Following a vote by the Jefferson County School Board to close Coal Creek Canyon K-8 school, Charter School Jefferson Academy has applied to use the school building in the next school year.

The Academy Board of Directors approved submitting a grant application to use the school, and moving the application on to the Jefferson County School Board.

The Jefferson County School Board voted to close the Coal Creek Canyon K-8 school during a Board meeting on October 12, 2023. CCCK-8 will remain open for the duration of the 2023-24 school year, and Principal Kevin Carroll and the staff at CCCK-8 will keep the focus on students, their experience and learning throughout this school year.

When CCCK-8 closes, Three Creeks K-8 will be the designated K-8 neighborhood school for students who live in the current CCCK-8 boundary area.

The district facilitated an expedited charter authorization process, whereby a charter school could open to serve students in grades PK-8 in this community as soon as the next school year. Three representatives of Charter Schools presented options to keep the school open for the next school year during a public meeting at the school on October 25.

Since then, Jefferson Academy has been working hard to gather the necessary information to keep the school building open as a charter school. For the Coal Creek Canyon K-8 charter school, letters of intent have indicated that there are 95 families interested in the traditional school and 20 in home schooling. For pre-care, 40 have applied and 60 are interested in before and after school.

On November 29, Tim Matlick and JA Board President Agnessa Vartanova wrote a letter to Coal Creek Canyon families. “Last night the Jefferson Academy (JA) Board of Directors (BOD) reviewed the potential replication/conversion of Coal Creek Canyon K-8 to a JA charter school next year.

“We are pleased to let you know the JA BOD voted unanimously to approve submitting the Expedited Replication Application to Jeffco Schools. This is in keeping with our Strategic Plan goal of finding new and potentially different ways to help families receive a great education and for students to reach their highest academic potential.

“As we continue moving forward, please know that the JA BOD decision is just the next step in this process. The Jefferson County Board of Education (BOE) will now review the application and decide in January as to whether or not to approve the application.

“Looking ahead, if the application is approved, it will be important that we continue working together toward opening the charter school in August of 2024….The financial viability of the school is based on a very lean budget and enrollment that needs to meet the number of Letters of Intent to Enroll submitted by families.

“JA will continue putting together a program, based on community feedback, that we hope will excite and serve the community beginning next year and well into the future.”

The Charter Replication Application deadline is December 1, 2023.

If JA & Jeffco approve, the JA contract will start in July 2024, and in August JA will open CCC/JAK8. If not approved, in August grades 6, 7, and 8 will move to virtual and in August 2025, K - 8 will be closed.

The Board said it will be hard to do this without a grant. The Board approved submitting the grant application and the application to the Jefferson County School District.

For more information about Jefferson Academy go to Jefferson Academy Charter School (jajags.com).