Stargate Charter School

Stargate Charter School is a K-12 alternative school in Thornton, Colorado, serving 1,572 students as part of the Adams 12 Five Star Schools district. While the district performs near the middle of Colorado's rankings, Stargate is a clear academic outlier, consistently ranking among the top charter schools in the northern Denver metro area.

On state assessments, Stargate students post proficiency rates more than double district averages: 77.4% in English Language Arts and 76.6% in Math, compared to 42.3% and 35.5% for the district. College readiness scores are particularly notable, with 98% of 11th graders proficient in SAT Reading & Writing and 78% proficient in SAT Math, versus district averages of 55% and 33%. High school science results are equally striking, with 86.1% of 11th graders proficient versus just 24.8% statewide. Stargate even outperforms Peak to Peak Charter School — widely considered one of Colorado's leading charters — across nearly every test metric, including CMAS ELA (77.4% vs. 70.6%) and SAT Reading & Writing (98% vs. 90%).

Stargate's strengths extend beyond test scores. The school maintains a 97.8% graduation rate, a dropout rate of just 0.1%, and a chronic absenteeism rate of 10.7% — far below the district rate of 32.2%. These results have remained remarkably stable over four consecutive years. Notably, the school's success is not explained by small class sizes; its student-teacher ratio of 19.4 is similar to nearby alternatives. Other schools in the same district serving similar areas, such as Westgate Community School and Five Star Online Academy, produce dramatically different outcomes, making Stargate a standout choice for families in the Thornton area.