Colorado is home to one of the most extensive school-choice landscapes in the country. Parents seeking a school to match their children’s needs and styles of learning can choose between traditional public schools, charter schools, private institutions, online programs, and homeschooling. As an open enrollment state, scholars can enroll across district boundaries to attend the school of their choice.
In nearly all cases, the driving factor for school choice is the underperformance of neighborhood district schools. Charter schools outperform traditional public schools in state assessments, including those in high-poverty areas. Since charter schools are also tuition-free public schools, families are withdrawing their children from traditional schools to enroll them in one of Colorado’s 269 charter schools.
Charter schools teach the core subjects as required by the state, but each school is free to design its own curriculum and pedagogies. Also, with fewer scholars in their classes, they receive more time and attention. Thus, with flexibility in educational design and smaller class sizes, parents find these schools to be a better match for their children’s needs.
This blog will highlight the differences between traditional and charter schools and explain why a charter education would be advantageous for your child. You’ll read about:
- Charter Schools vs. Traditional Public Schools: Key Differences
- Higher Academic Standards and Student Success
- Personalized Learning and Smaller Classes
- A Focus on Charter Education and Stronger School Culture
- Addressing Colorado’s Educational Challenges
- Why More Families are Choosing Charter Schools
Charter Schools vs. Traditional Public Schools: Key Differences
Grant, Seth, and Sydney live on the same suburban street, but they all attend different charter schools. Grant, a sixth-grader, spends most of his time absorbed in science, technology, engineering, and math in a STEM-based curriculum at his school.
Seth, who benefits best from tactile and hands-on materials, learns with a Montessori program in his school.
Sydney attends a classical education charter school where she studies humanities and applies critical thinking and problem-solving skills in her learning journey.
Each child attends a charter school, but their paths of learning differ widely because charter schools are free to design their own teaching approaches.
In contrast, traditional public schools must work with a rigid curriculum in which certain subjects are taught a certain way. Teachers don’t have the class time to explore innovative teaching methods. In their classrooms, one size must fit all.
You might be wondering how charter schools are held accountable since they have these freedoms. The Colorado Charter School Institute (CSI) contracts with the state’s charter schools. These contracts grant autonomy in areas like curriculum and staffing, but require them to meet specific academic, financial, and organizational obligations to ensure their responsibility for student outcomes.
Another major difference between the two types of schools is that charters consistently demonstrate higher proficiency on state assessments in English Language Arts and Math. Showing up to a 5% lead on the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS), scholars are mastering these subjects.
A final key difference is the manner in which their education is funded. In Colorado, The Public School Finance Act ensures funding for both types of schools. They both receive state funding based on Per Pupil Operating Revenue, which is determined using the enrollment numbers from each school.
Financial support for traditional schools is supplied via a combination of state funds and local revenue, including property taxes. Traditional schools also have access to local bond measures and levies that support capital projects such as school maintenance and the construction of new schools.
In contrast, charter schools don’t receive property tax funds. Instead, the state provides additional support to offset the difference. Nor can charter schools hold levies for capital support.
They do, however, receive grants and donations from corporations, organizations, and individuals, which provide an additional boost to their financial base.
Even though charter schools have different funding structures than traditional schools, they are tuition-free public schools and are free for scholars to attend.
Higher Academic Standards and Student Success
Scholars at The Leman Academy of Excellence, with campuses in Arizona and Colorado, have shown tremendous success in their standardized test scores for 2025. In Parker, Colorado, 57% of scholars achieved a proficiency level or higher in reading, surpassing the state average of 45%. In mathematics, 40% of Leman’s scholars were proficient compared to the state average of 32%.
How are Leman Academy’s scholars able to perform so well? There are several reasons. Here are a few:
- With a rigorous Classical Education model, scholars at Leman follow the Trivium, which includes the Grammar stage for ages 5-11 and the Logic stage for ages 12-14. Leman’s schools teach grades K-8, but scholars are adequately prepared for the Rhetoric stage in their high school years.
- Leman also offers a unique approach to mathematics; scholars begin the first grade level of math in their kindergarten years. By eighth grade, they’re studying Algebra I, which is normally covered in the freshman year of high school.
- Debate classes and the study of logic occur during the Logic stage of the Trivium, when scholars learn the art of reasoning and argument. With a focus on critical thinking, they become independent thinkers and effective communicators.
- The Classical Education model incorporates the Socratic Method of teaching. It challenges scholars to learn new information, delving deeply into subjects, by asking questions and leading discussions.
- Lastly, Leman’s Classical Education approach encourages academic achievement with the Trivium through its integrated studies in humanities, philosophy, literature, mathematics, science, and languages. Leman ranks in the top 30% of public schools in Colorado, reflecting the school’s commitment to academic excellence.
Personalized Learning and Smaller Class Sizes
Many charter schools place a cap on enrollment to ensure smaller class sizes. In this way, teachers can spend more one-on-one time with their scholars. This way, they’re better able to identify their challenges and learning styles more easily. In a classroom with fewer students, teachers can provide customized support for those who need more help and those who need more advanced material.
