In Fall 2008, we began as a group of parents and teachers who identified a need in the Pikes Peak Region for a K-8 school specializing in challenging and supporting gifted learners without requiring tuition. Our charter application with District 11 was approved December 16, 2009. Work is now underway to open for the 2010-2011 school year.

AcademyACL’s entire school design focuses on the unique academic and social/emotional needs of gifted, twice-exceptional, advanced and creative students. We recognize that some learners need to progress at a very fast pace and with more depth and complexity than other students, and that these learners also have a need to work with teachers who understand their ‘asynchrony’- their state of being ‘out of sync’. While these students often develop at a much faster intellectual rate, there may be discrepancies between their intellectual, physical, emotional and social development.

No. AcademyACL has an open enrollment, open welcome policy. Parents are free to enroll their child if they believe the program is a good fit for his or her needs, without any testing requirements . We are committed to providing as much information as possible to parents so that they can make the decision that is best for their family.

The term "twice-exceptional" formally refers to a sub-population of very bright students who both have giftedness and 'something else', or a 'double-label' for both gifted needs and special education needs. There is a very wide range of 'something else', with everything from specific learning disabilities, ADHD, physical impairments, and students on the Autistic Spectrum. We believe that AcademyACL will suit some of these students' needs very well, and we will have a full time special education teacher to oversee federally mandated special education plans. We will work with each enrolled family to discuss any special education needs and the ways that AcademyACL's unique design might be able to provide the least restrictive environment possible for individual situations.

Yes. We recognize that families have to arrange back-up plans in case they do not make it through the lottery selection process and are placed on a waiting list for AcademyACL.

A charter school is a free public school that has a contract with a school district or state authorizer. The contract outlines the design of the particular charter school. Each charter school is therefore different, and there is a wide range of them in Colorado Springs. Every charter school operates with state money designated by the number of enrolled students.

We expect our parents to be highly involved in a positive partnership with our teachers and staff. We ask for a minimum of fifteen volunteer hours per family each year, attendance at a new family orientation, and five formal family-teacher conferences each year. We expect our students to follow school rules for kindness, safety, responsibility and mutual respect, and we require signed family contracts of agreement each year. We expect our staff to be enthusiastic learners who specialize in gifted education and collaborate with families to set and meet individual learning goals.

We have a homeschooling option for partially-enrolled students that we will individually tailor to family needs.