Preparing Students for an AI-Driven Future: How The Colorado Springs School is Modernizing Education Beyond Traditional Models
1. School Climate, Safety, and Equity
How is your district addressing school safety, including physical security and substance abuse prevention?
At The Colorado Springs School, our approach to safety is comprehensive and community-centered. Our 28-acre campus in the Broadmoor neighborhood provides a secure environment, which we enhance with appropriate physical security measures, including patrolled access points and visitor management protocols through Raptor. Each person who is on campus needs to check in, and students wear lanyards to quickly identify who is enrolled. Our small school community of PreKindergarten-Grade 12 students allows us to maintain close relationships where every student is known by name and character.
For substance abuse prevention, we integrate age-appropriate education into our health and wellness curriculum, emphasizing decision-making skills and peer support systems. Our advisory program is designed on a college model where students meet weekly with a small group with advisory group with teacher advisors and create trusted adult relationships that provide students with safe spaces to discuss challenges they may face. We offer our parents monthly opportunities to attend our Parent Speaking Series events on Mental Health and Wellness to keep up with current trends and support resources for preventive, ongoing information.
What steps are being taken to ensure equity in educational opportunities for all students, regardless of background?
As an independent school, we're committed to making our transformative educational experience accessible to diverse families through offering our financial aid program. We actively work to ensure that socioeconomic background doesn't limit a student's ability to access our college preparatory curriculum, international programs, and extensive co-curricular offerings. Our small class sizes naturally allow teachers to adjust instruction to meet each student's learning style and needs, ensuring every student can reach their potential and that ensure curriculum offers multiple points of view for critical thinking. CSS offers an international student homestay program where international students can enroll and stay with a host family for the school year to attend CSS, offering an international perspective in the classroom and enriching opportunities for our host families.
2. Student Engagement and Secondary Pathways
How is the district expanding options in secondary education—such as vocational, dual-credit, or advanced coursework—to help more students stay inspired and realize their potential?
Our Upper School program is designed to provide multiple pathways for student growth and exploration. We offer a robust Advanced Placement (AP) program across multiple disciplines, allowing students to earn college credit while still in high (Upper) school. Additionally, if our Upper School students want to expand their subject knowledge, we offer independent study credits. We have introduced a course path specially designed for students who want to follow specific college-preparatory pathways.
We emphasize experiential learning through all of our grade levels with an emphasis on STEM, Senior Capstone research opportunities, and regular community service engagement. Our international program brings global perspectives into the classroom, while our outdoor education component takes advantage of our Rocky Mountain location to provide unique learning experiences that develop leadership, teamwork, and environmental stewardship.
3. AI in Classrooms
What policies and strategies is your district developing to govern the use of Artificial Intelligence by students and teachers?
We are approaching AI integration thoughtfully, recognizing both its potential and its challenges. Our core strategy is not to fit AI into an outdated educational model but to modernize our entire framework for the age of AI.
We are developing a vertically aligned PreKindergarten-Grade 12 AI literacy curriculum that teaches students not only how to use AI tools ethically but also provides an age-appropriate understanding of how these systems work "under the hood." This instruction is interwoven with our foundational strength in experiential learning and our new, school-wide adoption of Project-Based Learning (PBL), a methodology we are embracing to foster the authentic problem-solving skills required in the age of AI. Crucially, this pedagogical approach allows us to double down on what is irreplaceable: building our students’ uniquely human, "robot-proof" skills; fostering deep human connections; and strengthening their relationship with the natural world through our unique mountain setting and outdoor education programs.
By demystifying the technology, our curriculum empowers students to use AI as a tool to augment, not replace, their uniquely human creativity. This evolution is supported by a comprehensive professional development plan for our faculty to ensure they can both use AI for their own productivity and guide students effectively.
How are you addressing ethical concerns, academic integrity, and bias that AI introduces in the learning environment?
