Community Leadership Academy (CLA) opened in 2005 as Adams County School District 14’s first K-8 charter school. CLA currently serves 440 students representing the general population in Adams 14; 78% minority and 80% considered at-risk. Community Leadership Academy is a school created with the motivation of providing school reform within the public school choice options available in the state of Colorado. The program is modeled after several schools demonstrating significant academic achievement using a variety of instructional methods and curriculum offerings. CLA is unique as it is the only school offering Core Knowledge and Success For All in Adams County School District 14. The instructional methods of flexible grouping and direct instruction also enhance its desirability to parents seeking alternative educational solutions. CLA offers students a school where a uniform dress code is enforced and the school day and year are longer than other district schools. In addition, CLA provides free all-day kindergarten and all classroom teachers are supported with an educational assistant, hence reducing the student-teacher ratio to 13:1.

CLA has chosen the Core Knowledge Sequence as its curricular focus and supplements that program with selected curricula. Specific support programs include Success For All reading, Saxon Math, Shurley English, Step-up to Writing, 6+1 Traits, RIGGS writing and spelling, Accelerated Reader & Math, and English in a Flash. The instructional practices adopted at CLA are direct instruction and performance based group instruction. Also, knowing each student has a contribution to make to society at large and a duty to serve, civic leadership, service learning, and character education ideals have also been adopted.