Fantastic school with excellent teachers and staff. Highly recommend for any student.read more

This use to be a great school. The current administration staff however is running the school into…read morethe ground. They refuse to address safety concerns parents have. Many issues came up about safety with my child. When I made a meeting with the principle to talk to him about my concerns and possibly withdrawing my child from the school, once I started talking about my concerns he ended the meeting and stated he had other meetings to attend. I request a meeting with the Board of Directors and never received a response from them. We were denied our child's school records and the school refused to follow many State and Federal Laws along with school district policy. If you are considering this school talk to people throughout the community. This school has a bad reputation in Elizabeth, Kiowa, Elbert, Franktown and Parker.

5/2: Update: It's a different school now. The below review no longer relevant. I have no knowledge…read moreof the current school. The most amazing "little school that could". My son just graduated and we were looking back at what he achieved. It's simply incredible. School plays, lego league, chess, debate, technology club, VEX Robotics World Championships competing against high schools in California and of course solar cars, where Woodlands come home with armfuls of prizes. Great teachers who really care and classes sizes you wouldn't believe. (4-6, but not above 8 was our experience). He learned a lot and turned out a most polite young man. Would strong recommend - contact me for any more details!

A hidden gem! We…read moremoved to Castle Pines in January (from out of state) & only recently found Woodlands Academy in Castle Rock. I wish I had found them sooner. My 10 year old had been in the gifted program at her old school, had been doing well & loved school. While Douglas County school district has an open enrollment policy and a ton of charter/magnet schools, you can't actually get into any of them when you move in the middle of the year (in addition to missing the lottery for the following year). Our neighborhood elementary school was awful. I had a bad feeling about it the first time we visited it & have learned my lesson about listening to myself. It got worse over time until I was desperate to find another place (& had to promise my daughter that she would not have to go back there for 5th grade--no matter what--just to get her to be willing to get up & go to school every morning). She never had any homework, including math, and never had any make-up work when she was out sick--including a whole week she was out when we finished moving which the teachers knew about ahead of time. No assignments whatsoever. And there was no communication about anything they were studying or about any tests/projects/grades or anything. Luckily, I happened upon the Woodlands Academy while looking for another school for the following year, having promised my daughter that she would not have to go back to her old school. After applying, she went to shadow at the school to see if she liked it, while also giving them the opportunity to test her to see if she would be a good fit for their academically accelerated program. As it turns out, we were lucky that a new charter school had opened close by and had taken a lot of their students, so they had openings!!! The school was so fabulous I couldn't believe it. Very small classes with lots of one-on-one attention. They have lots of outside activities like going to the opera and hiking local places. It was so impressive that I withdrew my daughter from the local public school and am having her finish out the year there. I wouldn't normally think that would be a good idea, but she wasn't learning anything at her old school, so I couldn't imagine it being negative in any way. She went to shadow and never went back to her old school. Thankfully, the small classes allow the teachers to help catch my daughter up in things that she missed learning during her months in public school (important things that all 4th graders need to know for future school success). She loves going to school again! Now she comes home excited about debate class, learning a foreign language (they offer Spanish, French, German & Latin) and building a battery powered car (the middle schoolers designed solar powered) in technology class. If you are looking for an alternative school choice for an exceptional 1st-8th grader, I highly recommend Woodlands Academy. We are excited to have a great place lined up for next year. If I had found them sooner, or my about to be 8th grader hadn't already gotten into the STEM School & Academy for next year, I would pull her out of her enormous middle school and gladly send her to the Woodlands Academy where she could get the attention she deserves as an above average student who is clearly not getting enough attention focussed on her with her classes of 30+ students at the local middle school (which had great reviews, btw).

Trinity has been such a blessing to us. The small class sizes and amazing teachers and staff make…read morethis place something special. Our kids have thrived socially and academically. We are thrilled to be a part of this community.

Trinity Lutheran Church and School has been like a second home to me. After graduating from the…read moreschool, the church has remained a stable part of my week. They really make you feel at home whether it's your first time going or you're the third generation in your family to attend. In the school, everyone, from the students to the teachers to the rest of the staff, are some of my closest friends and best mentors. The education allowed me to excel in high school, college, and beyond, all because of the Christ-founded, challenging curriculum. I couldn't be more grateful to be part of the amazing legacy of Trinity's church and school!

