Pikes Peak Community College and Colorado’s largest bricks and mortar charter school, The Classical Academy, are joining forces to create a pioneering new facility that will be used jointly to provide a streamlined education from kindergarten through college. The cooperative partnership will significantly benefit both schools, and provide opportunities for innovative program development and exchanges. A ground breaking ceremony was held on Friday, September 26, to officially launch the project.

The 81,000 square foot educational facility will be built by The Classical Academy on 9 acres of state-owned land at the PPCC Rampart Range Campus. Ground-breaking for the new facility is set for August or September of this year, with plans to open for Fall of 2009. The project is contingent upon the Classical Academy raising funds for the project through a bond initiative. TCA will lease the land from the state for $1 per year, and PPCC will in turn lease part of the building from TCA for additional classroom space. The agreement will allow The Classical Academy to build a larger, better school, and receive income to benefit their programs. With the addition of the much-needed classroom space, Pikes Peak Community College will be able to add 375 new classes to its Rampart Range Campus curriculum, at a considerable savings of more than $80,000 per year over the cost of leasing a commercial facility.

Juniors and seniors at The Classical Academy will be able to enroll in the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program at PPCC. Through PSEO, the students take academic classes at PPCC, and earn dual credit for both high school and college. Students can graduate from high school having completed their college general education requirements, and transfer to a university as a junior, while saving a substantial amount on college tuition.

According to Mark Hyatt, president of The Classical Academy, the cooperative agreement will allow the school to expand their support for home school students, and provide a pathway to higher education. “The partnership with PPCC provides a way for home school families to access public, higher education on their own terms,” says Hyatt. “They will be able to access benefits they are already paying for as taxpayers.”

PPCC President Dr. Tony Kinkel says the partnership makes good sense. “The joint project allows the community college to increase classroom capacity without burdening the state taxpayers with increased capital and controlled maintenance costs. At the same time, we’re combining resources to allow all students and their parents to access education regardless of whether they come from a public system or not,” says Kinkel. “It’s the ultimate in being good stewards of the taxpayers’ resources blended with the reality of the changing K-12 environment.”

The new building will house K-6 classrooms, a Gym/Cafeteria/Commons area, middle and high school classrooms, and ten separate classrooms exclusively for use by PPCC. In addition, in the joint part of the building, TCA will hold classes during the day, and PPCC will have the option to utilize additional space during evenings and weekends.

ABOUT THE CLASSICAL ACADEMY
The Classical Academy is the largest Kindergarten through 12th grade public charter school in Colorado. TCA began in 1997 with 400 students. Now, they have more than 2,600 students with another 7,700 students on the waiting list. The elementary, junior high, and high school are multiple recipients of the John J. Irwin Award for Academic Excellence. In 2005, based on scores from the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP), the high school ranked fifth out of 354 high schools in Colorado. In 2004, they also received acclaim as the National K-12 School for their outstanding character education program. Also, in 2004, they received recognition as a National School of Distinction by the Kennedy Center (only seven schools in the nation received this honor) for integrating arts throughout the curriculum. The three main reasons parents choose TCA are: character based education programs, sound Core Knowledge curriculum, and small class sizes (18-20 students per classroom).