New charter school John Adams Academy sparks debate in Colorado's Sterling Ranch community
A tuition-free public K-12 charter school, John Adams Academy, has been approved to open in 2026 on 25 acres of land in Douglas County donated by Sterling Ranch LLC. The school will be located in Sterling Ranch, south of Waterton Road and adjacent to Ascent Village.
John Adams Academy was approved by the Colorado Charter School Institute last month after being released to the state authorizer by the Douglas County School District. Some community members say that process didn't allow them to fully voice concerns over where their tax dollars were going.
A DCSD public elementary school funded by a bond passed last year is set to open in Sterling Ranch in fall of 2027, to the relief of parents in the growing community who have been advocating for a neighborhood school.
But now, John Adams Academy will open a year earlier in 2026, drawing strong opinions from community members.
"This doesn't seem like it would align with our values as a family," said Tracy Meier, a mom of two in Solstice, a community next to Sterling Ranch that is a feeder to the incoming DCSD neighborhood school.
"I think communities thrive with optionality," said Asa Dyer, Sterling Ranch father of a 17-month-old.
John Adams Academy focuses on a classical "liberty-based" education, with a classical liberal arts curriculum. John Adams Academy has multiple campuses in California.
"We definitely are very interested in that school," Dyer said. "I like the idea of having, really kind of classical fundamentals when it comes to education. I think it makes a lot of sense. And I think when you have little kids, you're really, focused on some of the basics and stuff like reading, writing, math."
While Dyer is excited for the school to open near his home, some of his neighbors have concerns about the charter, which states its mission is "restoring America's heritage by developing servant leaders."
"The concern really started based on their belief of restoring American heritage, which most people think America still has a heritage. They don't have to restore it," said Sterling Ranch resident Sheryl Pattek.
While Pattek does not have young kids, she says education is an important part of the community, and she wants to ensure it is "fair and unbiased."
"It talks a lot about, you know, the classical education. And getting back to the founding of America, and the love for America, things like that. It doesn't explicitly talk about, you know, religion and things like that, but there were kind of some underlying words that led me to believe that it was more based off of faith," said Meier.
"John Adams Academy teaches history through original source documents and a classical liberal arts framework that emphasizes critical thinking, civic virtue, and the study of enduring ideas. While we celebrate the founding principles of the United States, our goal is to cultivate thoughtful, informed citizens, not to promote a political ideology," Kim Gilmartin, founding board member of John Adams Academy Douglas County, told CBS Colorado in a statement.
Meier and Pattek would rather see the land and public school funding go to a different school. Meier worries the school may not be inclusive and would cater education plans to specific groups.
"As a public charter school, JAA Douglas County will provide all required special education and support services in compliance with federal and state laws. We are committed to serving all students, including those with disabilities, English language learners, and academically diverse learners, through a Multi-Tiered System of Supports and a dedicated special education team," Gilmartin told CBS Colorado.
Meier and Pattek say they are some of several community members who felt there was not enough transparency or community input in the approval process.
"I do feel like there should have been public input from, all the people that have a ton of kids in the community," said Meier.
Gilmartin said that during the approval process for the Douglas County campus, "the community had multiple opportunities to participate, including written feedback, public comment at several CSI board meetings, and a public community meeting on May 19."
When CBS Colorado reached out, a DCSD spokesperson referred any questions about John Adams Academy to CSI. CSI did not respond to a request for comment.
According to U.S. News & World Report, the John Adams Academy in Roseville, California, has a math proficiency score of 42% and reading proficiency score of 56%. That same report shows the Douglas County School District has a math proficiency score of 51% and reading proficiency score of 61%.
Pattek questions "Why would you invest in a school that's not demonstrating the success of their curriculum?"
Gilmartin says, "John Adams Academy's California schools consistently meet their academic growth targets and have earned the highest rating possible among charter schools in California."
"Community schools kind of make the communities run. And with charter schools, I'm not against all charter schools, just this one in particular. It takes money from the public schools," said Meier.
Because the school was released from DCSD and approved by the state authorizer, no district funding will go to John Adams Academy, but it will use state and federal tax dollars.
Gilmartin says the school will be funded "primarily through public tax dollars. This includes state per-pupil revenue and mill levy equalization funds." They say the school will also get some federal funds and are applying for a federal Charter School Program grant.
Sterling Ranch Development Company President Brock Smethills told CBS Colorado that, "Sterling Ranch Development Company supports school choice and strives to offer a variety of school options within our community. We trust parents to decide what is best for their children's education."
According to Smethills, DCSD estimates Sterling Ranch will eventually need three elementary schools, one middle and one high school. But the district's 10-year capital plan only identifies the one elementary school already planned for Sterling Ranch, and a middle and high school campus.
Smethills said "With the above understanding that it is unlikely that DSCD will have the resources to build additional elementary schools, we have decided to partner with qualified charters to offer school choice within the area."
Regarding concern that the land donated to John Adams Academy was reserved for a DCSD school, Smethills said:
"Sterling Ranch Development Company staff has discussed a variety of potential school sites throughout the master plan over the past ten-plus years with multiple DSCD superintendents and staff members. While this is one of the sites that could have been a future DCSD school, this land was never reserved nor donated to Douglas County for a DCSD school.
