KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy

History: 

KSPA is an open-enrollment, free public charter school for students in grades 5 to 8.  The schools offers an academically rigorous, college preparatory curriculum. In addition to extra learning time—amounting to 60% more than in traditional school settings—KSPA students benefit from daily physical education, week-long field lessons at the end of each year, and extracurricular classes ranging from drum line to sculpture to debate.

Mission: 

KSPA’s goals for future college success focus on three components: academic skills, intellectual habits, and character traits. Students in each grade focus on one character trait per year to help them develop into successful adult citizens.

Values: 

Integrity | Self-Discipline | Hope | Open Mindedness | Kindness | Leadership | Social Intelligence | Gratitude | Grit

Enrollment: 
370, grades 5–8

Location

KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy
375 S. Tejon St.
Denver, CO, 80223
Student Body Makeup: 
97% Latino or Hispanic
1% African American
1% Caucasian
1% Asian
Achievement: 

KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy is the 2nd highest rated middle school in Denver Public Schools and is rated 2nd of all schools with over 60% low-income students.   (http://communications.dpsk12.org/initiatives/spf-ratings/school-performa...)

Principal: 

Kurt Pusch is a Chicago native who majored in political science at Colgate University in upstate New York. When he graduated, he joined Teach for America and spent two years in a rural community in North Carolina.  Mr. Pusch came to KSPA as a teacher in 2004 and became the Principal in 2008.