Every component of the play SPONGE BOB was perfectly executed…read more Script Components * Dialogue * Stage Directions * Acts and Scenes * Characters Plot/Structure * Production Components Set Design Lighting Sound/Music Costumes & Makeup * Performance Actors The many costumes were all perfect. The main characters the support characters and their ability to change costumes between the different scenes was amazing. The fit was remarkable and contributed to their ability to present the characters. When we left the play it was as if we were leaving a Broadway Play. The energy that we felt as we left was remarkable we were truly stimulated. Thank you Wyatt Roberts

How do you even review a High School? Well, since I am home in Parker, Colorado for Christmas, I…read morethought it would be appropriate to review the school I knew oh so well from 1998-2002. On a good day the horrid ceilings look like espetus. The weird array of lunch food. Yes, I used to eat just French fries for lunch. I also learned in the cafeteria why you don't put aluminum foil in the microwave! I went to this school when the only housing around was the southern most tip of the South Pinery. There wasn't the Mormon church or even the amazing Carl's Jr just a mile away. We were in the middle of NOTHING. I loved almost every teacher I had. The theater and band were quite good and well renown in the area. Same for the football team. Granted it has been almost nine years since my graduation, but my heart is still filled with Mustang pride! I'll miss sneaking outside of the second floor door to have a smoke...or having the worst Chemistry class experience ever. I miss you Ponderosa, and yet... I don't at all.

We've been parents at ACS for 8 years. We were huge supporters of the school prior to the current…read moreDean Erin McMilon stepping in. Ms. McMilon was elevated into the position after being a 3rd grade teacher for a few years. We have not found ANY professional experience of Ms. McMilon's that qualifies her as a school Dean. We have found no administrative, leadership or professional experience that would qualify her as entry level administrator, much less as a whole school Dean. We've contributed hundreds of hours to the school serving on numerous committees and have been avid supporters. Unfortunately, under Ms. McMilon's role as Dean, combined with the current Board of Governors, we are withdrawing both of our kids. In our experience, the climate and culture under the current leadership has lost all sense of integrity and qualified decision making. Our 5th grader was given a zero on an exam after a minor behavioral issue during class. We were never given the details of what happened so we requested a meeting with the teacher for clarification. She refused to meet with us after 2 separate requests. We escalated to the dean Ms. McMilon, where we were requesting clarification and help resolving the conflict. Ms. McMilon refused to meet with us on 5 different occasions. We then escalated to the Board of Governors, of which Erin McMilon is a member of the board. The Board also refused multiple requests for a face to face meeting with he teacher and the dean. After 10 weeks, we've never been given an answer as to why our son was given a zero on the exam and no one will meet with us. We've now had to file a Civil Rights complaint with the federal government and engaged an attorney just to compel them to answer our questions. Ms. McMilon seems to have zero sense or awareness of how to manage a school, teachers, students or parents. There are many many better choices in the community for a school other than ACS.

My child also experienced bullying over the course of many years. After the principal and school…read morecounselor proved they weren't interested in resolving this problem, we removed our children from ACS. I would never recommend this charter school to any parent.

The transfer from middle school was great I give it 4 stars because everyone is bait a familyread more

Terrible school the sports are so bad. Chaparral high school is so much better go there instead!!!read more

I would call DC Oakes a High School Alternative rather than an Alternative High School. The small…read moreclass sizes, outdoor experiences, arts and family culture, that are hallmarks of this school, make this a school where kids feel safe reflect on choices made. More importantly it has a way of supporting young adults in becoming responsible contributing members of their community. I am very impressed with the dedicated staff at DC Oakes. They are professional yet down-to-earth and they strive to see each individual who walks through the front door as a valuable member of their extended school family.

Our daughter was miserable at Legend and dropped out in her Jr year. Even though she was not…read moretechnically enrolled in DC Oaks, the staff helped her gain the confidence to pass her GED and enroll in cosmetology school. DC Oakes is not your typical hard-driving, college bound academic high school...the teachers genuinely care about young people, especially those with challenges.