1.  Providing High-Quality Instruction: Beyond just investing in our teachers, we’re reimagining how we support them. Through enhanced peer coaching, collaborative design thinking spaces, industry-leading salaries, and policies that protect the integrity of the learning environment, we’re cultivating an atmosphere where innovation thrives, excellence is the norm, and students are empowered to take charge of their own learning.

2.  Enhancing Classroom-Focused Resources: Every dollar we spend is a vote for our students’ future. We’re strategically channeling our resources directly into the classroom, including major capital projects that will transform our learning spaces into hubs of inspiration and discovery.

3.  Expanding Our Diverse School Portfolio: We believe in educational choice, empowering families and students to select the best fit from our wide range of options. Our offerings include traditional schools, homeschool programs, online schools, and charter schools, as well as specialized academic pathways like Montessori, International Baccalaureate (IB), STEM/STEAM, Visual and Performing Arts, Gifted Magnet, Outdoor Education, Dual Language Immersion, and Quality Neighborhood Schools.

4.  Promoting Excellence through Experience: Learning doesn’t stop at the classroom door. We’re expanding horizons with a gold-standard Pre-K program, Future Centers that turn career dreams into roadmaps, the game-changing D11 Promise scholarship program, amplified concurrent enrollment and career education opportunities, and our innovative Peak Experiences, which bring real-world learning to life.

5.  Building Connected Communities: We’re not just a school district; we’re a community. This year, we’re enhancing family engagement by equipping parents with tools to actively support their children’s success. We’re expanding our existing Let’s Talk platform and introducing a new D11 App in Spring 2025 to strengthen two-way communication. By partnering with local higher education, non-profits, and industry leaders, we’re transforming our city into an active learning environment, providing students with hands-on experiences beyond the classroom.

These aren’t just initiatives; they’re our promise to you—our unwavering commitment to providing world-class education to every student who walks through our doors.

Colorado Springs School District 11 is passionate about early childhood development and education. Our commitment to providing the highest quality preschool program can be seen in everything we do, and every decision that we make. D11’s joyful preschool emphasizes whole child learning, prioritizes the foundational skills that are the best predictors of future success, supports each child at his or her own level, and balances teacher-directed and student-directed learning (always through play!). D11 preschool students come to understand that school is a place where they are cared for and cared about, where they can be successful, and where they can go to have fun!

The Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education (CLDE) Office supports students who are learning English as a second language.  Our English Language Development (ELD) program supports culturally and linguistically diverse students so that they can participate equally and meaningfully in the classroom. Our ELD program provides rigorous instruction to English language learners to develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in order for them to achieve grade-level proficiency and become successful in workforce and post-secondary environments. Colorado Springs School District 11 is committed to supporting our culturally and linguistically diverse students and their families. We currently serve students and parents who speak 52 languages other than English. We provide translation and interpreter services to ensure good communication between our schools, our parents and community members.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a program of international education that offers a range of courses and exams for students aged 3–19. The IB's mission is to develop students who are knowledgeable, inquiring, and caring, and who can help create a more peaceful world. 

The IB offers a number of programs, including: 

• Middle Years Programme (MYP): For students aged 11–16 
• Diploma Programme (DP): For students aged 16–19 
• Career-Related Programme: For students aged 16–19 

The IB's programs aim to: 

• Develop students' knowledge and understanding of a range of subjects 

• Help students become confident, self-motivated, and resilient 

• Encourage students to think critically and across disciplines 

• Foster diversity, curiosity, and a love of learning 

• Develop students' communication, social, and self-management skills 

Buena Vista is a public Montessori school located on the west side of Colorado Springs, serving students age 3 through 5th grade.   All of our students attend on a Choice Permit, and our staff, students, and families form a tight-knit community in which every child is known and nurtured. 

We are proud to be Accredited with Distinction by the Colorado Department of Education for academic achievement and growth.

As a Montessori school, we:

• Emphasize development of the whole child.
• Implement a rigorous academic curriculum.
• Teach standards in the context of individual interests and needs.
• Allow students to independently explore concepts using specially designed, hands-on materials.
• Support peer learning and leadership through multi-age classrooms.
• Foster concentration through uninterrupted work periods.
• Develop human beings who think critically, work collaboratively, and act boldly.

We also provide a wide array of field trips, after school activities, and fun family events. 

We would love to have you join our Buena Vista family and to have the opportunity to Free your Child’s Potential! 

Our enrollment slots fill up quickly, so fill out a choice application to be placed in the lottery for open spots. 

Concurrent Enrollment in District 11 is a broad term used to describe many distinct programs that offer immediate access to college coursework and college credit at no cost or minimum cost to our students. Students in every school may choose to enroll in various Concurrent Enrollment opportunities offered on our high school campuses through our partner institutions:

• Pikes Peak State College (PPSC)
• Western Colorado University (WCU)
• Colorado State University Pueblo (CSUP)
• University Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS)

The District 11 Gifted Magnet Program fosters academic talent and provides social-emotional support in an immersive program housed at two elementary and two middle schools throughout the district. Tier 3 Identified Gifted Students, Talent Pool, and High Ability students Grades 3rd - 8th may apply.