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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