Our approach emphasizes teaching students to be critical consumers and ethical users of AI technology. We are integrating AI ethics directly into our curriculum with explicit, age-appropriate instruction on concepts like algorithmic bias, data privacy, and societal impacts. This includes fostering an awareness of the ethical decisions being made at the corporate and governmental levels, preparing students to be informed citizens who can engage in larger conversations about AI policy and governance. Through this instruction, our students become diligent consumers of media, equipped to evaluate AI-generated content, understand the potential for AI "hallucinations," and recognize the importance of verifying information.
Our primary strategy for academic integrity is pedagogical, supported by updates to our Honor Code to address the ethical use of AI. By transitioning to more of a competency-based assessment model, we help students focus on their learning rather than on grades. This approach encourages them to use AI as a tool that supports their learning rather than a substitute for their own critical thinking.
We also have an ethical duty to our faculty. We will support them in using AI to streamline administrative tasks and improve work-life balance, and provide the professional development needed to use these tools ethically and responsibly for both administrative and classroom purposes.
4. Pandemic Recovery
What academic and social pressures still linger from the pandemic?
While our small, close-knit community helped us maintain strong connections during the pandemic, we continue to address some lingering effects. Some students are still rebuilding confidence in collaborative learning and social interactions. We've also noticed that some students developed learning habits during remote instruction that we're helping them adapt to in-person excellence.
How is the district supporting teachers, students, and families as they continue to recover and rebuild?
Our advisory program has been crucial in providing ongoing social-emotional support to our students. We've enhanced our counseling services and created more opportunities for community building through school traditions, outdoor education experiences, and family engagement events. For our faculty, we've focused on professional development around trauma-informed teaching and social-emotional learning strategies. Our small size allows us to provide individualized support where needed. Our Parents’ Association and Booster Club help us build quality events to build community outside the classroom.
5. Global Competitiveness
American students are falling behind their peers in other developed nations. What are those countries doing differently—and how is your district adapting to close that gap?
Our small school and international homestay program give us unique insights into global educational approaches. We incorporate elements from high-performing educational systems, including emphasis on critical thinking over memorization, collaborative problem-solving, project-based learning, and interdisciplinary learning. Our international student population brings diverse perspectives that enrich our academic environment and prepare all students for global citizenship, as well as travel opportunities for our students to access global points of view.
We emphasize depth over breadth in our curriculum, allowing students to develop expertise and passion in their areas of interest. Our college preparatory program is designed to develop the analytical thinking, communication skills, and cultural competency that will serve students well in an increasingly interconnected world. We have a dedicated College and Career Counselor who not only works with the students but also alongside families starting in 9th grade to ensure the path forward is the best fit. Many schools do not offer the type of high-level customer service we do at CSS.
6. Staffing Challenges
With teacher turnover on the rise nationwide, what is your district doing to attract and retain qualified educators?
Our school's mission and community culture are our greatest assets in attracting passionate educators. We offer competitive compensation and benefits, but equally important is our supportive professional environment where teachers have the autonomy to innovate and the resources to excel. Our small size means teachers can develop meaningful relationships with students and see the direct impact of their work. Due to the fact that we are not publicly tax-funded or use any federally funded programs, we do not have those federal curriculum restrictions that are now facing many public institutions. Teachers are supported with cutting-edge technology and curriculum involvement that best serve the students.
Are there incentives, professional development tracks, or support systems in place?
We invest significantly in professional development, supporting teachers in pursuing advanced degrees and attending training and conferences. Our collaborative culture means experienced teachers mentor newer faculty, and our administrative team maintains open communication with all staff. We also offer sabbatical opportunities and support for innovative teaching initiatives that align with our mission.
7. Budget and Funding Cuts
With federal pandemic funding drying up, what specific programs in your district are at risk?
As an independent school, we weren't reliant on federal pandemic funding, which provides us with stability during this transition period. However, we remain mindful of economic pressures on families and continue to strengthen our financial aid program to ensure accessibility.
How do you plan to preserve or replace critical initiatives if budget shortfalls hit?
Our diversified revenue streams, including tuition, fundraising, and corporate support, provide financial stability. We maintain careful fiscal management while prioritizing investments in faculty, facilities, and programs that directly impact student learning. Our strategic planning process involves the entire community in identifying priorities and making thoughtful resource allocation decisions.
