Seniors at Liberty Common High School, a Ft. Collins Charter, scored higher last year on the SAT college entrance exam than any other high school in Colorado.
“Yes, we are a little more attuned to the SAT and ACT, and anything associated with college readiness,” Liberty Common Headmaster Bob Schaffer told KCOL’s Jimmy Lakey Aug. 20, when asked if his school focuses on the test.
“When our kids get into high school, our instructors do track the logic of questions when it comes to mathematical problems,” said Schaffer, adding that he wants his students to have as many doors open to them as possible when they graduate.
“We don’t teach to the test, but we are certainly aware of it, and we want our students to perform well on it. We are driven by classical liberal arts,” said Schaffer on air.
Liberty Common has a track record of high SAT scores, compared to other Colorado high schools.
Schaffer said his students are selected to attend the school by “blind lottery.”
“We don’t screen out students,” he said.
Schaffer is a former Republican Congressman and champion of conservative causes.
Liberty Common made news recently as the first school in Colorado to apply for a waiver from Colorado’s new sex-ed law, which requires schools that choose to teach sex ed to offer a comprehensive curriculum, including information on consent, LGTBT issues, and pregnancy outcomes.
Under Colorado’s law, schools and parents can opt out of sex ed, if they choose, or charter schools can seek a waiver to enable them to teach sex ed and disregard the law’s guidelines.
In the coming months, the Colorado State Board of Education will consider the Liberty Common’s application for the sex-ed waiver.
Charters are a type of public school, allowed to operate more independently than traditional public schools, but they’re supported with taxpayer dollars.