The top reported proficiency rate is 49% in English language arts. The lowest is 19% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Victory Preparatory Academy Middle State Charter S
Victory Preparatory Academy Middle State Charter S, a charter school in Commerce City, Colorado, serves grades six through eight under the oversight of the State Charter School Institute. It is a small middle school whose student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic and low-income, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school’s enrollment is small for its grade band.
The school’s academic performance presents a clear pattern. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above lands at about half—a result that, while indicating room for improvement, broadly aligns with the school’s overall proficiency index, which positions it in the top quartile among districts in Adams County. Math proficiency, however, is markedly lower, as is science proficiency for the eighth-grade cohort tested. A parent considering this school will want to look into the math and science instruction further with the school. The school participates in Colorado’s standard state assessments, the Colorado Measures of Academic Success, and participation rates were high across all subjects, meaning the results reflect nearly all enrolled students.
Commerce City itself is a fast-growing community that mixes residential neighborhoods with heavy industry, including a major oil refinery, and a large Dick’s Sporting Goods Park soccer venue. The city’s population is young, and it has seen rapid growth as new subdivisions have filled in land north toward Brighton and Denver International Airport. The built environment is largely suburban and auto-oriented, with scattered commercial corridors and a network of parks and trails, including the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, the largest urban wildlife refuge in the country, whose only entrance lies in Commerce City. The city’s Urban Renewal Authority and a marketing campaign aimed at attracting business growth suggest ongoing efforts to revitalize central areas.
Victory Preparatory Academy is a charter school, meaning it operates with some autonomy from traditional district policies while remaining a public school open to all students in its authorized district, the State Charter School Institute. We looked for recent parent-relevant changes from the Institute, such as curriculum shifts or property-tax initiatives, but found little publicly available beyond general descriptions of the authorizer’s structure, so we left that out rather than guess.
For a family, this school offers a small, uniform middle-grade setting within a growing, diversifying Denver suburb. The student body is largely Hispanic and economically disadvantaged, which shapes the peer environment. Academically, English language arts performance is a relative bright spot, while math and science proficiency are areas the school is likely working on, and a parent should ask directly about supports in those subjects. The charter status means the school has its own governance and approach, but the lack of publicly visible district-level changes means a parent would want to attend a school board meeting or talk to the principal to understand recent direction. The broader Commerce City housing market reflects the city’s growth and industrial character, with a mix of older and newer housing stock spread across a large geographic area.
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