About Colorado Springs' Academy School District 20

Academy District 20 Parent Academy events for March 2012

Mar. 6 - Nutrition Detectives
This interactive event will teach children and their parents how to read food labels so they can join the Nutrition Detectives Team and make sound snack and meal choices while grocery shopping as a family. 6:00 pm, Explorer Elementary School, 4190 Bardot Dr 80920

Mar. 8 or 12 - Understanding the Concurrent Enrollment Programs Act
This session will focus on the Concurrent Enrollment Programs Act (CEPA) which makes it possible for eligible students in grades 9 through 12 to simultaneously enroll in their local high schools and in qualified institutions of higher learning. CEPA replaces the Postsecondary Enrollment Options Act (PSEO). Parents/guardians who have a student who plans to apply for fall 2012 courses under CEPA should attend one of these meetings with their child. 6:00 pm, Education and Administration Center, 1110 Chapel Hills Dr.

Mar. 13 - Academic Portfolios for Students of Military Families
This workshop is geared to provide parents in military families with ideas and tools to help them develop and maintain their child’s academic portfolio. These portfolios will help ease the frustration and confusion when families transition from place to place and also help with academic success in postsecondary education. 6:30 pm, Education and Administration Center, 1110 Chapel Hills Dr.

Register for the above classes at District 20 Parent Academy

Colorado Springs Housing Analysis by School District



Four years ago we started to an analysis of homes in the three primary Colorado School Districts, Academy School District 20, Colorado Springs District 11, and Falcon District 49. January is always a long month for me, because I have to wait until February 1st to update my analysis. This analysis includes home values based on sold properties for the month of January.

The market statistics found on the Colorado Springs MLS (Multi-Listing Service) website and reported by the media is an average for all single family homes, town homes, and condos in the City of Colorado Springs. The housing market in each area and even subarea can be significantly different from the City average. Since we market to buyers in Academy School District 20, we felt that a comparison between Academy School District 20 and the adjacent school districts would help the reader/buyer see the value in purchasing a home in the award winning Academy School District 20.

Data Collection



The following analysis is based on homes sold in the month of January between 2005 and 2012. Why January? Technically, the analysis could be for any month, but we started the data collection right after the January housing statistics became available, so it made sense to use January. Yes, a summer month, during peak buying season, would probably be a better choice, but three years ago we noticed sales increased significantly in January 2009 over December 2008, probably due to the availability of funding and distressed properties. A perfect solution to the data collection would be to use all the data for each year. Unfortunately, the Colorado Springs MLS, does not allow for large volumes of data to be downloaded for analysis at any one time. We opted to pull and manipulate the data 15 times vice 180 times. This also makes it simpler to update annually when dealing with only one month.

Analysis

For listings sold, the trend for each area is more important than the actual numbers, primarily because District 11 covers a significantly larger area. From the chart, we see that sales in District 11 and District 49 both increased, 7.6% and 11.1% respectively, while sales in District 20 decreased 17.5%. When comparing 2012 sales with the peak for each district, District 20 is down 67% from 2006, District 11 is down 30% from 2009, and District 49 is down 50% from 2007.

We are seeing signs of recovery with this slide. Average sales price remained steady for Districts 11 and 49 and increased 12% for District 20.

For the complete report, please visit: Colorado Springs Housing Analysis by School District.

Academy School District 20 Update by Dr. Hatchell, D20 Superintendent.

Dr. Hatchell provides a monthly video for all parents of Academy School District 20.

Choice window is still open until 4 PM February 24th. Choice is not first come first served, so parents are encouraged to visit the different schools to make an informed decision. Visit Academy District 20 website for the open house schedule for the different schools.

January 18th was Space Day at the Discovery Canyon Campus. Governor Hickenlooper was in attendance.

Congratulations to the District 20 Finance Department for winning the Meritorious Budget Award.

Dr. Hatchell invited all parents to visit their children's school this last semester. He encouraged all parents to attend parent teacher conferences in March.

View the District 20 monthly update by Dr. Hatchell, D20 Superintendent.

The Academy School District 20 Real Estate Market - December 2011

Academy District 20 housing market continues to remain rather stable. Active listings for Academy District 20 is at the lowest level in years at 493 with 131 pending sales and 79 closed transactions in December. Average sales price for a home in Academy District 20 in December was $285,000 with sales price to list price at 97.9%.

From one year ago, the number of solds decreased 3.7%, average sales price decreased 4.2% and median sales price is unchanged.

From November the number of actives decreased 8% and the number of new listings is up 14%. Average sales price is up 5.5% and median sales price is up 11%.

Absorption rate, the number of months it would take to sell off the current inventory at the current rate of sales, is 6.24 months.

For the complete report visit Academy School District 20 Real Estate Market Report.

School District 20 Parent Academy - January 2012

The following are the Parent Academy events announced by Academy District 20 for January 2012. Parent Academy are typically free classes for parents of students in Academy District 20 Schools.

For additional information and to register a the class visit: www.asd20.org/parentacademy

Jan. 9 – Menu Choices for Students with Food Allergies Sodexo is presenting this session, to help parents make a decision as to whether or not they feel comfortable having their students, with severe allergies, eat a school provided lunch. 9:30 am, Eagleview Middle School, 1325 Vindicator Drive.

Jan. 10 – Help for Families—Choice Enrollment Process Parents will view an informational presentation about how the choice enrollment process works. There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation. 6:30 pm, Education and Administration Center, 1110 Chapel Hills Drive.

Jan. 24 – Jump Start for Fitness Students and parents will be guided through a fitness program featuring fun activities, and taught how to prepare delicious and nutritious kid friendly snacks. 6:00 pm, Frontier Elementary, 3755 Meadow Ridge Drive.

Jan. 30 – Safe2Tell - Safe2Tell is designed to help you anonymously report any threatening behavior that endangers you, your friends, family, or community. 6:30 pm, Education and Administration Center, 1110 Chapel Hills Drive