Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy
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The Vanguard School (TVS) is a public
charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...
in
Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...
, United States. Founded as the Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy (CMCA) in 1995, it is chartered with Harrison School District 2. Originally founded as a K–6 charter school, the school expanded to a K–12 school by 2006, and it graduated its first class of seniors in 2010.


History

The Vanguard School was founded in the fall of 1995 as the Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy. The school was originally created as a K–6 school chartered with
Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 The Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 (D12) is a public school district in southwestern Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. List of schools There are eight schools in the Cheyenne Mountain School District. In addition to these schools ...
. The high school program was approved in 2006. In 2021, the school's charter changed to Harrison School District 2.


Disability discrimination lawsuit

In 2014, the school denied an autistic six-year-old student re-enrollment because of its inability to hire staff to care for the student during the day. The mother of the student sued the school district in response, citing the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act and claiming that not allowing her student re-enrollment would cause him "irreparable harm." The family was able to keep their son enrolled in the school, but they sued the school district again in 2019 because the school did not provide the student with appropriate accommodations. The family ultimately lost the case.


Academics


Enrollment

Students at the Vanguard School are enrolled by a lottery system. Incoming students for the first through eleventh grades require a placement test. In the lottery, students are ranked by priority group, with the children of staff having the highest priority, followed by students in
District 2 District 2 may refer to: Places by country *II District, Turku, in Finland *District 2, Düsseldorf, Germany *District 2, Grand Bassa County, a district in Liberia *District 2, an electoral district of Malta *District 2, a police district of Malt ...
, followed by other students. The school does not accept new twelfth grade students.


Curriculum

The Vanguard School follows the E. D. Hirsh Core Knowledge curriculum. The schools offers its students thirteen
Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...
courses, and about four-fifths of high school students participate


Extracurriculars


Athletics

The Vanguard School competes at the 3A level in the Tri-Peaks League of the
Colorado High School Activities Association The Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) is a governing body for high school activities in Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners reg ...
. The school offers eleven sports for high school students, including volleyball, soccer, tennis, cross country, basketball, cheer-leading and track and field. The school also operates a boys' club volleyball team, created in 2013, eight years before CHSAA officially introduced the sport. This team has won the Colorado 3A championship for three years, from 2016 to 2018.


Team America Rocketry Challenge

The Vanguard School has participated in
Team America Rocketry Challenge The American Rocketry Challenge is an annual American model rocketry competition for students in grades six to 12 sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Association of Rocketry. Co-sponsors include NASA, United States ...
since 2002. The team made it to the national final competition several times in its history, in 2006, 2008, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2024. Its best performance was its fifth-place in the 2008 contest.


Campuses

The Vanguard School operates two campuses in the Stratton Meadows neighborhood near downtown
Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...
.


Wahsatch campus

The Wahsatch campus is located at 1832 South Wahsatch Avenue. It is the location of the building that serves grades K–3 and is the campus where the school originally operated at.


Corona campus

The Corona campus is located at 1605 South Corona Avenue. It is the campus where grades 4–12 are held. The campus has four buildings that are used for classes, as well as a separate building for a gymnasium, weight room and storage rooms. There is also a collection of buildings that consists of a weight room and some extra classrooms and storage rooms. The school's campus is in the middle of a neighborhood known for crime. The Executive Director has raised concerns with City Council, and there are occasional incidents. In 2018, a woman was arrested for carrying knives and samurai swords onto the campus.


Notable alumni

*
Nique Clifford Dominique Akai Clifford (born February 9, 2002) is an American basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Colorado State Rams of the Mountain West Conference (MWC) ...
(class of 2020), basketball player


References


External links

* {{authority control Public high schools in Colorado Charter schools in Colorado High schools in Colorado Springs, Colorado Educational institutions established in 1995 1995 establishments in Colorado