Friends of Peak to Peak

Background Statement

Peak to Peak was born of the dream of parents who envisioned a school dedicated to outstanding scholarship that would challenge students to achieve their academic potential. After the first possible school discussions between parents in 1997, the first written proposal was submitted to BVSD (Boulder Valley School District) in May 1998 for a K-12 college preparatory charter school. In August 1998 BVSD approved Peak to Peak's initial proposal for a new charter school and after nearly a year of negotiations, officially approved Peak to Peak's contract with BVSD by a 5 to 2 vote in 1999. After many months of searching for a facility, negotiating with BVSD, working on curriculum and enrolling new potential students, the original founders and newly elected Board of Directors secured a disheveled old daycare center in Lafayette, Colorado to be the first site of Peak to Peak Charter School.

With 300 students enrolled and an additional 300 on a waiting list, Peak to Peak was slated to open for the 2000-01 school year. The one remaining obstacle was the zoning for the old daycare facility. On August 28, 2000, 2 days after the rest of the district had begun classes, the Lafayette Planning Commission approved the zoning request and Peak to Peak had a facility! With remarkable tenacity and immeasurable hard work, the community cleaned and renovated the newly acquired building in one week. This hard work enabled Peak to Peak to begin its first day of school with 197 enrolled students on September 4, 2000, one week after receiving approval from the Lafayette Planning Commission to operate in the newly renovated day care building.

This building worked well for Peak to Peak's first year of operation but was not large enough to house the school's growth. Following the end of the 2001-02 school year, the original building on Excalibur was sold. One year after construction began, in September 2002, Peak to Peak proudly opened the doors of its newly constructed three-building campus to its approximately 1,000 students. The buildings were completed on time and under budget. With each growth year, Peak to Peak parents, teachers, and staff worked together and an amazing volunteer effort was staged. Working with staff, volunteers wrote and organized the City of Lafayette applications, managed the site development, hired teachers and staff, wrote grants, sought supplies and furniture at free or reduced rates, scrubbed buildings and equipment, and moved classroom supplies into the rooms.