Aspen Academy's History

Aspen Academy was founded in 2005 by three women dedicated to the idea of providing an educational opportunity where what you know is equally as important as who you are. It was important to our founders that Aspen Academy became a place where when children left at the end of the day, they couldn’t wait to come back in the morning. It was through this vision, the generosity of a group of parents, will, and sheer grit, that Aspen Academy began in a 10'x12’ office in downtown Littleton, Colorado.

School began on August 21, 2005, with 100 students in Pre-Kindergarten through the 4th Grade. Aspen Academy was located in a temporary space, rented for three years. By 2007, enrollment had exceeded the space's capacity, which prompted the purchase of a larger facility. The current site for Aspen Academy was purchased and renovation began.

Over the course of the next eight years, our current site was entirely renovated to include a new gymnasium and fitness center, Pre-Kindergarten through 3rd Grade classroom renovations, the addition of a Professional Development Center for faculty, new sports facilities, gardens, fourteen outdoor labs, ten teaching gardens, security fencing, and most recently, Innovation labs.

In 2009, Bears' Student Enterprises was founded and is an entirely student-managed entity that houses the 8th Graders’ businesses. In 2012, the Aspen Youth Leadership Institute was founded. A comprehensive and sequenced Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade curriculum was developed and has resulted in a daily leadership class for all Aspen Academy students where the focus is on the development of concepts and skills in personal effectiveness, intra- and interpersonal awareness, character and leadership, and financial literacy and entrepreneurship. In 2013, we created a Financial Literacy curriculum written in partnership with the National Financial Literacy Council. In addition, two of our eighth graders received national recognition for their documentary on eating disorders. In 2014, our Head of School was featured in an episode of the PBS Series, “Exceptionary Women.

Now with 400 students, Aspen Academy is the fastest growing private school in the state of Colorado. The scope and complexity of the academic programs in reading, language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, technology, world languages and visual and performing arts, coupled with our demonstrated commitment to character and leadership have continued to evolve and expand over the years while staying true to the school’s mission and vision to edify and inspire students and educators to grow, learn and lead. We strive to be a national leader in innovative and transformative education. The character and accomplishments of Aspen Academy graduates provide powerful testimony to the success of the School’s programs.