In addition to smaller classes, charter schools are free to design their own curricula to align with their individual philosophy or teaching method. Teachers practice innovative teaching and personalized learning, giving scholars abundant opportunities to learn at their best.
The impact of a personalized education in a charter school can be felt for a lifetime. Follow these two charter school alumni to understand how it affected them:
- When Maya was 17 years old, she enrolled in New Dawn Charter High School in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to her enrollment, she was behind in credits and struggled with attendance. Her experience in a traditional large class left her feeling disconnected and alone. But Maya discovered a completely different atmosphere at New Dawn. There, she received tailored support and mentorship, individualized learning plans, and flexible scheduling. Not only did Maya catch up academically, but she began to enjoy learning again.
- In 2017, scholar Raven Osborne earned a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University Northwest a few weeks before graduating from high school. He attended 21st Century Charter School in Gary, Indiana, and with a combination of personalized education plans and dual credits earned in high school, he received his high school and college diplomas in the same season.
Every scholar has his or her individual strengths. Charter school teachers are better able to encourage them to develop their strengths and make the most of their time in school.
A Focus on Character Education and a Stronger School Culture
Scholars spend an average of 32.5 hours each week in school. In the school setting, they engage with many other people at any given time, creating an environment ideally suited to learning how to be kind, ethical, and supportive people. Character education, the building of core values such as respect, honesty, responsibility, fairness, and compassion, gives scholars a moral compass to guide their behavior both in and out of the classroom.
Young people enrolled at The Leman Academy of Excellence follow six virtues that are woven into the curriculum and daily interactions: caring, citizenship, perseverance, respect, responsibility, and trustworthiness. Along with these virtues, scholars study moral dilemmas within classical literature and historical texts, which lead them to a deep understanding of ethical principles.
At Leman, parents are considered “partners” in their children’s learning. As a cornerstone of student success, parental involvement has a healthy impact on their children’s academic and character growth.
Addressing Colorado’s Educational Challenges
If you live in Colorado and you’re exploring school choice options, discovering what charter schools have to offer your children may be your solution to underperforming traditional schools. Given the benefits of the attention teachers can give your child, an interesting and challenging curriculum, and a strong emphasis on academics and character development, your children might thrive in a charter school environment.
Furthermore, charter schools can extend their access to quality education to communities that face barriers to scholastic resources, such as well-funded schools and libraries. They are geographically dispersed throughout Colorado, serving families in over 70 regions in urban, suburban, and rural areas. A wide distribution of charter schools allows families from low-income areas to have school choices.
A tremendous amount of support for Colorado’s charter schools comes from the state’s governor, Jared Polis. His commitment to school choice is seen in his opposition to House Bill 24-1363, which would weaken school choice. Revoking and not renewing some existing charters, this bill threatened to weaken charter schools’ ability to appeal local school board decisions to the state board and eliminate waivers to certain state statutes. Facing wild opposition from parents, school administrators and other charter school advocates, the bill was defeated by an 8-3 vote.
As you can see, the communities and the government in Colorado strongly support your choice of a charter school education for your children.
Why More Families are Choosing Charter Schools
As traditional schools struggle to provide a quality education, Colorado has witnessed an accelerated demand for charter school education. From 2011 to 2022, the number of students enrolled in charter schools increased 65% and continues to do so. Let’s hear why they chose charter schools:
“My son Griffin was falling through the cracks in the large school setting of our district school. But, after enrolling him in the Denver School of Science and Technology, he experienced a smaller class size and hands-on structure that significantly increased his academic performance. His younger brother, who struggled with math, earned high academic honors in mathematics at DSST.”
“A parent at French American School of Denver values the school’s dual language immersion program. Marie Elalem shared that her son wakes up excited to attend school daily, thriving in the French immersion environment. Another parent highlighted the school’s creative projects and global perspective, noting the unique opportunity for their child to learn a second language in a tuition-free setting.”
If you would like to enroll your child in one of Colorado’s impressive charter schools, first find out the enrollment procedures and dates of your chosen school. Once you’ve applied, if the amount of applications exceeds the number of seats available, the school will use a random lottery to fairly select the candidates for open spots. After that, any child not selected will be put on a waitlist.
The Leman Academy of Excellence hosts open enrollment that typically runs from November 1 to the end of December each year. For the year 2025, an open enrollment is also held January 22 until August 2, 2025. To enroll in Leman, go to the Douglas County School District (DCSD) open-enrollment page and set up an account. Use the portal to select The Leman Academy of Excellence as your school of choice.
Conclusion
Public education in Colorado is improving with the increasing demand for charter schools.
Take advantage of Colorado’s school choice landscape and find the best school for your children. You’ll be setting them off onto a lifelong path of opportunity, achievement, and success.
Learn More About Leman Academy and How It Provides a High-Quality, Tuition-Free Education in Colorado!