Firestone Charter Academy

5753 Twilight Avenue

School District

St Vrain Valley Re 1j
Grade

PK, K-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:13
Type

charter

School Map for St Vrain Valley Re 1j School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on January 21, 2025

We have been at FCA for 13 years. Our oldest is now in high school, and still have 2 in school at FCA. The high schooler had absolutely zero issues transitioning to high school. He was more than academically ready, and went into his freshman year ahead of the majority. Our school feels more like a family than anything. We have an incredible SRO, and it feels great to know our kids have such protection. Now, in regards to the lunches, I will say that my kids are absolutely not a fan. The high schooler absolutely loves the lunch at high school, and says it's so much better. We have had some teachers that were not our cup of tea, but like life, we adapted and helped our kids navigate that difficulty. I do think the homework is a bit much.........but, they go into high school ready. The sports program is really up and coming, and will be incredible when we get the funds to build a full size gym. I would absolutely recommend our school to anyone considering schools in the area.
Submitted by parent on January 19, 2025

FCA is a wonderful charter school that offers rigorous curriculum, character education, and a very supportive staff and administration! It is so nice that kids can attend preschool through 8th grade in such a supportive and enriching environment!
Submitted by parent on January 16, 2025

We love FCA. Our daughter has really grown so much over the past school year! The staff is amazing and always goes above and beyond!
Submitted by student on October 16, 2024

this school has a bad education and they don't help you when you need help with anything.I have no trusted adults at that school
Submitted by parent on October 09, 2023

We've been so excited to be a part of the FCA family!
Submitted by student on April 14, 2020

It's been a good school year so far except for the Covid-19 crisis.
Submitted by parent on October 04, 2019

Our daughter is in kindergarten at Imagine and we love it so far. We are floored with how much she's already learned in just a few short months. Their communication is amazing! They reinforce what they're doing and what they believe through many different methods. I'm loving the way that they teach our daughter. I haven't had any bad experiences there yet.
Submitted by parent on August 28, 2019

Very good - a school where children and education are valued
Submitted by parent on February 11, 2019

We love Imagine! It has been a great fit for three very different children.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2018

No school is prefect but this school has declined so much over the last few years, we decided our children were safer in public school. They may not teach as "advanced" of a curriculum as Imagine, but my kid is not "sick" as often trying to avoid being picked on.
Submitted by parent on July 23, 2018

The first year it was good, the second year was terrible. We are moving school because we lost faith in the administration to help provide a safe and happy learning experience.
Submitted by parent on February 01, 2018

Positive: Overall we are happy with the curriculum at Imagine - they have a core knowledge curriculum rather than the new, lesser favored common core. The teachers are highly qualified and genuinely care about their students.Negatives: The teacher to student ratio is a joke (27 students in 1st grade classrooms). There is no possible way students who are struggling or excelling can be recognized appropriately or with enough time to do anything about it. Lack of response from leadership is beyond frustrating.
Submitted by parent on November 04, 2017

Student misbehavior has no meaningful or immediate consequences. Most students are rude and disrespectful to teachers and staff as well as low parent support from home. Students cuss at teachers and each other and the administration tells them not to do it again and sends them back to class. Students fight and are back in class 10 minutes later with a note from administration to let them know if anything else happens. Administration is so busy with the business side of things, trying to stay complicit, that they rarely support teachers when students need removed from the class room or school....they need the money from students being enrolled.
Submitted by parent on October 22, 2017

This has been a wonderful experience for especially my children and our family. They have developed a strong educational base for my children to succeed. Teachers and staff are great.
Submitted by parent on October 07, 2017

Parent volunteer. Observed teacher and staff interaction with students and very impressed with how they treat students with respect and kindness.
Submitted by student on July 11, 2017

I LOVE this school! I had been a student at 6 different schools by the time I was in 7th grade. By far, 7th grade was my best year! Most all the teachers are amazing (especially Mrs. Grubbs and Mr. Hollingshead) and people actually care about you here! There is a dress-code which kills the whole 'popular kids' idea. The classes start out small (18:1) and then gets bigger as the year goes on (27:1) so everyone knows each other and everybody is friendly. On my first day a very nice group of kids invited me to hang out with them. I would totally recommend this school to any kid who wants to have a good education or any parent who cares about there child!
Submitted by student on April 20, 2016

This school is very disappointing. Decided to move to this school with a not so great experience at another school and I thought this school would be better but it failed at my expectation for this school.First the bullying policy is a big joke and when/if you report an incident you usually get blamed for it and the person at fault is being considered a "victim".The dress code is inconsistent through students.Teachers favorite students and treat the kids they don't like bad. If you have a child that needs a bit extra work to get a concept then they usually get ignored until it is too late for help. Ultimately if you want a school that only cares about the length of your child's skirt and not if your child is not understanding the work than this is the school for you.
Submitted by parent on April 19, 2016

My son has been at Imagine since it opened in 2008, and has had a mostly excellent experience there. I say mostly because no school is perfect, and he has had some teachers he didn't connect with, some kids he didn't care for, etc. To me, this is preparation for real life, in which he's going to have to know how to deal with imperfect situations. The staff has been very supportive of him, and pushed him academically when they knew he needed to be pushed, but also let him slow down if that was what he needed. Do I agree with everything they do? No, but I'm sure I would do things that other people don't like if I was in the school's position - education over 600 kids from different backgrounds, expectations, etc. I think they do a pretty good job handling all of that and keeping most of the people happy most of the time. That's all I can ask.
Submitted by parent on February 23, 2016

we have been at Imagine from PreK to 1st grade. The teachers are hit or miss (and I honestly think we lucked out with some of the best for our 3 years), but there is no consistency in enforcement of the rules (i.e. one child has to take a hoodie off while 10 others are wearing them). I have seen my daughter go from above the curve to failing every test. The curriculum is scattered, confusing, classrooms are unruly, there is no discipline. My daughter was being bullied and cried everyday for a week during school and I didn't find out about until 2 months later when I talked to the teacher about why she was no longer wanting to go to school. There is an air of superiority that surrounds this school, but without any show of proof. This is not the school for you if your child needs a positive, focused, quiet learning environment or a little one on one help.
Submitted by parent on December 11, 2014

Imagine Charter School at Firestone is an Amazing school! Everyone at this school cares about the students from the Teachers to the Administrators. The principals can call every student by name. There are no problem children at this school, they have ways to work with every student regardless of what problems they had at previous schools. There is a huge amount of parent involvement from volunteering to committees. I know my children's friends and I know exactly what is going on in the classroom. My children are challenged according to their appropriate levels. I urge any parent with a child repeating a grade to choose this school. My eldest is repeating 1st grade for various reasons and the overwhelming support shown to him has been amazing. The transition has been seamless. There have been zero instances of bullying from the kids who moved on, in fact, now he just has friends in two grades. There is no stigma here for kids needing to repeat. My children also receive personal one on one instruction, as well as small groups and classroom instruction. This is a school that prepares children for real life, developing morals and character as well as a superior education.