District 11 updates board on Colorado Springs School of Technology plan; board presses on costs, location and equity

District officials presented an informational update on the Colorado Springs School of Technology (CSST), an innovation high school planned by Colorado Springs School District 11 (D11) that will focus on STEM pathways including cybersecurity, aerospace and entrepreneurship.

CSST presentation: District staff and Nathan Gorsch, CSST’s executive director, described the model as a District 11 school operating with an alternative governance structure permitted under the state innovation statute. The school is targeted to open next fall with an initial 9th-grade cohort of roughly 75–100 students and industry and higher-education partners providing curriculum and internship access. Gorsch described “Mission Mondays” for industry-led deep dives and said the school will pilot AI-enabled personalized tutoring tools.

Facility and finances: District staff said the preferred location is space on the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) campus adjacent to cybersecurity and higher-education partners. The board packet included a build-out estimate of…