Manitou Springs School District 14, per Colorado law, offers families the ability to choose their public school within or outside their designated school district.
Who Should Apply?
- New students who do not live within the MSSD14 district boundaries attending K-12.
- Change in Resident Status - Enrolled
students that have moved out of the district during the current year
will be required to submit a choice application for the upcoming year.
Students will be able complete the current school year.
- Preschool students have a separate enrollment process. Please see the Preschool page for more information.
- The Mountain Academy of Arts (MAAS) 6th
grade program at Ute Pass Elementary has a separate enrollment process.
Please see the MAAS page for more details
- For current students who wish to attend a
district school other than their zoned school please see the
In-District Transfer section.
Age Requirements
- Kindergarten: Must be 5 years old by September 1st
- First Grade: Must be 6 years old by
September 1st - Exception for students who do not meet age requirement,
but have already attended Kindergarten.
School Choice Window
Choice Applications are accepted during the designated choice windows.
- Application Window – January 1st thru May 10th
- Summer Application Window* – July 22nd through August 9th
- Applications submitted outside these windows will not be accepted.
- Applications will only be accepted for the upcoming school year.
* Please be aware that we cannot guarantee that students will be accepted by the first day of school during the Summer Application Window.
Application Process
- Applications must be submitted in their entirety using the online Choice Application.
- Applications will not be accepted at individual schools.
- An application is required for each student that is applying.
Acceptance Process
Students are accepted based on the following.
- Seat capacity at both school and grade level.
- Program space availability at both school and grade level.
New Non- Residents
- If space at the school and/or grade level is available, conditional acceptance with next steps will be sent via email.
- Students will be conditionally accepted until a review of educational records are completed.
- During records review, a spot will be held for student.
Enrollment Notification Windows
Notification letters of enrollment status will be sent during the following windows:
- 1st Notification Window – Beginning February 26th
- 2nd Notification Window – Beginning April 1st
- 3rd Notification Window – Beginning May 13th
- Final Notification Window – Beginning August 12th
* Depending on volume of applications, notification letters may take up to a week after the beginning date of the notification window.
- Once accepted, choice students will not need to submit a new application on an annual basis.
- Choice students will be evaluated on a yearly basis following board policy JFBB-C-R eligibility criteria for continued enrollment.
Waitlists
- If a grade and/or school has reached capacity, the student will be placed on a waitlist.
- Families will be notified if a student is to be placed on the waitlist.
- Waitlists will be evaluated, and status will be communicated to families during each notification window with the option to remain on the list or be removed.
- Waitlist order is not provided as additional applications with different acceptance priority can change the order.
High School Athletic/Activity Information
- Switching schools in CO may restrict athletic eligibility. Please refer to the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) Transfer Rules at http://chsaanow.com.
-To participate in school activities during the summer, students must be accepted and registered in a MSSD14 school. Participating without doing so, may impact CHSAA eligibility.
In-District School Transfers
To ensure space in school, grade, and programs, all current students desiring to transfer schools from their currently enrolled school must complete an In-District Transfer Form. This includes students wishing to return to their zoned residential school. This form should be submitted to the district registrar by February 1st of the current school year to receive priority for the upcoming school year.
MSSD14 Choice Application
MSSD14 In-District Transfer Form
Enrollment Availability 2024-2025