Choosing a school? You’ve got options.
First off, if you’re making a K-12 education decision for your child, you’re not alone. Tens of thousands of Colorado parents are making similar decisions each year. Secondly, you can do it! In Colorado, you have access to more school choice options than you might realize. Knowing and navigating these options can help you find a great school. And remember, every child is different. So, the best school for your neighbor’s child may be different than the best school for your child.
This post will breakdown the main types of schools available to you in Colorado, as well as provide additional education resources to help you find the best learning environment for your child. Colorado families can choose from traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, private schools, online learning, homeschooling, and microschooling and mix-and-match learning.
One of the many factors families consider when choosing a school is transportation. In Colorado, transportation is available for students who attend their assigned public school, transfer to a public school both in and outside of their assigned district and meet eligibility criteria, or have transportation services in their Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Transportation may be available for other types of schools – for more information check out our transportation guide.
Looking for special education options? You can learn what special education services are available in Colorado in the Ultimate Guide to Special Education.
Download the School Choice Snapshot for Colorado
Explore Types of Schools
Colorado Traditional Public Schools
Most children in Colorado (76.5%) attend traditional public schools. Traditional public schools are free to attend, open to all students, and operated by school districts. Public schools are funded by federal, state, and local government. Did you know that Colorado spends, on average, $14,864 per public school student each year?
Colorado has unrestricted open enrollment for public schools. What this means is that you may be able to send your child to any public school in Colorado, regardless of where you live or where the school is located. You can take advantage of this important option by visiting multiple public schools near you and discovering which is the best fit for your family. Since Colorado has a law prohibiting public schools from charging tuition for transfer students, open enrollment is always a free option for families.
Open enrollment is a popular option for families in Colorado, with nearly 200,000 students participating in it during the 2023-2024 school year.
For a real-world example of the transfer process, you may wish to view the online application for transfers within the Cherry Creek School District. Schools may prioritize the transfer requests of certain student groups, such as students wishing to transfer out of low-performing schools.
Find out more about public schools in your state at the Colorado Department of Education.You can also learn more about Colorado open enrollment in this 50-state report.
Colorado Charter Schools
Another widespread public school choice in Colorado are charter schools. These schools are tuition-free public schools that have extra freedom to innovate with learning methods. You can think of traditional public schools like luxury liners that are able to serve many people but are slower to turn when the wind changes, whereas charter schools are a little like sailboats, which are built for a smaller number of people but are easier to adjust and navigate.
As of 2025, Colorado has more than 270 charter schools that parents can choose from. More than 15% of Colorado students attend charter schools, placing Colorado in the top three states for proportion of students attending charter schools.
Each public charter school has a charter that explains the school’s purpose and what specific community need it serves. The purpose might be providing a STEAM program or offering a rigorous, literacy-based curriculum. One recently-opened charter high school focuses on agriculture, food, health, and environmental stewardship. It even has a soil and seed lab! If there are more families seeking admittance to a charter school than there are seats, a lottery system is usually used to determine admittance.
Free transportation may be available to some students who attend charter schools in Colorado. Students with special needs who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and students in foster care are eligible to receive transportation assistance.
You can learn more at the Colorado League of Charter Schools.
Colorado Magnet Schools
You can also choose magnet schools! These public schools allow kids to narrow in on a specific learning track, like engineering or STEM. At a magnet school, all the subjects are taught through the lenses of that specific track.
Colorado has more than 20 magnet schools throughout the state. Districts with magnet schools include Aurora Public Schools, Denver Public Schools, Mapleton Public Schools, and Douglas County School District. In Pueblo, Corwin International Magnet School recently won its fourth Colorado Trailblazer Schools to Watch award!
Colorado Private Schools
Additionally, Colorado families can choose private schools, nonpublic school that charge tuition. These schools come in all shapes and forms, ranging from religious schools to schools designed for children with special needs.
There are more than 500 private schools across the state of Colorado serving 5.8% of the K-12 student population. The average tuition for private schools in the state is $13,103 for elementary schools and $16,516 for high schools.
Unfortunately, in Colorado there are no state-run scholarship programs to help families afford private school tuition. However, there may be privately funded scholarships available. ACE Scholarships, for instance, works to provide scholarships for disadvantaged students in Colorado and other states. Also, the federal government allows parents to save for K-12 private school tuition using tax-preferred 529 savings accounts.
Learn more at the Colorado Association of Private Schools, Seeds of Hope, Parents Challenge, and Private School Review: Colorado.
