The Vanguard School (Colorado)

The Vanguard School (TVS) is a public charter school in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. Founded as the Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy (CMCA) in 1995, it is chartered with the Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 but is physically located outside of the district. Originally founded as a K–6 charter school, the school expanded to a K–12 school by 2006, and it graduated its first class of seniors in 2010.

The Vanguard School
Address
1605 South Corona Avenue

Colorado Springs
,
Colorado
80905

United States
Coordinates38°48′40″N 104°48′56″W
Information
Former nameCheyenne Mountain Charter Academy
TypePublic charter school
Established1995 (1995)
School districtCheyenne Mountain 12
CEEB code060249
NCES School ID080294006370[1]
080294006402[2]
080294001326[3]
Executive DirectorColin Mullaney[4]
Teaching staff117.05 (on a FTE basis)[1][2][3]
GradesK–12
Enrollment1,419 (2018–2019[1][2][3])
Student to teacher ratio12.12[1][2][3]
Color(s)Navy and old gold   
Athletics conferenceCHSAA
MascotCourser
USNWR ranking154th[5]
Websitewww.thevanguardschool.com

The Vanguard School has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report and Newsweek as one of the best schools in Colorado and the nation on many occasions.

History

The Vanguard School was founded in the fall of 1995 as the Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy. The school was originally created as a K–6 school chartered with the Cheyenne Mountain School District 12. The high school program was approved in 2006

Disability discrimination lawsuit

In 2014, the school denied a six-year-old student re-enrollment because of its inability to hire staff to care for the student during the day. The mother of the student sued the school district in response, citing the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act and claiming that not allowing her student re-enrollment would cause him "irreparable harm."[6] The family was able to keep their son enrolled in the school, but they sued the school district again in 2019 because the school did not provide the student with appropriate accommodations. They ultimately lost the case.[7]

Academics

Enrollment

Students at the Vanguard School are enrolled by a lottery system. Incoming students for the first through eleventh grades require a placement tests. In the lottery, students are ranked by priority group, with the children of staff having the highest priority, followed by students in District 12, followed by other students. The school does not accept new twelfth grade students.[8]

Curriculum

The Vanguard School follows the E. D. Hirsh Core Knowledge curriculum.[9] The schools offers its students thirteen Advanced Placement courses, and about four-fifths of high school students participate[5]

Extracurriculars

Athletics

The Vanguard School competes at the 3A level in the Tri-Peaks League of the Colorado High School Activities Association.[10] The school offers eleven sports for high school students, including volleyball, soccer, tennis, cross country, basketball, cheer-leading and track and field. The school also operates a boys' club volleyball team, created in 2013, eight years before CHSAA will officially introduce the sport. This team has won the Colorado 3A championship for three years, from 2016 to 2018.[11]

Team America Rocketry Challenge

The Vanguard School has participated in Team America Rocketry Challenge since 2002.[12] The team made it to the national final competition several times in its history, in 2006, 2008, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019, with its best performance being its fifth-place in the 2008 contest.[13]

Campuses

The Vanguard School operates two campuses near downtown Colorado Springs, outside of its chartered district.

Wahsatch campus

The Wahsatch campus is located at 1832 South Wahsatch Avenue. It is the location of the building that serves grades K–3 and is the campus where the school originally operated at.

Corona campus

The Corona campus is located at 1605 South Corona Avenue. It is the campus where grades 4–12 are held. The campus has four buildings that are used for classes, as well as a separate building for a gymnasium, weight room and storage rooms. There is also a collection of buildings that consists of a weight room and some extra classrooms ans storage rooms.

The school's campus is in the middle of a neighborhood known for crime. The Executive Director has raised concerns with City Council, and there are occasional incidents. In 2018, a woman was arrested for carrying knives and samurai swords onto the campus.[14]

Notable people

Staff

References
  1. "Search for Public Schools - THE VANGUARD SCHOOL (HIGH) (080294006370)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  2. "Search for Public Schools - THE VANGUARD SCHOOL (MIDDLE) (080294006402)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  3. "Search for Public Schools - THE VANGUARD SCHOOL (ELEMENTARY) (080294001326)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  4. "Welcome & History - The Vanguard School". The Vanguard School. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  5. "The Vanguard School in Colorado Springs, CO - US News Best High Schools". US News and World Report. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  6. Mitchell, Kirk (16 August 2014). "Mother of autistic student sues Cheyenne Mountain school district". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  7. "Smith v. Cheyenne Mountain School District 12, No. 1:2019cv02345 - Document 20 (D. Colo. 2019)". Justia. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  8. "Enrollment Procedures 2019–2020" (PDF). The Vanguard School. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  9. "Charter School FAQ". The Vanguard School. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  10. "2016–18 League Alignment". Colorado High Schools Activity Association. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  11. Smith, Lindsey (10 May 2019). "Vanguard boys' volleyball to battle for fourth consecutive state club title". Gazette Preps. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  12. Dagendesh, William (15 May 2019). "The Vanguard School Team America Rocketry Club to compete at U.S. finals Saturday in Virginia". Cheyenne Edition. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  13. "2008 Contest Final Results". Team America Rocketry Challenge. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  14. Butzer, Stephanie (17 December 2018). "Woman arrested after allegedly bringing samurai swords, knives to Colorado Springs school campus". Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
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