8. Public vs. Charter/Private School Trends
Are you seeing more families withdraw from public schools?
We continue to see families visiting and choosing our school for our personalized approach, small class sizes, and college preparatory focus. Families are increasingly seeking educational environments where their children are known individually and can develop both academically and personally in a supportive community setting.
How is enrollment trending for charter and private schools in your district?
Interest in independent education remains steady in Colorado Springs, particularly among families seeking rigorous academics combined with character development and global perspectives. Our reputation for college preparation and our unique campus and programs continue to attract families who value educational excellence and community.
9. Workforce Readiness & STEM
What innovative approaches are local districts using to strengthen STEM education and align with real-world job skills?
Our approach to STEM is proactive and forward-looking, informed by our research into the future of work. We are guided by insights from thought leaders like Joseph Aoun (Robot-Proof) and Kevin Roose (Futureproof), as well as reports from organizations like the World Economic Forum, to understand the skills that will be most valuable in a world increasingly shaped by AI. This research indicates a clear shift away from automatable tasks and toward a demand for uniquely human skills like complex problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, and ethical reasoning.
To prepare our students for this future, our strategy includes several key innovations:
A Move to Project-Based and Experiential Learning: We are embracing PBL as a core methodology to build the essential "robot-proof" skills and ensure learning is applied in authentic, real-world contexts.
A Vertically Aligned AI and CS Curriculum: We are developing a PreK-Grade 12 curriculum that teaches students not only how to leverage AI as a tool for learning but also provides an age-appropriate understanding of how these systems work. This includes integrating robotics and computer science throughout all grade levels.
Dedicated STEM Leadership: We have created a new position, the Director of STEM Innovation and Institutional Research, to ensure this intentional, hands-on curriculum is woven into the entire PreK-Grade 12 experience.
Are these programs developed with local industry partners?
We are actively expanding local industry partnerships. We have always partnered with local organizations to provide internship opportunities, support for Capstone Senior projects, and authentic project experiences, leveraging our unique location in Colorado Springs with its aerospace, technology, and defense industries.
To further this effort, we are building new relationships to enhance our STEM programs. Most recently, our Kindergarten-Grade 8 STEM teacher connected with the Space Foundation to establish a working relationship that will open up new project opportunities for our students and professional development for our staff. We have also invested in VEX robotics and look forward to connecting with local tech enterprises for mentors and sponsors. Similarly, we will be joining a local solar-powered car racing series, through which we will connect with local engineering and tech companies to provide students with authentic learning experiences alongside industry mentors.
10. Internships & Career Exposure
Are there new or expanding internship or work-based learning programs for high school students?
Our Upper School students participate in various experiential learning opportunities, including internships with local businesses, research projects with area organizations, and service learning initiatives. We're continually expanding these partnerships to provide diverse career exposure across multiple fields. Some examples are the Rocky Mountain Field Institute and Denver’s Aerospace Frontier Airlines Aviation training program. Our Lower School offers a writing workshop and frequently brings in published authors to speak; we partner annually with Ormao Dance for figure drawing and the performing arts, and many others in the region. By the Middle and Upper School, we offer seminar-based programs for our students that offer deep dives into students' exposure to outside the classroom and topics and issues affecting our world.
How are these opportunities being communicated to students and families?
These opportunities are woven into our admissions process from the moment a student applies, reinforced through our college counseling program, and communicated via our admissions platform, parent communications, and student presentations. Our college counselor works closely with students to identify internships and experiences that align with their interests and career goals, ensuring every student has access to meaningful, real-world learning experiences. We utilize a variety of communication and marketing channels—including print, digital platforms, and newsletters—to keep families informed.
About CSS
We are a school that provides an experience-centered education in the field and classroom with an innovative curriculum and instruction focused on the whole child throughout their PreKindergarten-Grade 12 developmental journey.
We serve engaged students and families looking for a dynamic educational experience and a sense of belonging.
The benefit of attending CSS is an education that encompasses a community that develops global leaders with integrity, strong critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Students are encouraged and supported as they discover, explore, and pursue their passions through academics, arts, athletics, and self-exploration.
