The chili cook-off results are IN! 🌶️🏆
Our middle school staff brought their A-game (and their secret recipes) for an epic chili showdown. Between the chili, fresh bread, and homemade desserts, our staff had a challenging assignment - to judge the top in each category.
And the champions are:
🥇 Best Chili: Mr. Ford
🥇 Best Bread: Mr. Inman's family
🥇Best Dessert: Mr. Stroh's family
Nothing builds community like good food and friendly competition. Already planning next year's rematch! 😄
Swipe to see the spread ➡️
#AtlasSchools #ChiliCookOff #MiddleSchool #StaffLove #CommunityVibes #ColoradoSprings
Atlas is a community charter school, which means we are:
✅ FREE – No tuition, ever
✅ Open to ALL students – No entrance exams or requirements
✅ Community-focused – We serve families right here in Southeast Colorado Springs
We're a PUBLIC school with the flexibility to do education differently. And it's working. (Just ask our families!)
📲 Ready to join us?
🔗 Pre-apply for enrollment: Go.AtlasSchools.org/Apply2026
📅 Schedule a tour: Go.AtlasSchools.org/TourAtlas
Come see what makes Atlas amazing for YOUR family.
#AtlasSchools #EnrollmentOpen #CharterSchool #FreeEducation #ColoradoSprings #CommunitySchool
Important Community Events Coming Up!
Checkout these THREE opportunities from Hillside Connection:
✨ Ball and Brunch: Beauty and Her MVP
📅 Saturday, March 14 from 10am-12pm
An empowerment and etiquette brunch experience for 3rd through 12th-grade girls and their MVP guest, curated by 5 Star Chef Brother Luck and Dr. Regina Lewis.
🎟️ Register here: https://form.jotform.com/260085517520149
💜 Limited Space: 30 Girls | 30 MVPs
🏀 Game Like Her Workshop
📅 Saturday, March 21 from 11:30-2:45pm
Celebrate Women’s History Month with a basketball skills clinic, yoga, empowerment panel, and brunch for girls in 1st-8th grade.
🎟️ Register here: https://bit.ly/4bU76So
💜 Limited Space: 60 Spots (Girls Grades 1st - 8th)
📊 Spring Business Immersion
Take a behind-the-scenes look at the sports industry and explore careers in:
🎟️ Event Operations
🎥 Sports Media
💪 Athlete Performance
📅Mon, Tues & Wed, March 23, 24, 25 from 9-2pm
👥 Open to all 6th–8th graders (boys and girls) - no basketball programming
🔗 Register today: https://form.jotform.com/260414827867163
Questions? Contact: info@hillsideconnection.org
Our elementary students just discovered their new favorite game: PIRATE HOCKEY, courtesy of Coach Johnson!
Look at these faces. This is what joy looks like. This is what PE should be. And honestly? We want to play too. 😂
Thank you, Coach Johnson, for making fitness FUN! 🙌
Swipe to see the action ➡️
#AtlasSchools #ElementarySchool #PirateHockey #PEclass #CoachJohnson #ColoradoSprings #KidsBeingKids
🎈Atlas Schools is a community of families, teachers, and leaders who strive to improve the lives of our students and the neighborhoods around us every day.
#AtlasSchools #ColoradoSprings #GoGryphons
🏐️⚽️🏃♂️💡Atlas Athletics: Weekly Sports Information - March 2-14🏐️⚽️🏃♂️💡
Reminder: All times and dates are subject to change. Please check the website for the most up-to-date information and announcements.
⚽️Thursday, March 5: High School Girls Soccer @ HOME vs. Thomas MacLaren - 4PM
💡Friday, March 6: Middle School Matchwits @ CSCA - 4PM
Saturday, March 7:
⚽️High School Girls Soccer @ Pueblo Central - 10AM (Dutch Clark Stadium)
🏃♂️High School Track & Field @ Palmer Invitational - 9AM
⚽️Tuesday, March 10: High School Girls Soccer @ Florence - 5PM
Thursday, March 12:
🏐️High School Boys Volleyball @ James Irwin - 4PM
⚽️High School Girls Soccer @ HOME vs. St. Mary's
Saturday, March 14:
⚽️High School Girls Soccer @ HOME vs. James Irwin - NOON
🏃♂️High School Track & Field @ Harrison High School - 9AM
🤝 Atlas Elementary's 2nd Annual Amazing Shake competition was a HUGE SUCCESS! 🏆
The Amazing Shake allows students to build and sharpen professional skills. Atlas staff and members of the Colorado Springs community joined us as judges to help determine which students would advance through each round.
