"Liberty-based" classical charter opens as first school in Colorado's Sterling Ranch community

The ribbon has officially been cut on a new Colorado school as Douglas County continues to grow.

John Adams Academy is the first school to open in the fast-growing community of Sterling Ranch. The school describes itself as liberty-based and offers a classical education.

"This has been a long time in the making," said John Adams Academy Douglas County Co-Founder Kim Gilmartin. "We knew that there was a need for a school like this, so we put our heads together and brought it to fruition."

Gilmartin and her co-founder, Sterling Ranch mother Ellie Reynolds, say the school hopes to educate students through rigorous academics and a focus on the Founding Fathers' vision of America.

"The classical education is sort of a return to basics. You know, it's maybe the kind of education our grandparents or great-grandparents received," Gilmartin said. "The return to sentence diagramming, proper grammar, handwriting, reading books, a low-tech approach. That's what classical education really is, and that's what a lot of parents are looking for."

The public, tuition-free charter initially drew controversy over its perceived ideological framework.

"We're opening our doors to serve the parents who do want that kind of education. At the end of the day, we're excited to be restoring America's heritage through teaching those Founding Fathers' principles," Reynolds said. "That's the beauty of school choice. If this education is not right for you and your family, you have the ability to choose something that's right for your family, and I want to be able to have the ability to choose what's right for mine."

Opening a year before the DCSD Neighborhood Elementary School 51, which is being built in the community, John Adams Academy's enrollment is about 60% Sterling Ranch families.

"I'm excited that my son's going to be in the first class here at John Adams," Reynolds said.

The charter also offers a homeschool enrichment program.

With just weeks until the first day of school, John Adams Academy celebrated its official opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday. The founders say hundreds of students are already enrolled, but applications are still being accepted.

"We have many spots available. Some classes are wait-listed, but we're excited to open Aug. 24," Reynolds said.

The school will open with grades K-8 but will add grades 9-12 one by one in the coming years.