The Meadows chats about a charter
Information provided by the Town of Castle Rock
The Douglas County School District (DCSD) has conditionally approved funding for Aspen View Academy (AVA), a K-8 charter school that plans to open in Castle Rock for the 2013-14 school year. The school plans to build a 76,000-square-foot, three-story school building in The Meadows, near Low Meadow Boulevard and Prairie Hawk Drive.
A charter school is a public school operated by a group of parents, teachers and/or community members as a semi-autonomous school of choice. The school operates under a contract, or charter, with a public school district, such as Douglas County Schools, or the state.
Charter schools, which do not charge tuition, must be approved by the local school board where the school proposes to open, or by the state. There are currently 12 charter schools within DCSD. AVA will open pending the school’s completion of the district’s conditions.
The proposed site, which is currently owned by the Towne of Castle Rock, will be transferred to DCSD and has been slated to house a school. This situation varies from other new developments in which DCSD builds the school. In this case, DCSD will partner with AVA to build the school.
Consequently, the look and feel of the school building will be different than a typical Douglas County school. In addition, this school will not provide transportation, so there will be increased traffic in the area.
A public meeting was held on July 19 at Castle View High School to view the proposed development plans for the K-8 charter school. During this meeting, school leaders discussed the proposed development, including project schematics, traffic analysis and curriculum for AVA.
If you have questions or would like further information, e-mail AVA Board President Jonathan Nye, jnye@aspenviewacademy.org.
