The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in Science. The lowest is 35% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Colorado Early Colleges Windsor
Colorado Early Colleges Windsor is a charter school serving grades six through twelve, located in the rapidly growing town of Windsor in Larimer County. It operates under the State Charter School Institute, the state-level authorizer for Colorado charter schools, rather than under a local school district. The school is small, with an enrollment that reflects a steady decline across the upper grades, a pattern common in schools that offer a full secondary pathway and where families may choose more established high schools nearby as students get older. The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic share that mirrors the region’s demographics, and about a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate lower than many area districts.
On state assessments given in grades three through eight, performance in math and English language arts falls below a majority of students scoring proficient or above. Proficiency in science, tested in eighth grade, reaches a stronger level, with more than half of students meeting the bar. Taken together, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint among the six districts in Larimer County, meaning several traditional school districts in the county post lower average scores, but a few post higher ones. The school’s participation rate on these tests was below what is typically expected, which may affect the reliability of the results as a measure of the full student body.
Because the school serves grades six through twelve but does not report a four-year graduation rate, it is unclear whether it has yet graduated a cohort or whether data is simply unavailable. No information on chronic absenteeism, disciplinary incidents, course access, or staffing levels was provided, so a parent may want to follow up with the school directly on these topics.
Windsor itself is a town transformed by rapid growth, with its western edge now pressed against the Interstate 25 corridor. The local economy is anchored in manufacturing and construction, with major industrial employers including a wind turbine plant, a glass factory, and a can factory. Housing values are elevated relative to national benchmarks, and rents have been rising, consistent with the area’s strong demand and low rental vacancy. The historic downtown is walkable on a small scale, with Main Park and Windsor Lake providing community gathering space, but most of the town’s newer subdivisions are car-dependent. The town has invested heavily in parks, trails, and a recreation center, giving families outdoor amenities typical of a well-resourced Northern Colorado suburb.
The State Charter School Institute, as an authorizer, does not appear to have undergone any recent district-level changes such as property-tax initiatives or curriculum overhauls that would directly affect this school’s operations. That means the school’s direction and any adjustments to its program would come from its own leadership.
For a family considering this school, the key dimensions are clear: it is a small secondary charter in a high-growth, higher-income town, with academic results that are middle-of-the-pack relative to Larimer County but below what many suburban families might expect from their local district school. The school’s name signals a focus on early college access, though specific program offerings were not detailed in the available data. A parent who values a smaller setting in a town with strong economic growth and ample outdoor recreation may find this school worth exploring, particularly if they want to understand the early college pathway and how the school supports students through the upper grades when enrollment thins.
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