CHARTER ACADEMY BUYING CURRENT HOME

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Dec 21, 2007 by SHARI CHANEY GRIFFIN

Colorado Springs Charter Academy has a permanent home, and teachers and students won't even have to pack up and move to get there.

The charter school has contracted to purchase the Benet Hill Center, 2577 N. Chelton Road, which school officials have been leasing since the school opened in August 2005.

Others had attempted to buy the building and surrounding property, and Colorado Springs Charter Academy officials feared they would have to leave the building after the current school year.

But last summer, the Benedictine Sisters who run the center came back to the charter school officials, said board member Jill Gaebler, and began talking about a sale.

The recent deal has the charter school paying $4.75 million for the main building, gymnasium across the street, tennis courts and playground area, according to a news release from the school.

Gaebler said some families left the school because it was uncertain where the school would be located after this school year.

Now families know exactly where they'll be. Gaebler said it was an emotional moment when a letter went home with students to tell families about the sale and included the words "Welcome Home."

The building was previously an all-girls high school and has a collegiate feel, Gaebler said, complementing the school's mission of a rigorous curriculum and high expectations.

The school serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade, using the Core Knowledge curriculum.

Core Knowledge requires students to learn specific information in each grade and builds each year on prior knowledge.

The middle school portion of the school earned an excellent rating on the recently released state School Accountability Reports. The elementary grades earned a high rating.

Gaebler said school officials plan to move forward with renovations at the school this summer. The charter school added a playground and spent $100,000 in renovations previously.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0394 or shari.griffin@gazette.com