About
Families come in all shapes and sizes. That’s also true of public schools.
Charter schools are a valuable part of both the public school family and Colorado’s K-12 education ecosystem. That’s because all Colorado children—regardless of zip code, race, ethnicity, income or ability—deserve access to high-quality public-school options that best meet their needs. Free and open to all students, charters provide families with valuable, public school choice.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the reality that a one-size-fits all public-school system does not work for everyone. Colorado charter schools allow passionate educators to deliver the individualized education that every student deserves, preparing them for success in college, career and life.
History
In 1993, Colorado became the third state in the U.S. to enact a charter school law. In fall of 1993, the state's first two charter schools — The Connect School in Pueblo and Academy Charter School in Castle Rock—opened their doors and continue to thrive today.
In 1994, the Colorado League of Charter Schools was founded to provide advocacy and support services to the state’s fast growing charter community. Since then, we have helped to create one of the nation’s strongest charter school laws, paving the way for continued growth and excellence in Colorado’s charter school sector. In addition, we have played a critical role in molding the climate for new charter schools and shaping the overall operating environment for existing charters.
What charter schools have done is dramatically expand the choices consumers – our citizens – get to use so that there are all kinds of different types of schools – longer school days, more intensive language study, science and technology focus…we’re giving our citizens more choice than they could ever have imagined 20 years ago.
Our purpose