Colorado Academy is an independent

nonsectarian Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Examples of US universities that identify themselves as being nonsectarian include Adelp ...

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

, college preparatory day school for students from Pre-Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade. The school's campus is located in

Lakewood, Colorado The City of Lakewood is the home rule municipality that is the most populous municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 155,984 at the 2020 U.S. Census making Lakewood the fifth most populous city in Col ...

, and serves approximately 1000 students. The program is based on academics, arts and athletics. CA follows a trimester calendar, with grades issued at the conclusion of each term. Classes in all divisions follow a six-day rotating schedule.

History

Colorado Academy was established in 1906 as the Hill School for Boys in the

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

neighborhood in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and by 1923 was called the Colorado Military School. Military training was incorporated into the curriculum. The school outgrew its space during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and in 1947, moved from its location near the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

to its present location in Lakewood, just outside the Denver city limits. In 1955, the school began shifting its focus away from military training. Under the leadership of F. Charles Froelicher, Colorado Academy emerged as a college preparatory school for boys. The school became coeducational in 1971. Today, the school has three different divisions: Lower School, Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 5, Middle School, Grades 6–8, and Upper School, Grades 9–12. The curriculum emphasizes group and individual study of the liberal arts and sciences, as well as engagement through experiential and service learning.

Campus

The school's present campus was purchased in 1947. Known as the Kirk estate, it was the country home of Jesse Welborn, president of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. The campus has buildings for each division, including a state-of-the-art upper school that opened in January 2013, that features an innovation laboratory, expanded science labs and classrooms. The campus includes two libraries: a lower school library and the Raether Library, the Ponzio Arts Center, the Schotters Music Building, the historic Welborn House, Smith Center, a new field house and athletic center, a campus center and bookstore, and a recently renovated performing arts center. The CA campus also has a number of athletic fields, such as Stuie's Courts (8) (Tennis), Wright Field, Simms Field, Firman Field, Slater Field (turf) and a baseball field that was renovated in 2014. A new turf field is under construction.

Notable alumni

* Mark Hubbard, PGA Golfer *

Teel Bivins Miles Teel Bivins (November 22, 1947 – October 26, 2009) was an American diplomat and politician. He served as a Republican member for the 31st district of the Texas Senate, and also as the 18th United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of ...

United States Ambassador to Sweden The United States Ambassador to Sweden ( sv, Förenta Staternas ambassadör i Sverige) serves as the official diplomatic representative of the President and the Government of the United States of America to the King and the Government of the Kin ...

, 2004–06,

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

, SMU *

Paul Wylie Paul Stanton Wylie (born October 28, 1964) is an American figure skater, and the 1992 Olympic silver medalist in men's singles skating. Personal life Paul Stanton Wylie was born on October 24, 1964 in Dallas, Texas to Bob Wylie (a geophysicist ...

, Olympic

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

Dorothy Hamill Dorothy Stuart Hamill (born July 26, 1956) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1976 Olympic champion and 1976 World champion in ladies' singles. Early life Hamill was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Chalmers and Carol Hamill. Her fat ...

, Olympic Champion 1976

Former headmasters

*F. Charles Froelicher (1955–1975) *Sir Frank Wallace (1976–1990) *Christopher H. Babbs (1991–2008) *Mike Davis (2009–Present)

Ranking

According to Niche, Colorado Academy ranks as #1 in Best Private K-12 School in Colorado and is among the top 100 of all private schools nationwide.

References

External links

* {{authority control High schools in Lakewood, Colorado Educational institutions established in 1906 Private K-12 schools in Colorado Private high schools in Colorado Private middle schools in Colorado Private elementary schools in Colorado Preparatory schools in Colorado 1906 establishments in Colorado