Charter flexibility in action: Connecting students to real-world STEM careers

On the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, high school students at Aurora Science & Tech are doing far more than studying STEM concepts in the classroom. In one project, ninth graders work in teams to diagnose a patient using state-of-the-art mannequins at the Center for Advancing Professional Education (CAPE), where medical professionals (not their teachers) evaluate their performance.

It’s the kind of experience that feels more like early career preparation than a traditional high school exam. It’s also a powerful example of what charter school flexibility can make possible. Aurora Science & Tech High School was intentionally designed to connect rigorous academics with real-world learning. The school is one of six in the country located on a medical campus and the only open-enrollment public school with that distinction. This spring, it will celebrate its first graduating class.

From the beginning, the school’s model has centered on a clear belief: students, especially those historically underrepresented in STEM fields, deserve access to high-quality academics paired with authentic experiences that help them see themselves in future careers.

That vision has shaped the school’s programming in tangible ways. Instead of relying solely on traditional paper-and-pencil final exams, Aurora Science & Tech developed “application finals” that ask students to demonstrate their learning in professional environments. In addition to the CAPE clinical care final, students have participated in a triage simulation in partnership with a nearby Army base and an anatomy final with Anschutz physical therapy graduate students. The school also partners with Junior Achievement’s JA Finance Park to give students hands-on financial literacy experiences, including a stock market challenge.

These are not enrichment activities added on at the margins. They are embedded in the school’s design and tied to how students learn, apply knowledge, and build confidence.

That kind of design work is exactly where Colorado’s charter school policies matter most. At Aurora Science & Tech, school leadership could shape schedules, build partnerships, establish advisory structures, and align programming with a distinct school vision. That responsiveness enabled the school to leverage its location on the Anschutz campus and to engage nearby institutions as active learning partners.

The results are visible not only in students experiences but also in the outcomes they are beginning to achieve. Aurora Science & Tech has been the number one high school in Aurora for two years running, and students are already building impressive early-career experiences—from securing internships on the Anschutz Medical Campus to earning publication credit on scientific research papers and working with an Anschutz medical team that is 3D printing organs.

Just as important, students are building the kinds of durable skills that matter well beyond high school: communicating with adults, working in teams, presenting themselves professionally, and navigating unfamiliar spaces with confidence, even when no one else in the room looks like them.

That broader preparation reflects a deeper purpose behind the school’s STEM model. Aurora Science & Tech was built not simply to offer more science courses, but to help students develop a STEM identity, to see themselves as people who belong in these fields and can thrive in them.

For students who may not otherwise have access to those environments, that sense of belonging can be transformative.

As Aurora Science & Tech prepares to graduate its first senior class this spring, the school offers a compelling example of how charter public schools can respond to community needs and design learning accordingly.

That is the promise of charter school innovation at its best: not simply doing school differently, but doing it in ways that better prepare students for the world beyond graduation.