Aspen Community Charter School

Aspen Community Charter School is a small public charter school in Woody Creek, CO, serving just 135 students across grades PK-8 within the highly ranked Aspen School District No. 1. With a student-teacher ratio of only 10.4 to 1 — the lowest among nearby schools — the school offers a personalized learning environment that spans both elementary and middle school grades, a structure that sets it apart from neighboring elementary schools that end at 4th grade.

Academically, this school is a standout. In the 2025-2026 school year, it ranked 110th out of 943 Colorado elementary schools, placing it in the 88th percentile with a 4-star rating — a remarkable climb from 390th place just two years earlier. On state CMAS tests, 69% of students scored proficient in English language arts and 64.4% scored proficient in math, far exceeding both the district averages (52.8% ELA and 50.1% math) and state averages (44.7% ELA and 37.3% math). Math has been a particular area of growth, rising from 46.5% proficiency in 2022-2023 to its current level. The school also outperforms every nearby elementary school, including Aspen Elementary, Basalt Elementary, and Crystal River Elementary — its math proficiency is nearly double that of Basalt and Crystal River.

One area to watch is chronic absenteeism: 26.5% of students were chronically absent in 2024-2025, an improvement from 32.6% the previous year and better than the district's 36.4%, but still higher than nearby schools. Grade-level results also show a dip in the middle grades — 4th grade ELA and math proficiency (75% and 68.8%) are much stronger than 6th grade (58.8% and 52.9%). Additionally, free and reduced-price lunch data is not reported for the school, making direct demographic comparisons difficult. Overall, Aspen Community Charter School combines strong academics, small class sizes, and an extended PK-8 structure, making it an appealing option for families in the Woody Creek area.