Prospect Ridge Gets Unanimous Approval From State Board

Today in a rare unanimous vote, the State Board of Education remanded the Prospect Ridge case back to the Adams 12 School District for reconsideration. With a unanimous vote, it's unlikely the district will contest working out the contract with the charter school applicants.

Several of the board members pointed out the weakness of the case; in fact, Randy DeHoff agreed with the applicant's legal counsel that it was the weakest case he'd seen in the 16 years of the charter school law.

Quite a bit of the case centered on the efficacy of the Core Knowledge curriculum, which the district questioned. One of Prospect Ridge's founders is Jere Pearcy the former principal of Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen and Flagstaff Academy in Longmont. In addition to being a Core Knowledge trainer, Ms. Pearcy has led two schools to being John J. Irwin Schools of Excellence.

Prospect Ridge will open K-6 in the Erie area, which is along the northern border of Adams 12. The school will have 2 and 3 classes per grade level, based on enrollment needs.