Highlands Ranch Herald 5
April 23, 2015
Former principal proposes K-12 charter Core Knowledge curriculum
m lBy Jane Reuter yjreuter@colorado communitymedia.com A K-12 charter school that its founder . said would emphasize “purpose-driven t education” could open in Castle Rock in e2016. Proponent Merlin Holmes hasn’t yet esecured a site for the proposed Milestone dAcademy, but an application for the school yis under review by the Douglas County -School District. About 30 people came to the Castle Rock mlibrary April 13 to learn more about the yschool, one of six schools Holmes aims to -open in 2016 along the Front Range under -the name Capstone Collegiate Academies. . Holmes was the principal at both SkyoView and Aspen View Academies; his con-tracts with both schools were terminated. - If approved, Milestone Academy would be the first charter high school in Castle Rock. Parker’s Colorado Early Colleges, Highlands Ranch’s SkyView and STEM acad-
emies already offer high school options in Douglas County. DCSD also is reviewing a proposal for John Adams High School, which is seeking a site in Highlands Ranch. Holmes said Milestone Academy would implement the Core Knowledge curriculum for its elementary school students. Core Knowledge is built around the idea that students need to learn a core body of knowledge to become culturally literate. Students would be required to wear uniforms through eighth grade, and adhere to a “modest dress code” in high school. “Our high school will be a college prep high school,” Holmes said. “It will be designed so students get the classes they need to enter any college they want to go to, (and learn) what’s going to prepare them to be successful in college, not just get into college.” At its peak, the high school would have no more than a total of 600 students. It also would offer “vibrant activities,” Holmes said, including athletics, art, music, theater and clubs. “We won’t be able to offer every sport,” he said. “And we probably won’t be state champions the first year. (But) we’ll be
competitive.” Holmes defined a purpose-driven education. “Another way of saying that is we want students to achieve their dreams,” he said. “We think as a school it’s our job to work with you, the parents and students, to give you all the skills, knowledge, character and integrity to go and be whoever you want to be.” Holmes is not new to the charter school process, or to Douglas County. The Monument resident was the first principal of Colorado Springs’ The Classical Academy, and has led Highlands Ranch’s SkyView Academy, Castle Rock’s Aspen View Academy and Elizabeth’s Legacy Academy. He also was a Colorado Department of Education charter school consultant. “All the schools I’ve started have done very well academically and culturally,” he said. Milestone will operate according to a “student-centered” partnership model, with the academy board, parents, school district and Capstone Collegiate working together. Holmes said the model includes checks and balances. “Each group has their role,” Holmes
School backer no stranger to Douglas County Charter school proponent’s contract with three charters terminated jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com
no details are provided. . Representatives of both schools said they could not rcomment on the actions because they are confidential personnel issues.
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By Jane Reuter
Merlin Holmes expresses pride in the charter schools he’s helped launch, though public records show his contracts with three of those schools — two of them in Douglas County — were terminated. They include Aspen View and SkyView academies, both of which Holmes described as good schools. He said administrative turnover is not unusual in the first few years of a charter school, and he intends to provide a stable structure with his proposed Milestone Academy. “Part of why I’m starting schools around the state is to expand opportunity for parents and kids, and trying to make sure we create some really long-term partnerships so the schools aren’t quite so volatile in their staffing,” he said. “Most charter schools, especially in their early years, turn over a lot. Administrators and the board get to the point where they’re not on the same page.” He declined to offer additional comment on the terminations. Most recently, Castle Rock’s Aspen View Academy board voted to terminate Holmes’ principal contract in late 2014. Holmes was the school’s first principal. Minutes from the Nov. 4, 2014 Aspen View board meeting in which Holmes’ contract was terminated said Holmes had announced plans to leave the charter school. “The board was extremely surprised to see communication sent out internally to staff and community without board discussion or approval,” the minutes read. “Mr. Holmes wanted to make the announcement that he was committed through the rest of the year while also allowing us enough time to find a successor. He believed that prior eindividual discussions with (other board members) constituted approval.” r The board then moved to terminate Holmes’ at-will .contract immediately. a The SkyView Academy board moved to terminate Holmes’ executive director contract in January 2013. r Holmes was executive director of the Highlands Ranch tschool from 2010-13. The motion to approve Holmes’ conetract termination is documented in SkyView minutes, but
said. “This is designed to make sure no one group has all the power. He said a management board would pay Capstone to hire and pay teachers. “All the things a normal district board would hire a principal to do,” Holmes said. “I will be the executive director of the school. I will hire a principal, and the principal and I together will hire the staff.” Though the Douglas County School District must approve the charter, Holmes said: “In this district, the district board here is very strong on charter autonomy.” Holmes said he had “very, very few serious issues” with the other charter schools he helped launch. “Budgetwise, the last two schools are very successful,” he said, referring to Aspen View and SkyView. “We’ve put money into things that really matter.” Two of the parents in attendance liked the sound of Milestone Academy. “I like the idea of a charter high school,” said Emily Srasiak, parent of three. “I think it’s great,” said Laura Hogzett, who has three children and is expecting her fourth. “If they went to the same school (through high school), wouldn’t that be perfect?”
Monument resident Merlin Holmes talks to parents about his proposed Milestone Academy charter school during an April 13 meeting at the Castle Rock library. Photo by Jane Reuter In February 2003, Holmes was fired from his post as the first principal of Colorado Springs’ Classical Academy High School. The Classical Academy’s elementary principal was fired simultaneously. The school’s president said then the board had unanimously agreed to make changes in the school’s leadership. Holmes also was principal at Legacy Academy in Elizabeth in 2005-06, when the school was called Elbert County Charter School. Staff there said he left on his own to start another school. He also worked for National Heritage Academies, a charter school management organization based in Michigan, as its director of partner relations from 2006-09. Holmes told parents who attended an April 13 meeting on his proposed Castle Rock charter he’s had “very, very few serious issues” with the schools he has run in the past. “All the schools I’ve started have done very well academically and culturally,” he said. “The waitlist for all five of the schools I’ve started is still very large. “If you put your kids in this school, I’m 95 percent confident you’ll really be appreciative of this school. One of the things that is important to me is that five, 10 years from now, when your kids are in our school and you think back to this meeting, you’ll say, `They worked really hard to do what Merlin promised.’ ”
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