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).

PARKER LOCATION: My grandchildren attend this school. We…read morecould not be happier with the outcome of their education. Teachers are above excellent and I can't say enough about this school. Uniforms are required and they have many extracurricular activities that your children may be able to participate in. If you are looking for the best charter school in the south area, make sure to look into American Academy's new Parker facility. You won't regret the education your child receives at this school. The teachers are AMAZING. The ability grouping teachers are phenomenal. Wish I could give them a score of 10 stars. A rarity for me to give this high score.

There isn't much this school has going for it. Take advice from a former student (me, now a…read moresophomore in high school) who had come back to this yelp page to give good feedback for the school and advice for parents thinking about enrolling their student. First, don't base the enrollment of your student off this review but please take note as to what your child might experience at this school. Now, into my insight on this school. Though I had been there only from 1st-6th I had to transfer due to poor ability to put kids in the right classes and an awful 1:35 male to woman staff employment. As you can tell, it is very uncommon to have very little male staff members, and you might be wondering "could this school give more opportunity to succeed for a girl rather than a boy" the answer is yes. many sexist teachers flood the school every year and they seem to have a vendetta against male students. Though this could be blindly overlooked when your student is younger, by 5th grade, it becomes very obvious. Second, the teachers' ability to teach proper lessons is awful. The school hires younger teachers so they can pay them less, in hope to save money. It also seems that training doesn't exist at this school because some teachers seem very clueless as to what new students might need for resources. In all, this school should not be your primary choice but feel free to overlook this comment

AVA has been a great experience for our children. top notch teachers, an active PTO that provides…read moreplenty of volunteer opportunities, strong academic and sports programs are plentiful overlayed with character education at the center of everything. When combined with an amazing principal and school administration that always puts children's needs first, it's easy to see why this school has been voted Best of the Best for the last two years! https://coloradocommunitymedia.com/stories/best-of-the-best-2019,282899

I cannot say enough good things about this school. We moved to Parker a few years ago and left…read morebehind a wonderful school in our prior hometown. GRE has exceeded all of our expectations. Dr. Brown, the principal, is so invested in her school, the teachers, and the students. The front office staff is wonderful and friendly, and every teacher my kids have had here (3rd through 5th grade) has been fantastic. The PTO is likewise supportive and involved without being clique-ish and overbearing. This place is truly the BEST.

I can't say enough great things about Gold Rush Elementary School. They just Rock! The principal is…read moreamazing and it's clear, she is well appreciated at the school by all of the teachers and staff. There is no doubt in our minds that she cares for all of the kids, teachers and staff as I'd they all were a part of her own family. Or son is a kindergarten and has grown so much in the last few months. Our son has hearing loss and the teacher does a great job of communicating with him and the entire class. We are incredibly thankful that our son gets to learn at Gold Rush Elementary School.

Stay away! Do not…read morebelieve the reviews on greatschools! If your child is bright and you value education, send your child elsewhere. Don't make the mistake I made when I researched where to live in Douglas County by the school reviews. The school is overcrowded with 30+ kids in each class. No homework just about ever. No information from teachers about what they are learning/test reviews/projects etc. Absolutely no support for the exceptional student. I think project based learning has a place in the classroom, but I think it is clearly a mistake to scrap everything else that isn't PBL. And, unfortunately, those of us with children in school during this PBL experiment will pay the price by having children that can "think critically" but won't actually know anything.

We have been here for two years and I'm pleased with the school. They have great communication, my…read moregirls love school, and my five year old comes home singing songs in mandarin. I don't expect them to become fluent through this program but I'm on day 500 of mandarin through Duolingo and they sometimes correct my pronunciation. I've also spent many hours helping out in their math class and I'm happy with the amount of one on one time vs. full class time the kids get and both the Mandarin/math teacher and her teaching assistant are amazing.

absolute buns DO NOT send your children here I went there for 7 years. I was treated horrible by…read moremost staff. I got my head pushed down BY A SUB, i was told to sit under a desk by a teacher in 4th grade. The ONLY reason this school gets any stars is because its the minimum. There was one teacher who broke CMAS RULES to ask why i was leaving... For her info it was stuff like that, that is the reason i left. In my French classes i got taught NOTHING over 7 years now at my new school i've already learned more. The admin does NOTHING about bullying. I was in the principals kids class and he thought he could do anything and truthfully he could because admin is useless. Mr haslick suspended multiple kids for no reason. The admin here has NO buisness running a school. The only reason people get hired is because the are friends of the principal. One of my friends went home crying because bullying gets so severe because they no admin does nothing. You also learn nothing from this school because half the teachers arnt even qualified. They some how have an award that says "distinguished improvment" but if anything it gets worse and worse every year.