Imagine Charter School at Firestone Opens

Today I attended the grand opening of Imagine Charter School at Firestone. They have a brand new facility just a couple of miles off I-25 at the Longmont exit. Just recently they added two more classes due to the demand -- 560 students have registered! They expected to open with 300-350 and the response from the community was more than they'd anticipated.

It would be safe to say that the parents were very impressed with the new principal, George Sanker. Mr. Sanker recently moved from Baltimore with a strong background in Core Knowledge and character education. His assistant principal is equally talented: Linda Befus.

The school is opening with preschool through 8th grade. They've even been able to enroll 20 8th grade students; it's very uncommon for a new charter school to fill it's top grade. Usually the junior high has to grow over the first few years.

This charter school had a tough battle to reach today's celebration. After being denied by the St. Vrain Valley School District, the founders appealed to the State Board of Education. The board eventually ordered the school district to negotiate a contract with Imagine at Firestone, which they did -- but a year later than the school wanted to open.

Today the school was packed with excited families and children proudly wearing their new school uniforms! The first day of school is Tuesday. You can bet there's lots of families in Firestone that will enjoy this new charter school for years to come!