John Adams Academy board assures reviewers that its for-profit management company will address the finance gaps.
The Colorado Charter School Institute on Tuesday approved John Adams Academy–Douglas County, clearing the way for a publicly funded charter school deeply rooted in Christian-influenced classical education and supported by Trump-aligned political figures and organizations.
In its unanimous recommendation for approval, CSI’s Performance Management Committee rated the proposed school at both moderate and low risk across key authorizing domains. Specifically, it rated the application as moderate risk in the areas of education and finance, and low risk in operations and governance.
The decision came despite multiple red flags in the school’s application, including low average projected teacher salaries, an enrollment-dependent budget, and a heavy reliance on a for-profit third-party management company with ties to conservative advocacy networks.
Critics say the state-level authorizer rubber-stamped the proposal, sidestepping concerns about religious overreach and partisan ideology, citing public comments from Sterling Ranch residents with school-age children, who were overwhelmingly opposed to the application.
The academy, an expansion of a California charter network, is slated to open in Fall 2026 with grades K-7, possibly 8, and is expected to grow to a complete K-12 program by 2030.
Just eight months ago, Douglas County voters approved a bond for a traditional public school in Sterling Ranch, but it’s not scheduled to open until Fall 2027, which would give JAA a one-year window as the only public school in the neighborhood. JAA estimates its initial construction costs to be $12-16 million.
Then, in December, the charter’s founding board asked the Douglas County School District to release its chartering authority, effectively waiving local review, so it could apply directly to the Colorado Charter School Institute.
It will be the first John Adams Academy campus outside California and the latest example of what opponents describe as a coordinated national push to establish publicly funded “patriotic” schools steeped in conservative values.
Christian themes embedded in curriculum
Although the academy maintains it’s nonsectarian, documents submitted with the application tell a different story. Literature assignments include The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, an author popular among Colorado Christian Homeschoolers, best known as an overtly Christian version of The Diary of Anne Frank. Class discussion prompts for the book include: “How did the religious faith of the Ten Booms enable her to take such risks and make such sacrifices?” and “How did her view that she was acting as part of God’s plan help her endure hardship?”
Another curriculum reference in the application asks students, “How did Rome become Christian? How did Christianity change Rome? … How did Christianity soften the Roman practice of slavery?”
The school’s board and vision statements refer to “Restoring America’s Heritage,” a theme consistent with what it calls “Restoration Principles,” which is a concept drawn in part from the teachings of W. Cleon Skousen, a Mormon theologian. Skousen’s book, The 5,000 Year Leap, a favorite of Christian nationalist commentator Glenn Beck, is cited in the school’s leadership training and recommended middle-school summer reading list, reinforcing a vision of America’s founding as divinely inspired and in need of moral recovery.
Additionally, teacher development references include courses from conservative-aligned institutions that emphasize Judeo-Christian ethics as the foundation for Western civilization. Character education is structured around virtues such as humility, gratitude, and sacrifice, which are framed in a manner consistent with Christian moral teachings.
Leadership materials describe America’s founding as “providential,” and the curriculum presents American exceptionalism as divinely inspired. These themes align with narratives found in evangelical educational frameworks.
The application also includes materials aligned with Hillsdale College, an influential Christian conservative institution frequently cited in Project 2025, a sweeping policy blueprint tied to the Heritage Foundation and former Trump officials.
Several lessons reference Hillsdale’s online lectures, and the leadership model promoted by John Adams Academy echoes Hillsdale’s “Barney Charter” model, which frames education as a vehicle for forming “citizens of virtue.” Teacher training and instructional materials also draw directly from Hillsdale’s publicly available curriculum resources.
Connections to Trump-aligned funding and classical education networks
The academy’s founding board is stacked with individuals closely tied to Colorado’s conservative charter movement. Vice Chair Kim Gilmartin previously worked for Ascent Classical Academies and leads the Liberty Schools Initiative at Ready Colorado, a conservative advocacy organization with connections to the Daniels Fund and other GOP-aligned donors.
Ready Colorado President and CEO Brenda Dickhoner also sits on both JAA Douglas County and CSI’s board. Dickhoner didn’t vote on the charter’s approval or participate in the discussion, noting the conflict of interest. Another JAA board member, Ellie Reynolds, also sits on Dickhoner’s Ready Colorado board.
