is a Core Knowledge foundation with a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) component. It is a school culture of respect and responsibility which provides consistent character development and student challenges.
That's a tall order, but after merely three years of operation, American Academy can prove their mission statement. They are neck to neck at the top of famed rigorous performers such as Parker Core Knowledge and Platte River Academy.
American Academy is one of five Douglas County School District Charter Schools that are considered "Core Knowledge Schools." Where AA is unique is in its STEM program.
Current technology is integrated into all facets of the curriculum instead of being taught as a separate class. Using technology as a tool is just as important as using a pencil. For example, the students learn to Podcast in music, and graphic design in the art units begin in primary grades.
Students at AA have a STEM Discovery Week each quarter. Teams of industry experts and teachers in partnerships with corporate sponsors develop these specialized units that include animation, geology, paleontology, forensics, rocketry, and cryptology. Each topic includes field trips and hands-on projects. The goal is to cultivate students' interests.
American Academy may be an education parallel to Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, hiding a high tech program within a covert appearance. However, AA will not be stealth for long.
The fruit of the school leadership's labor is about to yield a brand new 83,000 sq. ft. school building in Castle Pines North in 2009.
The building will offer enrollment for 830 children, flexible grouping classrooms, four state-of-the-art science labs, a gym, library, and a lunch room. Good-bye blacktop playground.
For those of you who keep track of public school cost, the new K-8th building is costing 30% less than recent DCSD elementary schools. You may also want to know that this building cost the taxpayer $0 in mil, levy, or bond override funds. American Academy does not currently receive such funding.
Let me say this one more time--American Academy Charter School is a public school. Congratulations Castle Pines--future home of AA! May learning shine, test scores excel and property values climb.
If you want more information about American Academy Charter School, visit http://www.americanacademyk8.org/, or call 720-873-7395.