Academy District 20 Earns Colorado's Highest Accreditation for 18th Consecutive Year

Academy District 20 has earned Colorado's highest district accreditation rating — "Accredited with Distinction" — for the 18th year in a row. The rating comes from the Colorado Department of Education and reflects the district's academic performance, student support systems, and resource management across its schools.

For D20 families, this is a milestone that doesn't always get the attention it deserves. Eighteen consecutive years at the top rating is not routine — it represents sustained performance across changing leadership, shifting state standards, a pandemic, and the ongoing complexity of serving more than 26,000 students.

Quick Reference

By the Numbers

D20 serves more than 26,000 students across 40 schools in the northern Colorado Springs area. The district spans elementary, middle, and high school levels, with multiple schools consistently ranked among the highest-performing in El Paso County.

Maintaining this kind of district-wide accreditation across 40 schools is a different challenge than a single high-performing school earning recognition. The "Accredited with Distinction" rating reflects the district as a whole — meaning schools at every level, in every neighborhood the district serves, are contributing to the outcome.

Why This Matters for Families

For families already in D20, this rating is confirmation of what many already experience day to day: a district that takes academic performance seriously and invests in consistent, measurable outcomes for kids.

For families who are newer to Colorado Springs or considering where to live within the city, district accreditation is one of the more reliable data points available. It's publicly reported, standardized across the state, and not subject to the year-to-year variation that individual test scores can show.

The teachers, administrators, and support staff across D20's 40 schools are the ones making this happen — and 18 years is long enough that this has become part of the district's identity, not just a good year.

What's Next

The Colorado Department of Education publishes accreditation ratings annually. D20's full performance data is available at asd20.org and through the CDE's district accountability pages. The 2026-27 school year is underway, and the district's performance will factor into the next accreditation cycle.

For D20 families with questions about their specific school's performance or programs, the district's main contact is available at asd20.org. School-level data is also published annually through the state's SchoolView system.