Additionally, Sterling Ranch LLC has voluntarily paid DCSD approximately $5.5 million in voluntary Capital Mitigation Fees since 2015, which is far greater than the fair market value of all five of the school sites that Sterling Ranch would be required to donate to DCSD. Despite that, we have every intention of donating the land to DCSD for the Middle School & High School campus when DCSD has the appropriate resources to construct it."
Dyer is excited for the education options the charter brings.
"We want to be able to have the option based on what our kids' interests are and what their education style is and what best suits them," said Dyer. "Whether it's public or charter, I just think it's so awesome to live in a community that has both, like, that's a huge deal and huge value proposition for us to be here."
Still, some families are disappointed that John Adams will be the first school to open in their neighborhood.
"In general, we prefer to have public schools rather than a charter school that has a bias inherent in it," said Pattek.
"John Adams Academy seems to be putting John Adams Academy at the center of everything they do, and not the kids or the community," said Meier.
Once the charter contract for John Adams Academy is finalized, construction on the school is expected to begin in September.
Right now the school is collecting expressions of interest from families. When the official application opens, which is expected to happen in October, families who have expressed interest will be notified. In February 2026, John Adams Academy will conduct a blind, random lottery if demand exceeds available seats, and the school plans to open to students in August of next year.
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DENVER (AP) — A longtime critic of voting machines and local government has been charged with arson for allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail-like device into the office holding the voting equipment in his Colorado mountain community. William Wayne Bryant, in a brief court appearance Wednesday, was advised of the charges presented against him in the June 12 firebombing of a county building in Pagosa Springs. The overnight attack sparked a fire that damaged Dominion Voting Systems equipment in the county clerk's office and damaged the assessor's office upstairs, police said. Court documents show Bryant faces two counts of arson and one count of using an explosive or incendiary device. Bryant's lawyer, David Karl Ottman, said that his client was presumed innocent. He told Archuleta County Judge Justin Fay he was concerned that officials, including Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, have spoken out about the case and that photographs of the damaged election equipment have been released publicly. Ottman, who declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press, urged Fay to issue an order limiting what officials can say about the case. Fay didn't act immediately but said he would not be able to put limits on those like Griswold who are outside his jurisdiction. Griswold, a Democrat who serves as Colorado's chief election official, said the attack was another example of how conspiracy theories have 'destabilized' elections. No motive provided Police said the device was thrown through a window into a room in the clerk's office that held the Dominion equipment. But authorities haven't provided a motive so far. Bryant has long been critical of Dominion and also has been outspoken against taxes and rising property valuations and also spoke out against encouraging students to be vaccinated, according to the minutes of county commissioners' meetings. The firebombing incident follows years of false claims surrounding elections and voting systems, pushed by President Donald Trump and his allies after his 2020 election loss. Many of the claims have focused on Dominion Voting Systems, one of the largest voting machine companies. Despite Trump's claims, there was no evidence of widespread fraud or manipulation of voting systems. Bryant suggested Dominion was to blame for loss Bryant ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in the county in the scenic San Juan Mountains in 2022 and repeatedly urged county commissioners to abandon the Dominion election equipment and count ballots by hand in the election he lost. In one case, Bryant told county commissioners at a May 2022 meeting that the film '2,000 Mules' had exposed voter fraud and asked them to abandon the Dominion equipment. The debunked film amplified claims that ballot drop boxes were responsible for massive voter fraud in the 2020 election. After his defeat, Bryant suggested in a video on his campaign page that 'Dominion algorithims' were to blame for his loss. 'They don't want patriots, people that are willing to stand up and fight for this country,' he said. In another video in May 2023, Bryant said he and others were outraged by a huge jump in property valuations and that some people might have to sell their properties because they would no longer be able to pay their taxes. In the video, which included 'taxation without representation' in its title, Bryant claimed that the local 2022 election had been stolen from him and another candidate. Police identified Bryant as the only person in the area at the time of the fire, according to surveillance video from different locations laid out as police evidence in an arrest affidavit. In addition to citing Bryant's criticism of Dominion equipment to the county commissioners, Bryant also had expressed 'anti-government views' and had called taxation 'extortion' on social media, the affidavit said. Election work continues Archuleta County clerk and recorder Kristy Archuleta said a sheriff's deputy awoke her the night of the fire. Arriving around 2:30 a.m., she said she learned the fire had occurred in a locked room where ballots are counted. A Dominion ballot scanner and computers used to review ballots were among items damaged, she said. 'It's just scary to think that somebody is going to be that angry that they're going to light our workspace on fire,' Archuleta said recently. 'What if this was done during the day? Lots of people could have been hurt.' Archuleta, a Republican elected in 2018, said the county of some 12,000 active, registered voters has largely been supportive of the office's work, which also handles motor vehicle registration and marriage licenses. But she said there has been a vocal group upset about the use of voting machines since the 2020 election who have sought a move to hand counting. 'People would call and yell and all the things. But all we can do is tell them we do our jobs according to law and rule,' she said. Because of the damage to her office, Archuleta and her employees are working in a conference room as they wait for a new temporary office. Wherever they end up working from, she said they still have to have the ballot for the next election certified in the next two months. _____ Cassidy reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.
