Colorado Springs D-11 continues to expand its school portfolio.

The school district Board of Education unanimously voted to approve the contracts for two new charter schools during their regular meeting Wednesday night.

East Hills Academy will become D-11’s first school to incorporate the classical education model in its instruction, while Spruce Community School will be rooted in project-based learning and real-world experiences. When fully developed, both schools will accept grades K-8.

Upon their slated openings in fall 2026, the district’s total number of charter schools will increase to 11. The board approved a contract for the existing Colorado Military Academy last month.

Following the votes, board members remarked on the comprehensive applications presented by both schools. Ahead of the board’s vote on the upcoming school year, Superintendent Michael Gaal noted the applications and added that the schools look to increase options for school choice in the district.

“They are coming with new ideas. They move faster, they are nimbler. … Our neighboring districts have doubled the amount of charter schools.”

“In District 20 and in District 49, half of the student population is educated in charter schools and you never read on the front page of the paper what’s wrong with education opportunities in District 20 or District 49.”

The board was originally slated to vote on chartering a third school, Gateway for Success-Colorado Springs, but representatives of the school opted to pull their application to make adjustments and present at a later meeting.

East Hills Academy

The classical education model has gained steam in recent years as an alternative to modern public education and has developed for both charter schools and private schools. East Hills Academy’s program is modeled after True North Classical Academy, a National Blue Ribbon School in Miami, to prepare students to be good neighbors, responsible citizens, critical thinkers and lifelong learners.

Classical education focuses on liberal arts like arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy and what is known as the “trivium” of verbal arts: grammar, logic and rhetoric.

Current classical charters in Colorado Springs include Academy D-20’s Classical Academy and D-49’s Rocky Mountain Academy. What will make East Hills Academy distinct from these schools is that it will be the only local classical school to offer busing to its students.

Spruce Community School

Through partnerships with local nonprofits and businesses, Spruce Community Schools looks to have students engage in meaningful work that adds value to the community and deepens their connection to Colorado Springs.

Examples provided in the school’s presentation included students partnering with a local nonprofit organization to design and build a new playground while also writing out its safety contracts and social contracts. Throughout this process, they develop various skills in math, science, literature and history.

The school also looks to provide electives to support a “whole child” approach to education while providing training for all teachers with daily professional development and collaboration.

Following the approval of Spruce, Board President Parth Melpakam congratulated the two schools and representatives attending the meeting while also noting that, since neither will open for another year, they have ample time to finalize additional details and timelines for their contracts to be presented at a later date.

“As we heard at the top of today’s meeting, we recognized some of the excellent performing schools, the governor awards schools,” he said. “We hope that, in the future, all of your schools fall into that category. We look for excellence and invite you to the school district and look forward to working with you.”