Rocky
Mountain Academy of Evergreen inspires each student to pursue personal
and academic excellence through an intellectually challenging Core
Knowledge™ curriculum within a nurturing environment.
RMAE has a strict dress code policy. Simply, students must wear either
a navy blue or khaki brown pair of pants, pair of shorts, skirt, or
dress. Students must wear a collared shirt (either button up or polo-style)
that is white, red, navy blue, or hunter green. All shirts must be tucked
in (except during P. E. and lunch/recess). Only one pair of post earrings
are allowed. For a more complete dress code policy, please refer to
our Family
Handbook.
Are test scores considered
when selecting students?
Test scores are not considered when selecting students. After students
have been accepted to RMAE, an academic diagnostic test is administered
to determine if there are any gaps in a student's fundamental academic
progress.
The first round of choice enrollment opens in early January and ends
in late January. The choice enrollment window is determined by Jeffco
Public Schools and all forms are provided by the district. For more
information about enrolling at RMAE, including the enrollment window
and forms, please visit our Enrollment
page.
RMAE offers Springboard, the only Core Knowledge endorsed after school
program. Students have the option of attending one to five days each
week, and families are asked at the end of a month to commit to the
number of days their children will attend the next month. Springboard
offers academic reinforcement combined with an interest based elective
each day. For more information about Springboard After School Care program,
please visit our Springboard
page
How does RMAE compare
with the "neighborhood schools" in the Evergreen area?
As of May 2008, 91 percent of RMAE third grade students scored proficient/advanced
on the Reading CSAP; only 81 percent of the third grade students at
the other mountain area schools scored proficient/advanced.
On the 2007 CSAP test, RMAE outperformed other Evergreen/Conifer neighborhood
schools on 92.3 percent (12 out of 13 tests) of
the CSAP tests for third through sixth grade (3rd grade: reading, writing,
math; 4th grade: reading, math; 5th grade: reading, writing, math, science;
6th grade: reading, writing, math).
In seventh and eighth grade, RMAE outperformed other Evergreen/Conifer
neighborhood schools on 80 percent (4 out of 5 tests)
of the CSAP tests (7th grade: reading, writing; 8th grade: reading).
**7th and 8th grade math scores were unavailable**
Both our Elementary and Middle Schools were recognized at Accredited:
High Performing, the highest accreditation possible, under No Child
Left Behind.
On the State
Accountability Report (SAR), our Elementary School was ranked
as High, and our Middle School was ranked as Excellent.
In our Elementary School, our student to teacher ratio is 23:1, which
is comparable to neighborhood schools. In our Middle School our student
to teacher ratio is 16:1 which is significantly lower than the neighborhood
schools resulting in more student-teacher contact.
After all classes have been filled, interested students are placed
on a wait list When a spot opens up, students are taken from the top
of the wait list The wait list is cleared on September 1st of each year.
For more information about enrolling at RMAE, including the enrollment
window and forms, please visit our Enrollment
page.
Although RMAE receives public funding, it receives less than neighborhood
schools. To help compensate for the difference, the Board sponsors an
annual giving campaign in the Fall. The annual giving campaign has two
goals:
100 percent family participation at any donation level
Raising a specific amount of money (e.g. $70,000 for the 2007-2008
school year)
The RMAE Board sets the mission and vision for the school. Jeffco School
District has delegated some of its authority to the RMAE Board, notably
in the area of curriculum, as RMAE offers the Core
Knowledge Curriculum. The Board is comprised of nine members:
six parent members, one community member, one teacher representative,
and the Director. For more information about the RMAE Board, please
visit our Board
page.
What does the Director
do? Where is the Principal?
The title of Director is synonymous with Principal. The RMAE Director
is charged by the Board with carrying out the mission and vision that
they Board set and makes the day-to-day decisions that allow the school
to function so successfully. The Director directly supervises all teachers
and staff and reports directly to the Board.
How are Charter
schools different from private schools?
There are three types of schools recognized by the State of Colorado:
Public, Private, and Home Schools. Of the three types of schools, only
public schools receive funding from the state. Public schools can be
separated into two types: traditional "neighborhood" schools
and Charter schools. Charter schools receive funding from the state,
but they receive less than traditional "neighborhood" schools.
Charter schools are freed of the bureaucracy often found in larger school
districts and are governed by a local board instead of the district's
school board. For more information about Charter schools, please visit
our Charter School
page.
Why are RMAE
families asked to donate 60 hours to support RMAE?
Since Charter schools receive less funding that neighborhood schools,
the difference is made up, in part, by parent volunteer hours. Families
at RMAE are asked to volunteer 60 hours in support of our school. There
are many opportunities, both in and our of school, for parents to volunteer.
The RMAE PTO coordinates all volunteers and parents are asked to self-report
their family's volunteer hours.
How does RMAE
meet the needs of Gifted/Talented students?
Whether a student is bright or truly gifted/talented (in the top five
percentile), RMAE has talented teachers who differentiate in the area
of strength for each student. Teachers collaborate with one another
and involve parents to meet the academic needs of children in their
class. Additionally, given the exceptional quality of students that
are attracted to the RMAE middle school program, beginning in sixth
grade all students are advanced one level in mathematics.
