An aerial view of the Cornerstone Church property that Ambleside Colorado bought in August. (Courtesy Ambleside Colorado)
Less than 15 years ago, a private Christian school on the border of Centennial and Highlands Ranch had a small space in a Baptist church with just a handful of students.
Fast forward to last month, when the rapidly growing Ambleside Colorado — which offers kindergarten through high school — spent $9 million on what Head of School Andrew Hayes is calling its “100-year home”: a 53,000-square-foot one-time church at 9941 Lone Tree Parkway in Lone Tree.
Rebecca Borger, Ambleside’s director of community relations, advancement, admissions and communications, said that the group has “outgrown” its 12,000-square-foot space at the Highlands Baptist Church, 1510 E. Phillips Ave. in Centennial. The area is so cramped, she said, that some teachers had to set up offices underneath a stairwell.
Ambleside operates as a “a nonprofit business that runs in the black, with a small margin to save for a rainy day,” Borger said. That meant fundraising was necessary.
Before even announcing a campaign publicly in January, Ambleside had secured $5 million from donors, Borger said. The school has garnered over $12 million in donations and has a few hundred thousand dollars to go for its “wants,” like completing a “naturescape” playground, which will come with outdoor classroom space.
“We are super thankful to the Lord for that provision,” Borger said.
Students at Ambleside Colorado. (Courtesy Ambleside Colorado)
Ambleside Colorado was founded in 2010 with 33 students and has been at Highlands Baptist for its entire existence. Its current enrollment is 174 students. The school restricts each grade to just 16 students, or 208 pupils across all classes — a number it expects to reach by 2026.
Tuition for this school year ranges from $7,070 a year for kindergarten to $15,970 a year for high school grades. Twenty-two percent of students received financial support in 2023, per the school’s annual report.
The school began its real estate search by casting a wide net. Vacant commercial buildings, empty land and repurposing other existing structures, like churches, were considered.
“One of our board members wrote many letters to local churches, inquiring whether they were looking to sell. We did get a few bites, but most were too small or in poor condition and wouldn’t be a good use of our resources to renovate,” Borger said.
Eventually, Ambleside decided to exclusively look at churches. The Cornerstone Church, whose property Ambleside ended up buying, was preparing to move and merge with Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch.
“We really feel like God worked that well for everyone’s benefit,” Borger said.
Ambleside plans to move into the building early next year after completing renovations. Borger said the school will likely run another fundraising campaign in three to five years to transform the building’s “partially finished basement” into a wing for its high school.
The school follows in the tradition of 19th and early-20th-century British educator Charlotte Mason, who taught around the same time as Maria Montessori, founder of the Montessori school movement.
Mason believed in looking at children as “whole people,” Borger added. This means having students interact across grade levels and encouraging hands-on activities in nature and in the classroom, like calligraphy and woodworking.
“We’re training our students how to think,” Borger said.
The school is part of the broader 25-member Ambleside Schools International, a network of schools following Mason’s teachings. Borger said that her school is one of the few in the group with high school grades, which were added three years ago. The first senior class will graduate next year.
The school fashions itself as interdenominational and serves a broad range of families from Catholics to Baptists, Borger said.
Ambleside ultimately hopes to open additional schools across the metro area in the coming years, including an aim at educating lower-income families, Borger said.
“We’re not here to just be a school for the privileged,” she said.
An aerial view of the Cornerstone Church property that Ambleside Colorado bought in August. (Courtesy Ambleside Colorado)
Less than 15 years ago, a private Christian school on the border of Centennial and Highlands Ranch had a small space in a Baptist church with just a handful of students.
Fast forward to last month, when the rapidly growing Ambleside Colorado — which offers kindergarten through high school — spent $9 million on what Head of School Andrew Hayes is calling its “100-year home”: a 53,000-square-foot one-time church at 9941 Lone Tree Parkway in Lone Tree.
Rebecca Borger, Ambleside’s director of community relations, advancement, admissions and communications, said that the group has “outgrown” its 12,000-square-foot space at the Highlands Baptist Church, 1510 E. Phillips Ave. in Centennial. The area is so cramped, she said, that some teachers had to set up offices underneath a stairwell.
Ambleside operates as a “a nonprofit business that runs in the black, with a small margin to save for a rainy day,” Borger said. That meant fundraising was necessary.
Before even announcing a campaign publicly in January, Ambleside had secured $5 million from donors, Borger said. The school has garnered over $12 million in donations and has a few hundred thousand dollars to go for its “wants,” like completing a “naturescape” playground, which will come with outdoor classroom space.
“We are super thankful to the Lord for that provision,” Borger said.
Students at Ambleside Colorado. (Courtesy Ambleside Colorado)
Ambleside Colorado was founded in 2010 with 33 students and has been at Highlands Baptist for its entire existence. Its current enrollment is 174 students. The school restricts each grade to just 16 students, or 208 pupils across all classes — a number it expects to reach by 2026.
Tuition for this school year ranges from $7,070 a year for kindergarten to $15,970 a year for high school grades. Twenty-two percent of students received financial support in 2023, per the school’s annual report.
The school began its real estate search by casting a wide net. Vacant commercial buildings, empty land and repurposing other existing structures, like churches, were considered.
“One of our board members wrote many letters to local churches, inquiring whether they were looking to sell. We did get a few bites, but most were too small or in poor condition and wouldn’t be a good use of our resources to renovate,” Borger said.
Eventually, Ambleside decided to exclusively look at churches. The Cornerstone Church, whose property Ambleside ended up buying, was preparing to move and merge with Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch.
“We really feel like God worked that well for everyone’s benefit,” Borger said.
Ambleside plans to move into the building early next year after completing renovations. Borger said the school will likely run another fundraising campaign in three to five years to transform the building’s “partially finished basement” into a wing for its high school.
The school follows in the tradition of 19th and early-20th-century British educator Charlotte Mason, who taught around the same time as Maria Montessori, founder of the Montessori school movement.
Mason believed in looking at children as “whole people,” Borger added. This means having students interact across grade levels and encouraging hands-on activities in nature and in the classroom, like calligraphy and woodworking.
“We’re training our students how to think,” Borger said.
The school is part of the broader 25-member Ambleside Schools International, a network of schools following Mason’s teachings. Borger said that her school is one of the few in the group with high school grades, which were added three years ago. The first senior class will graduate next year.
The school fashions itself as interdenominational and serves a broad range of families from Catholics to Baptists, Borger said.
Ambleside ultimately hopes to open additional schools across the metro area in the coming years, including an aim at educating lower-income families, Borger said.
“We’re not here to just be a school for the privileged,” she said.