Colorado Online Learning
Whether your child wants to accelerate his or her learning or needs a quieter environment in which to focus, you may be interested in giving virtual school a try. Colorado offers several free, full-time online learning options for students statewide. Some of these online schools, like Colorado Virtual Academy and Astravo Online Academy, are public charter schools. Other online options are managed by traditional districts. District-run online options that serve all grades K-12 and allow enrollment across districts include Colorado Connections Academy, Colorado Preparatory Academy, Aspire Online Academy, Boulder Universal, Branson School Online, District 6 Online Academy, and PSD Global Academy.
There are also many online schools serving specific grades. For example, students statewide in grades 4-12 who are interested in career technical education may wish to check out Destinations Career Academy of Colorado, which specializes in real-world training for specific careers. Students in grades 9-12 who need extra academic and social support to excel may want to consider Pikes Peak Online School.
You can dive into a full list of online options at the Colorado Department of Education. Note that some of the online options listed are available only to local students.
In addition, Colorado Digital Learning Solutions is the official state virtual school and offers part-time courses for middle-school and high-school students. While Colorado Digital Learning Solutions charges fees, students attending Colorado traditional public schools and public charter schools may have their fees subsidized.
We recently interviewed a Colorado online school, GOAL Academy. This online school has drop-in centers where students can work and frequent school field trips, offering families a unique blend of virtual and in-person education.
To learn more about the online school community in your state, check out the Colorado Coalition of Cyberschool Families and the Digital Learning Collaborative’s state profile.
Colorado Homeschooling
Homeschooling is also available to Colorado families. Homeschooling is the process of parents educating students at home and is permitted in all 50 states. As both technology and school choices have spread in Colorado, homeschooling is an increasingly popular choice with more support and resources than ever.
In Colorado, a notice of your intent to homeschool is required 14 days prior to homeschooling annually if you are using the state’s homeschool statue. It is recommended that you formally withdraw from your current school so that your student is not marked truant.
Homeschooling Requirements:
If you choose homeschooling, the state requires you to teach specific subjects (such as reading, writing, math, history, civics, literature, and science) and also requires some level of assessment for your child. Your student might still be eligible to participate in sports, activities, or classes at your local public school – reach out to your district to check. In the case that you decide to switch back to public school, the school may administer placement tests to find the appropriate grade for your student.
Some online resources about Colorado homeschooling include: the Department of Education’s homeschooling page, Home School Legal Defense Association – Colorado, Christian Home Educators of Colorado, The Umbrella School, Homeschool Treasury, Colorado Heritage Education School System, Colorado Springs Homeschool Sports League, and Western Colorado Homeschool Connections.
Colorado Microschools and Mix-and-Match Learning
Today, many Colorado families today are mixing and matching school options to come up with new ways to personalize education. Microschools are one of these ways. A microschool refers to students gathering together in a small group – with adult supervision – to learn, explore, and socialize. Microschools can take a variety of shapes and legal forms, from homeschoolers coming together at an enrichment center to a private school committed to small classrooms. What microschools share in common is a commitment to small-group learning, close-knit relationships, and emphasizing children as individual learners.
Examples of microschools in Colorado:
- Zealous Schools is one organization operating a few microschools as independent schools in Colorado.
- In Denver, Embark Education blends study and real world experience, allowing students to work half-hour shifts at a nearby coffee shop and bike shop.
- Anastasis Academy is a Christian microschool in Centennial focusing on experiential learning and small, mixed-age classes.
- The Field Academy is a traveling microschool based in Denver.
- La Luz Education is an independent microschool / homeschool enrichment program for sixth and seventh graders. The program is tuition-free and offers education in both English and Spanish.
- Montessori Peaks Academy is a Colorado public charter school, but offers several free enrichment programs for homeschool students.
- There are at least two Wildflower Montessori microschools in Colorado, in Denver and Aurora.
- Ascend Micro School, a faith-based hybrid school in Colorado Springs, offers a community-rooted, learner-driven education for students in grades K-8.
- In Colorado, there have even been some district-run learning pods, such as those run by the Adams 12 District.
Remember, microschooling is more a mentality than a specific legal distinction in most cases. Often, a family participates in a microschool while legally homeschooling, or being enrolled in a private or online school.
Share This Page On:
Ready to explore your local school options? Use our free “Schools Near Me” tool to search through more than 131,000 public, charter, magnet, and private schools.
Our tool enhances the information we offer on school choice options in your state. With this tool, you can access information on more than 132,000 public, charter, magnet, and private schools across the United States. You’ll be able to view essential information about each school, such as its address, phone number, and website.
Sign Up To Learn More About School Choice in Your State