CSI board member Jill Anschutz completed a leadership program at the American Enterprise Institute, a prominent conservative think tank. She is also a director of The Anschutz Foundation, the philanthropic arm of billionaire Philip Anschutz. The Anschutz family is known for funding conservative causes and charter advocacy.
National conservative organizations have increasingly promoted the expansion of classical charter schools as a counterweight to what they view as progressive influences in public education.
A 2023 event hosted by the American Enterprise Institute, titled The Rise of Classical Education, spotlighted the growth of schools modeled after Hillsdale College’s “Barney Charter” framework, which emphasizes moral character, civic virtue, and classical Western texts.
The Heritage Foundation also champions classical education as a key component of education reform. In its 2023 Education Freedom Report Card, the organization praised states like Florida and Arizona for supporting classical charter models and embedding civic education that aligns with “America’s founding principles.”
The push gained national visibility during the Trump administration, when former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos publicly praised classical schools for their focus on character formation and patriotism. In a 2022 speech, DeVos highlighted Hillsdale College as a “shining example” of what civic education should look like in a free society.
The Circe Institute, which calls itself “the cutting-edge organization in the Christian classical renewal,” makes the connection more directly:
“…classical charter schools are committed to the Trivium and wrap into their DNA the three transcendentals: goodness, truth, and beauty…Your child will receive just about everything he would receive from a private classical Christian school except for the explicit Christian worldview undergirding the entire education. However, in my experience, most of the educators at these schools are Christians, although you will find students whose families vary in religious background.”
Budget relies on low salaries and outside contracts
The approved budget reveals several financial warning signs. The school’s financial viability hinges on achieving near-full enrollment from the first year, 410 students, with little margin for error.
As of the application submission, the school had collected approximately 310 letters of intent to enroll, which was 87% of the 410-student target needed to ensure funding stability from the start.
Yet, CSI Executive Director Terry Croy Lewis acknowledged during the June 10 recommendation meeting that “in our conversations with their (JAA’s) partners, they have committed to ensuring that the school will be financially viable.
Lewis said Academica, the largest for-profit education management organization in the United States, with ties to GOP lawmakers and charter expansion efforts in states such as Florida and Nevada, has a vested interest in the school’s success.
“And for sure, Academica has experience in Colorado, having done that for schools that didn’t meet their enrollment targets,” Lewis said. And so, two schools in Colorado, particularly one in Jeffco, that didn’t meet that standard, have provided support to ensure the school’s viability.”
Academica is listed by name in the school’s submitted budget under “Assessments – Academica Management” and in CSI’s recommendation under “other budget assumptions,” noting that Academica will manage day-to-day financial operations, construction, and key operational support.
The U.S. Department of Education has previously audited Academica over related-party transactions and lease arrangements that diverted public funds to affiliated entities.
The Florida-based firm has been the subject of multiple national investigations for its political ties and financial entanglements in other states.
Ryan Marks, CSI’s chief of authorizing and accountability, also noted in the June 10 meeting that “salary assumptions included in the budget are a little low,” which “may present some challenges in recruiting staff.”
CSI staff said the applicant team responded by outlining a strategy to recruit educators who are aligned with the school’s mission and to rely on staff serving dual roles in place of hiring full-time elective and music, art and P.E. teachers in the early years.
Equity concerns
CSI’s own recommendation report noted multiple shortcomings in the school’s equity planning. While the school expressed an intention to serve all students, it failed to demonstrate how it would achieve this goal.
Equity concerns emerged throughout the application and review process. Despite the school’s stated commitment to serving all students, the application included no detailed plan to support English learners or students with disabilities in its first year. Special education services were vaguely described, with no clear indication of how they will be staffed or contracted.
The school also anticipates no revenue from key grant programs typically associated with supporting underserved populations, including the READ Act, Title I, Title III, and ELPA, in its first year. This absence raises questions about how the school will provide equitable access to literacy and language services.
Moreover, the family outreach plan places a strong emphasis on word-of-mouth, social media, and community events, with limited mention of multilingual materials or strategies for engaging with marginalized communities.
There is no indication of targeted outreach to students from low-income families, students of color, or those with specialized educational needs.
When asked why the application didn’t include a demographic breakdown of the submitted intent-to-enroll forms, making it impossible to assess whether the school was reaching a diverse population, the applicant team offered no clear answer, and the committee quickly moved on without further discussion.
Combined with a lack of demographic data on prospective students, these gaps raise concerns that the school may primarily attract and serve a narrow segment of the community, despite receiving public funds intended to benefit the entire community.
