Original Research by School Decision on Community Prep Charter School
Community Prep Charter School is a small alternative high school in Colorado Springs, serving grades nine through twelve. As a charter school within the Colorado Springs School District No. 11, it operates with its own identity and focus. The school’s enrollment is notably top-heavy, with far more students in the upper grades than in the freshman class, which can be characteristic of an alternative setting where students may enter later in their high school careers. The student body is diverse, with a substantial share of students identifying as Hispanic and a smaller but present number of Black, White, and multiracial students. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, as well as those receiving special education services or English learner support, was not available in the data provided.
The most significant feature of Community Prep Charter School is the absence of several key performance metrics that families typically use to evaluate a high school. State testing data was not available. Neither was a four-year graduation rate, nor data on chronic absenteeism. The comparison against other districts in El Paso County could not be made on proficiency, graduation, or absenteeism because the school’s own data was missing on each of those measures. It is important to note that the school is classified as an alternative school; such schools often serve students who have not found success in a traditional high school setting, and the standard accountability framework may not capture their work in the same way. A parent or resident should understand that the lack of these common benchmarks does not necessarily mean poor performance, but it does mean there is no conventional evidence base from which to judge academic outcomes. The data simply does not tell us how students at this school perform on state assessments or whether they graduate on time. A family considering this school would need to ask the school directly for its own data on these points.
The school’s location in central Colorado Springs, near downtown, places it in a large, sprawling city with a military and aerospace-driven economy. The city has been growing, and home prices and rents in the area, while recently showing some softening, are substantial. The district that authorizes the charter, Colorado Springs School District 11, has taken steps that may benefit families across the city, including raising starting teacher pay to improve recruitment and retention and creating a scholarship program with Pikes Peak State College that allows district high school students to take college courses at no cost. For a family considering Community Prep, the district’s broader investments in teacher quality and college access could be relevant context.
In sum, Community Prep Charter School is an alternative high school in a growing city, but the standard measures of academic performance and student outcomes that would ordinarily help a family decide if it is the right fit were not available in the data. The school’s small size and alternative designation suggest it serves a specific purpose, likely for students who need a different path through high school. Without test scores or a graduation rate, the strongest question a parent can ask is to seek that information directly from the school.
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