Editor’s note: This story was updated on Tuesday, Feb. 21, to reflect the grades that the Steamboat Christian Academy will teach.

Steamboat Christian Academy is working toward finalizing its curriculum for the 2023-24 school year with its first day set for Aug. 22.

Director of Learning Cynthia Marks and Executive Director Katy Ginn are continuing to put the final touches on the curriculum as the school gears up for its pilot year.

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Enrollment applications for the faith-based K-8 school opened Feb. 15 and will close March 15. The school also remains in its second round of interviews for hiring teachers, and offer letters are expected to go out in the coming months.

Despite numbers for teachers and students being up in the air, Steamboat Christian Academy has identified what the nonnegotiable pillars of its curriculum will be.

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Both Marks and Ginn emphasized the prevalence of experiential learning in the curriculum, as the school seeks to produce a curriculum that can accommodate a variety of learning styles and provide a myriad of interactive lessons.

Marks said the school will look to adopt a multi-sensory style of learning. She said the goal is to ensure that students understand the reasons behind what they are doing and what they are learning. The school’s private status exempts it from Colorado’s mandated curriculum, but administrators have indicated Steamboat Christian Academy will not deviate too far. 

“We wanted to make sure that the curriculum not only met but exceeded state standards, so that students are kind of being held accountable to those high levels of education,” Ginn said.

Ginn said that each student will have an individualized learning plan. School officials also plan on providing extra support to meet the needs of students who may have challenges learning. Students struggling in specific areas will receive extra support, whether it is one on one or in small groups of students with similar needs. 

Marks, who’s in charge of vetting the curriculum, has 35 years of experience in education, many of which she spent with academic publishers. She said she has seen a myriad of curriculums and wants to offer classes that support both students and teachers.

“One of the main things we are looking for is a curriculum that gives the teacher a great outline of how to do a lesson from start to finish,” Marks said. “We want something that is very structured for the teachers in order for them to have very balanced lessons that are engaging.” 

The administrators tasked with compiling the curriculum said they looked into a variety of different publishers and do not plan to use Christian publishers exclusively. However, before finalizing the curriculum, school administrators first need to assess what the numbers will look like. 

“We do have what we believe will be the core curriculum all planned out and we are looking for the final numbers to actually do the ordering of it and ensure what we have is adequate,” Ginn said.  

Steamboat Christian Academy has the capacity to accommodate up to 74 students. The school anticipates the students-to-teacher ratio will be 12 students to one teacher.

Kit Geary is the county, public safety and education reporter. To reach her, call 970-871-4229 or email her at kgeary@SteamboatPilot.com.