Crown Pointe Academy Celebrates Opening of New Building

After twelve years of having a building on a small piece of land without an opportunity for expansion, Crown Pointe Academy celebrated this afternoon the move into their brand new facility at 86th & Federal in Westminster. The building is named after Bill Christopher, former City Manager for the City of Westminster.

Crown Pointe Academy, a K-8 Core Knowledge Charter School opened its doors in 1997 and remains today as the only district charter school in the Westminster 50 School District.

The school's Building Corp President, Cheryl Olivo-Neil, presented a plaque to Russ Caldwell, one of the school's former governing board members and a key player on the financial team that created the opportunity to fund the new facility. The school's new library is named after Russ Caldwell.

Crown Pointe's founder, Kay May, returned for today's celebration and provided remarks about the formation of the school and why various components were selected for its program design. May now lives in New Hampshire.

The Crown Pointe Academy principal, Barbara Ridenour, has been with the charter school since it first opened. She was originally a teacher at the school before assuming a leadership position.

The school was built by JHL Construction and designed by Slaterpaull Architects.

BEST Capital Construction Grants Go to Five Charter Schools

The Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant program's board is recommending 35 cash grant awards, including five charter school projects. To be eligible for the grant program, the project needs to have a local match. Lake George, N Routt and Vista are all being recommended for the lease-purchase funding portion of the BEST program.

The five charter schools recommended for funding include:

1. James Irwin Charter Middle School: $655,280 for a roof replacement

2. Marble Charter School: $177,768 for a walkway between school buildings

3. Lake George Charter School: $6,488,532 for a new P-6 school

4. North Routt Charter School: $3,186,671 for a new K-8 building

5. Vista Charter High School: $4,595,063 for a high school facility replacement

Having been at most of these facilities, it's easy to say that these schools are very deserving of this financial assistance. Small, rural schools such as Marble, N Routt and Lake George are the lifeblood of these small communities and have very few options for facilities. Marble and N Routt are at least partially in facilities that are listed as a historical building. Translated this means lots of charm and minimal functionality.

Update: Lake George article