Original Research by School Decision on Nikola Tesla Education Opportunity Center
Nikola Tesla Education Opportunity Center is an alternative school serving grades six through twelve within the Colorado Springs School District No. 11. It is not a charter school, and its Title I status was not reported. The school is located in Colorado Springs, a large, sprawling city that blends military installations with a high-tech and aerospace sector, tourism, and extensive residential development. The military and defense contractors supply a significant portion of the regional economy, and the city includes Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and Fort Carson.
The district itself, Colorado Springs 11, has taken steps that directly affect families. The district raised the starting teacher salary and implemented significant pay increases aimed at improving teacher recruitment and retention. It also reduced the number of schools on Turnaround and Priority Improvement status from nine to three, a shift that signals stronger school performance across the district. In partnership with Pikes Peak State College, the district established the D11 Promise Scholarship, which allows high school students to take college-level courses at no cost, expanding college readiness and affordability for families.
The school’s enrollment is moderate for its grade band, with students concentrated heavily in the upper grades. The student body is majority Hispanic, with White students as the next largest group, followed by smaller shares of students who are two or more races, Black, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available.
State testing data for the 2024-25 school year carries important caveats. For the grades three through eight assessments in math and English language arts, as well as eighth-grade science, the school’s proficiency rates were suppressed, meaning the state does not report them, likely due to the small number of students tested. The average scale scores were reported and were below what is typical for the state. Participation rates on these tests were notably low, which is a significant factor for parents to consider when interpreting the school’s academic picture at the middle-school level. Because the school serves secondary grades, higher-level assessments or graduation pathways that often use different metrics may provide a fuller academic context. However, the school’s graduation rate was not available in the data provided, which is an important gap for a school serving grades eleven and twelve, where the majority of its students are enrolled.
The school offers no data on course access, program offerings, or staffing. There was no information on attendance or chronic absenteeism. Because this is an alternative school, its mission and student population likely differ from a comprehensive district high school, which means its academic and accountability picture may not be directly comparable. A parent would benefit from speaking directly with the school about the specific programs, pathways, and support structures available, particularly for the older students who make up the bulk of the enrollment. The absence of standard outcomes like proficiency rates and a graduation rate is a soft spot in the available evidence, and it would be reasonable to ask the school for its own reporting on post-secondary and transition outcomes.
Housing in the area served by the school shows home values slightly below the state benchmark but in line with the national figure, and rents are moderate relative to incomes, suggesting an accessible market compared to pricier parts of Colorado. The broader Colorado Springs housing market has seen a slight cooling, with home values dipping over the past year, while rents have edged up modestly. For families moving into the area, this presents a relatively balanced cost picture, though the city remains car-dependent and sprawling.
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