by Terri Wiebold

American Academy, a K-8 public charter school, will return home to CPN in the fall of 2009. The school is building an 83,000 square foot facility on the Lagae Ranch development in CPN. Local CPN students interested in attending the new school will now get more priority in the enrollment lottery, thanks to the school’s recently adopted policy.

American Academy enrolls using a lottery system. Last June, the American Academy board of directors agreed, as part of its charter contract renewal with the Douglas County School District, to give residents of CPN an extra “weight” or priority in the lottery as a way to help alleviate current overcrowding in CPN schools (see related school overcrowding article this page).

Essentially, each student who enrolls at the school will be given one entry (or ball) in the lottery. Residents of CPN will automatically receive an additional entry or ball in the lottery, doubling the chances of being selected. Students on the waiting list in a previous year who were not selected will also receive an additional ball. Finally, those who signed a “letter of intent” prior to American Academy’s final charter application submittal on October 5, 2005, will also receive an additional ball in the lottery.

On average, two out of every three names selected to attend the new school will be CPN residents. The deadline for enrollment applications is midnight, January 31, 2009. American Academy will hold the lottery on February 1, 2009. To obtain an application, go to www.americanacademyk8.org and click on enrollment.

American Academy currently has 533 students enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is opening 180 additional spots in the fall of 2009, for a total 2009-10 enrollment of 675 students. The school plans to grow to more than 750 students by the 2011 school year.

American Academy was started in 2004 by a grassroots effort of Castle Pines North parents who wanted to create an additional educational option with a strong emphasis in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for local children. American Academy opened its doors in August, 2005 in a leased temporary home with the intention of building a permanent facility in CPN. Four years later, that dream is finally becoming a reality.

“Getting back home to Castle Pines North has taken longer and been more complicated than any of us ever imagined,” said American Academy Board President and CPN resident Erin Kane. “We are so happy and grateful to finally be moving forward with our new building.”

American Academy has been a recipient of the John Irwin School of Excellence award every year since 2005 and continues to be one of the top performing academic schools in Douglas County and the state.

Families wanting to learn more about American Academy are invited to attend parent information meetings. The dates currently scheduled include:

• Tuesday, Nov. 6 - 8:30 a.m.;
  
• Thursday, Dec. 11 - 6:30 p.m.;
  
• Wednesday, Jan. 14 - 8:30 a.m.;
  
• Wednesday, Jan. 28 - 6:30 p.m.

All meetings will be held upstairs in Studio 14 at the Word of Life Church, located next to the school at 8600 Park Meadows Drive in Lone Tree.

Learn more at www.americanacademyk8.org.