What is a Charter School?

Charter Schools are...

• Publicly funded schools of choice.

  Ridgeview Classical Schools is one of three charter schools in Fort Collins. Ridgeview is funded on a per pupil basis. The "official count" occurs in October, so it is very important that students are accounted for during this period of time, as specified by the state. If students are absent during this time forms must be submitted to the state to account for those students in order for funding to be received.

• Usually established by a group of founders.

  Ridgeview Classical Schools' Founders Committee above was comprised of parents of Liberty Common School students who were interested in their students continuing the quality education they were receiving. The lack of availability for other students in the community to access this education became the driving force in the decision to have Ridgeview become a K-12 school.

• Authorized in the state of Colorado by the local school district.

  Poudre School District (PSD) is Ridgeview Classical Schools' authorizing agent. PSD's Board of Education and Administrative Staff have been supportive of the efforts and establishment of Ridgeview.

• Site-based managed.

  The governance can vary from charter school to charter school. However, a board of directors that is comprised of parents governs most charter schools in our state. Ridgeview Classical Schools' board is currently comprised of 2 parent founders, one of our 100-hour parent volunteers, a parent of Ridgeview students and a community member.

• Highly accountable to their students, parents, and communities.

  Our Accountability Committee reviews our Charter document and contract to ensure our compliance, advises the Board of Directors on said compliance, and reviews student test data and acts as a check- and-balance system to the school to aid in the maintenance of credibility.

• Focused on one specific philosophy.

  Every charter school has its own mission and philosophy. Ridgeview Classical Schools' is described in our Framework.

• Created for a very defined purpose.

  Ridgeview Classical desires to educate all students who enter our school, expecting nothing less than the best from each one.