Castle Rock Schools Power Region’s Highly Skilled Workforce

Douglas County School District

Castle Rock schools offer a variety of public education options that cater to the unique needs and interests of students and the region’s workforce efforts.

The Douglas County School District (DCSD) and its variety of schools, such as the Venture Academy of Leadership & Entrepreneurship (VALE), the Legacy Campus for career and technical training, and the Renaissance Secondary School for the gifted, ensure students develop different skills and viewpoints and are prepared for jobs of the future. 

Project-Based Learning 

VALE, which opened in fall 2023 in Parker, pairs project-based learning with real-world experiences. High school students spend Monday through Thursday in the classroom and Fridays in the community volunteering, meeting with mentors or completing internships. At the end of their term, the goal is for students to have a viable business idea. 

“The hope is that by the time they walk out of our program they’ll be able to walk right into a job and have some college credit as well if they want to pursue that. They’ll have the skills that will give them an opportunity to have a sustainable lifestyle here in Douglas County,” says Dan McMinimee, Douglas County School District’s executive director of schools for pathways, choice and alternative education. 

McMinimee says a nontraditional approach to education is necessary because careers and the skills needed to succeed in those careers are becoming less traditional. 

“The jobs that our kids are going to be able to have as they move forward are probably going to be way different than the jobs that are currently available, so they’re going to have to be able to take the skills that they’ve learned and apply them in new and different ways to be able to have a career,” McMinimee says. 

Legacy of Excellence 

DCSD Legacy Campus in Lone Tree also opened in 2023, with the goal of building a direct pipeline of talent to the region’s fast-growing industries. The campus serves as a central training hub for students in the district’s nine high schools and offers courses in career pathways, such as health care, advanced culinary and hospitality management, advanced robotics and automation, aviation, secure network technologies, and architecture. 

“We have absolutely state-of-the-art equipment. Our airplane simulators, for example, were selected based on an upgraded model of what the Air Force Academy is using to train their cadets. Our robotics and automation equipment are cutting edge,” says Rex Corr, director of the DCSD Legacy Campus. “What is unique to Legacy Campus is that our postsecondary partners are right here on campus with us.” 

Arapahoe Community College shares space on campus and offers Legacy students dual enrollment credit in automation and robotics, building controls technology, and emergency medical tech. The University of Colorado accelerated nursing program hosts classes on the Legacy campus as does the University of Denver Liniger Center on Franchising. 

“(Sharing a campus) demystifies the college process for our high school juniors and seniors, and it also opens up their understanding and perspective when it comes to stackable credentials and what opportunities lie before them as they move forward,” Corr says. 

Real-World Education 

Renaissance Secondary School, a middle and high school in Castle Rock that emphasizes experiential learning, offers a rigorous curriculum for students identified as talented and gifted. Students learn critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity and collaboration through a series of projects based on real-world problems. 

“We use this approach called deeper learning, and that means students dig deep into a content area and use their higher level thinking skills. Instead of memorizing something and moving on, they’re having to think critically to create a product or solve a problem,” says Amy Stuart, Renaissance Secondary School executive director. 

One example of this program is a partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers. Ninth graders work with the agency to study the local watershed, identifying native plants and comparing soil types for wetland delineation. Students are also assigned mentors, and many complete internships with local businesses. 

“There’s no ceiling to what kids can do here. So, if a student is working in the field doing this work and creating a project around it, they can take that as far as they would like to, and their teachers will encourage them to do so based on what their gifts and talents are,” Stuart says. 

ACC Office of College Communications

Classroom-to-Career Pathways

Arapahoe Community College (ACC) works closely with local schools and other higher education institutions in the region to create a seamless transition for students as they further their education. ACC partners with the Douglas County School District to offer concurrent enrollment programs. 

“We continue to lean into the concept of the Big Blur to create a greater number of seamless pathways to post-secondary academic experiences,” says Courtney Loehfelm, associate vice president of institutional advancement at ACC. “We also serve as DCSD’s primary postsecondary partner for architecture, building controls technology, EMT/EMS, nursing and secure network technologies. Students can obtain industry credentials and an ACC certificate by the time they graduate from high school.” 

ACC also teams up with other institutions to create specialized training programs to strengthen the workforce. A partnership with Colorado State University will create a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with a concentration in aerospace to serve the need for engineers in the region’s aerospace industry. 

“This helps position ACC to provide a pipeline of skilled workers while shaping the future of aerospace education to support the continued growth of the nation’s second-largest aerospace economy in Colorado,” Loehfelm says. 

Loehfelm says these collaborations are essential for both workforce and economic development, allowing students to complete their degrees without leaving the Castle Rock area. 

“At ACC, we strive to develop programs that lead to in-demand careers, providing innovative and responsive educational opportunities that promote success for our students and the communities we serve,” Loehfelm says.