Round 1: The Gauntlet
Students used persuasion and negotiation to convince judges on topics like why they should have a cell phone, how to pep-talk their soccer team at halftime, and how to hold a respectful, engaging conversation about a unique art installation (a banana duct taped to a wall!).
Round 2: Work the Room
Winners entered a room full of adults and had to initiate and sustain conversation, mimicking a networking environment. Judges evaluated eye contact, conversational flow, and charisma.
Round 3: Acceptance Speech
Students delivered speeches thanking teachers, friends, and family who helped them succeed. Judges looked for strong voice projection and confident eye contact.
Round 4: Invention
The top four finalists created an invention, developed a sales pitch, and presented to three “sharks,” convincing them their idea would succeed. The highest score earned the title of Atlas Elementary Amazing Shake Champion!
🤝🏆 This year’s winner? Princess-Naimah Dent! Congratulations on your stellar performance! We captured a special moment with her dad and her trophy (last photo).
🎉 Congratulations to all of our 3rd and 4th-graders for your courage and hard work building professional skills.
🙏 Special thanks to Ms. T, Ms. Park, Mr. Pizana, and Ms. Serrano for coordinating this incredible event.
🤲 Thank you to our community judges for investing in our students. We couldn’t have done it without you!
#AmazingShake #AtlasElementary #ProfessionalSkills #LeadershipforaLifetime
📲 Ready to learn more?
🔗 Start your pre-application: Go.AtlasSchools.org/Apply2026
📅 Schedule a campus tour: Go.AtlasSchools.org/TourAtlas
Enrollment for the 2025-26 school year is open. Let's talk!
#AtlasSchools #EnrollmentOpen #CharterSchool #GreenPerformance #ColoradoSprings #QualityEducation
February means Black History Month at Atlas, and each campus is honoring it in its own powerful way.
📚 Elementary: Morning meetings and bulletin boards feature important stories of Black leaders, innovators, and changemakers, starting every day with inspiration. We caught Ms. Pena's first-grade class on their bulletin board carousel! One even included buttons that played music by black musicians throughout the decades!
🎉 Middle School: Heritage dress-up days + daily announcements highlighting important figures in the Black history movement.
🗣️ High School: Six bulletin boards across campus sharing significant stories and events that shaped our nation.
Walking through our buildings this month, you can't miss it: we are learning, celebrating, and honoring the contributions of Black Americans, not just this month, but always.
#AtlasSchools #BlackHistoryMonth #RepresentationMatters #InclusiveEducation #ColoradoSprings
ATLAS PRIDE ALERT: We're celebrating BIG wins at the Colorado League of Charter Schools Hall of Fame! 🏆✨
Last night, we were honored to celebrate not just one Atlas leader but TWO phenomenal humans:
🌟 Kevyn Stokes, our Chief of Schools, was named Leader of the Year! Kevyn started as a psychology teacher at Atlas and has risen to ensure our school leaders and teachers are equipped to fulfill Atlas's mission every single day.
🌟 Zach McComsey, Atlas founder and CEO of Legacy Institute, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his decades of transformative work in the charter school sector.
This is what leadership looks like. This is what dedication to students looks like. And we are SO proud to call them Atlas. 💙
#AtlasSchools #HallOfFame #LeadershipMatters #TeacherExcellence #ColoradoSprings #CharterSchool
#AtlasSchools #BeyondASchool #GryphonPride
Our Atlas High School seniors kicked off their final 100 days with a celebration that hit ALL the feels. Principal Novak shared how proud he is of everything they've accomplished to get here. A slideshow of their years at Atlas played (cue the tears 😭), and the excitement was absolutely electric.
This is it. The home stretch. And we couldn't be prouder of this class.
Let's finish strong, seniors! 💪
Swipe to see the celebration ➡️
#AtlasSchools #ClassOf2026 #100DaysLeft #SeniorYear #HighSchool #ColoradoSprings
Let that sink in. FIFTH in the entire region.
Our high school students are thriving: academically, socially, and beyond. They're prepared for college, careers, and whatever path they choose after graduation.
