Pikes Peak State College proposes health-care innovation high school; board signals interest
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Summary
Pikes Peak State College pitched a partnered innovation-zone high school focused on nursing and allied-health credentials, offering $5 million in capital to build simulation labs and a pathway from CNA to LPN and RN; the District 11 board gave a nonbinding thumbs-up to ask staff to develop detailed plans, but no formal approval was taken.
Pikes Peak State College told the Colorado Springs School District No. 11 board that it will invest $5,000,000 to help create an innovation-zone high school aimed at producing credentialed health-care workers and that the pilot campus could open in August 2027. "Pikes Peak State College is coming to the table with an investment of $5,000,000 that we would put into building out the nursing simulation space," said the college president (President, Pikes Peak State College). He said the program would deliver stacked credentials — certified nursing assistant (CNA), licensed practical nurse (LPN) and pathways to RN/BSN — and that an LPN in the Colorado Springs area typically earns roughly $60,000 a year.
The pitch described a small, niche high school model similar to the Colorado Springs School of Science and Technology (CSST), with an initial cohort target of 75–100 students and an eventual capacity of about 300–400 students. The college said it expects to fund most of the capital work for clinical and simulation spaces and to deliver concurrent-enrollment college instruction on-site.
Superintendent (Speaker 5) told the board the district would not be asked to make a final commitment tonight. "The only thing we are doing as a board, if we're doing anything tonight, is we are simply expressing interest in the project," the superintendent said, adding that staff would pursue logistics, state approvals for the Innovation Zone and an educational services agreement if the board wants to proceed.
During board questions, district and college presenters said Pikes Peak anticipates paying for roughly $1,000,000 of the on-site nursing ward and simulation build-out and that the college expects to house some classes in its concurrent-enrollment spaces. The presenters also said hospitals in the region frequently hire Pikes Peak graduates and that the model aims to connect students directly to local employers.
Board President (Speaker 2) asked for a nonbinding signal of support so staff could move ahead with detailed planning. The board gave a thumbs-up signal to authorize staff to explore the plan further; no formal vote or final approval was taken.
What’s next: staff will return with a detailed plan, potential locations inside District 11, and the steps needed to rename or expand the district’s Innovation Zone and to negotiate any educational services agreement with a governing body for the new school.