CSI Board of Directors Approves New Charter School in Fort Collins

Amanda Oberg, Communications Coordinator

DENVER, CO (October 16, 2018) – At its October 16th regular board meeting, the Colorado Charter School Institute (CSI) Board of Directors approved the new school application for AXIS International Academy to open in Fort Collins in the 2019-2020 school year.

This approval comes after the recommendation of the CSI Review Team, which includes CSI staff and an expert, external reviewer. The recommendation was developed following a rigorous review process that included an application, community meeting, capacity interview with members of the applicant team, and a presentation to members of the CSI board. “Our application review process considers the strength of the proposal as well as the strength of the applicant team to implement that proposal with fidelity. This application demonstrated a sound plan and strong community support, and the applicant team included an engaged and expert team of proposed school leadership and board members,” shared Janet Dinnen, CSI’s Chief of Staff and lead of the CSI new school application process. “We are excited to have AXIS join the CSI portfolio of schools,” said Dr. Terry Croy Lewis, Executive Director of CSI. “We know there is a lot of work ahead and we will support the AXIS leadership team as they prepare to open.”

CSI currently authorizes three schools in Ft. Collins: Academy of Arts and Knowledge, Global Village Academy – Fort Collins, and Colorado Early Colleges – Ft Collins. To provide additional context to the CSI Board, CSI staff completed a market analysis of the Fort Collins area. CSI’s Performance and Accountability Analyst, Aislinn Walsh, discussed the purpose of this analysis: “To ensure longevity of new school options, authorizers must consider the needs of the local population. CSI looked at population characteristics, student enrollment trends, population estimates, and school performance for Poudre School District and nearby areas to determine the potential for additional high-quality charter schools.” The market analysis indicated opportunity for additional high performing options in the region, and intents to enroll and letters from the community submitted with the application suggest a desire for this particular educational model.

The vision of AXIS is “empowering citizens on character to thrive in their local and global communities and in life,” accomplished by instilling four educational priorities of Academic Excellence, X Cross-Cultural Competence, Immersion in World Languages, and Social-Emotional and Cognitive Skills Development. AXIS will offer partner language options in Spanish, French, and Mandarin Chinese, and will also offer preschool and homeschooling options.

AXIS International Academy is approved for a 3-year contract term with the opportunity to receive an additional two year automatic extension should certain performance milestones be met related to academic, financial, and organizational performance. School co-founder Kari Anne Calarco noted, “AXIS International Academy was founded by parent and local experts. We are beyond thrilled and honored to bring this high-quality language immersion opportunity to the children of our community. It’s so exciting to see our enrollment grow each week, and we are very grateful for the widespread community support.” AXIS is collecting intent to enroll forms for the 2019-2020 school year through their website: https://axiscolorado.org.