Original Research by School Decision on Odyssey Early College and Career Options
Odyssey Early College and Career Options sits inside the Colorado Springs School District No. 11 as an alternative high school serving grades nine through twelve. The name tells a central part of the story. This is a school designed for students who want to combine high school with college coursework and career preparation, and its structure reflects that purpose.
The school is small, with enrollment distributed fairly evenly across the four grade levels. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse. About half the students are white, more than a quarter are Hispanic, and the remainder are split among Black, Asian, multiracial, and other backgrounds. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which signals that many families are managing tight budgets.
The school is classified as an alternative school. That classification can mean different things in different places. In many districts, alternative high schools serve students who have struggled in a traditional setting, students who want a nontraditional pace or structure, or students seeking a specific academic focus like early college. The early college and career options framing in the school's name points to the latter. Parents will want to understand exactly what alternative designation means in this school's case, because the term covers a wide range of models. The school's website or a direct conversation with the school office would clarify the admission criteria, the academic expectations, and the student profile the school is built to serve.
No state assessment results were available for this school. That is common among alternative schools, which often operate outside the standard testing framework, but it does mean there is no public proficiency data to gauge where students stand academically in core subjects. The graduation rate was also not reported. A parent looking for concrete academic measures will need to ask the school directly about its graduation rates, college credit attainment, and postsecondary outcomes for its students. The district as a whole has made recent strides in improving school performance, reducing the number of schools on turnaround and priority improvement status, and has launched the D11 Promise Scholarship with Pikes Peak State College, which allows high school students to take college courses at no cost. That scholarship program is directly relevant to an early college school and suggests a supportive district environment for the model.
The housing market in the school's zip code is roughly in line with national home values. Rents have been rising modestly. The local economy in Colorado Springs is dominated by military installations, aerospace and defense contractors, and tourism, with a large and growing population. The city is car-dependent and sprawling, so a family's commute to this school at 2115 Afton Way depends on where in the region they live.
A family considering Odyssey Early College and Career Options should treat it as a specialized school with a defined mission. It is not a comprehensive neighborhood high school with a full slate of extracurriculars and a large student body. It is a small alternative school that, based on its name and district context, is likely focused on dual enrollment, career pathways, and a more individualized academic experience. The absence of standard test scores and graduation data means that the best information about the school's effectiveness will come from the school itself. A parent should ask for specific numbers: how many students graduate, how many earn college credits or associate degrees before leaving, and where graduates go after high school. That will tell the real story better than any statewide comparison could.
See more original research from School Decision →