Education Options in Castle Rock, CO
Castle Rock schools and colleges get high marks for quality education
From preschool through college, Castle Rock offers families a wide range of high-quality education options.
In This Article
Public Schools
The Douglas County School District comprises 50 preschools and elementary schools, 43 middle schools and 15 high schools – which include several charter schools, magnet schools and Montessori schools. A school choice/open zone policy allows families to choose which school their children will attend. Families can choose from a wide range of schools and programs, from visual and performance arts programs to schools with a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) focus. The Renaissance Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound School, for example, encourages experiential and active learning through outdoor adventures. The school district also offers Web-based instruction through its HOPE programs.
Private Schools
Castle Rock is also home to a few private schools, including The Rock Christian Academy, a pre-K through 6th grade school that offers a Christ-centered education. Founded in 1993 by a parent group, Academy Charter School serves students in kindergarten through 8th grade. The school is publicly funded and admission is based on a lottery system. The school engages students in a content-rich and well-rounded Core Knowledge Curriculum. Parent involvement is a key to the school’s success, and parents are required to volunteer in the school 20 hours per year. Academy also offers a homeschool instruction and support for kindergarteners who were not accepted to the school through the lottery.
Higher Education
The Castle Rock campus of Arapahoe Community College allows students to take college courses without leaving home. Traditional students can enroll in one of many associate degrees in fields including business, communication, general studies and information technology or take transfer-eligible courses toward a four-year degree at a state university. The campus offers both daytime courses and evening instruction for working adults. The Castle Rock campus includes a computer lab as well as tutoring and advising services.
Arapahoe Community College, Colorado State University and the Douglas County School District are working to create a collaborative higher-education campus in Castle Rock. The campus is still in the planning phase, but the hope is such a campus will enable students to matriculate from high school to a four-year degree without leaving home.
Library
Part of the Douglas County Libraries system, the Philip S. Miller Library in Castle Rock offers patrons free Wi-Fi, spacious reading and work stations, computers for public use, and a dedicated space for kids and teens. The library also has the system’s largest meeting spaces and regularly hosts community events, ranging from student science fairs to weekly children’s story times. The library includes the Douglas County History Research Center, which hosts genealogy research classes as well as education programs for students.