If you're looking for a high school that challenges, supports, and prepares students for real success, Atlas is it.
📲 Ready to learn more?
🔗 Start your pre-application: Go.AtlasSchools.org/Apply2026
📅 Schedule a campus tour: Go.AtlasSchools.org/TourAtlas
Enrollment for 2025-26 is open. Let's talk!
#AtlasSchools #HighSchool #EnrollmentOpen #TopRanked #USNewsRankings #ColoradoSprings #CharterSchool
Classes resume MONDAY, FEB. 23, and we can't wait to see our students back on campus, ready to finish the year strong!
Let's do this, Atlas! See you Monday! 🎒
#AtlasSchools #BackToSchool #FebruaryBreak #ColoradoSprings #ReadyToLearn
Last Friday, our middle school teachers handed out stickers all day long, and students wore them with PRIDE. Look at these faces!
This is what community looks like at Atlas. It's not always the big moments; sometimes it's the small, unexpected joys that remind students they're part of something special.
Swipe through to see the sticker takeover in action ➡️
#AtlasSchools #MiddleSchoolVibes #CommunityFirst #SurpriseStickerDay #ColoradoSprings
Today, we honor President's Day, a reminder of the importance of civic engagement, leadership, and service to our communities.❤️️💙
At Atlas, we're committed to preparing students on their post-graduate paths to include active, thoughtful participation in our democracy. We teach critical thinking, respectful discourse, and the value of being informed citizens.
No school this week, but next week we're back at it, empowering the next generation of leaders, thinkers, and changemakers.
#AtlasSchools #PresidentsDay #CivicEngagement #ColoradoSprings
What does that mean? It means Atlas schools meet or exceed state standards for academic achievement, student growth, and post-secondary readiness. It means our students are thriving.
If you're looking for a school where your child will be challenged, supported, and prepared for whatever comes next, Atlas is that place.
📲 Ready to learn more?
🔗 Start your pre-application: Go.AtlasSchools.org/Apply2026
📅 Schedule a campus tour: Go.AtlasSchools.org/TourAtlas
Enrollment for the 2025-26 school year is open. Let's talk!
#AtlasSchools #EnrollmentOpen #CharterSchool #GreenPerformance #ColoradoSprings #QualityEducation
📅 February 16-20 = No school!
Here's what families need to know:
✅ Social skills group will be available for elementary students who enroll
❌ Food pantry will be CLOSED Friday, Feb. 20
💙 We hope everyone gets to rest, recharge, and enjoy the break!
See you all back on campus the week of Feb. 23rd, ready to finish the year strong!
Questions? Reach out on the app, we're here to help!
#AtlasSchools #FebruaryBreak #ColoradoSprings #SchoolCommunity
One week in and they're OBSESSED. 😍
Another phase of our middle school renovation is COMPLETE, and the new playground and sports field are officially the students' favorite place to be! (Can you blame them? Look at this!)
Thanks to the following donors, our middle schoolers now have a space to run, play, compete, and just be kids:
✨Colorado BEST grant
💫Colorado Springs Health Foundation
✨Chapman Foundation
💫El Pomar Foundation
✨Anschutz Foundation
💫First Interstate Bank
✨Giddings Foundation
💫Edmondson Foundation
The impact? Already incredible. Students are more engaged, more active, and honestly? Just happier.
This is what investing in students looks like. This is what community support makes possible. 🙌
Swipe to see pure joy in action! ➡️
#AtlasSchools #MiddleSchoolLife #PlayMatters #BESTgrant #ColoradoSprings #CharterSchool
Behind every student success story is a team that believes in them. 💙
Today, we're celebrating our Exceptional Student Services team, the people who show up every single day to make sure our students have exactly what they need to thrive.
Meet the incredible humans who make it happen:
🌟 David Walton, Managing Director, Student Support
🌟 Grace Lichliter, School Psychologist
🌟 Terran Allen, Speech Language Pathologist
🌟 Melissa Weir, Occupational Therapist
They work with students, support families, and create pathways for success that honor each child's unique journey. They see potential where others might see challenges. They celebrate growth, big and small.
To our ESS team: thank you for your expertise, your heart, and your unwavering commitment to our students. You are Atlas. 🧡
#AtlasSchools #EducatorAppreciation #StudentSupport #InclusiveEducation #ColoradoSprings
