By Deb Risden
Patriot High School is an alternative high school for ninth through 12th grades in El Paso County Falcon School District 49. David Nancarrow, director of communications, said the school was designed as an alternative campus for students who were not fitting into a traditional setting.
“It has been an alternative place that we can try a different approach,” Nancarrow said.
Ryan Bailey, PHS principal, said the campus had planned to add sixth through eighth grades starting in the fall of 2025. However, D 49 decided to temporarily pause adding sixth and seventh grades for financial reasons. “We are now planning to only add eighth grade this year and are able to do so with a couple of additional teachers,” Bailey said.
D 49 has recently announced a change from a model of four zones to three zones, eliminating the iConnect Zone that included Patriot, which will now be part of the Falcon Zone. With that change, the name of the school is changing to Patriot Applied Learning Campus. “The reason we changed to Patriot Applied Learning Campus is we want to focus on application, application, application,” Bailey said. “If you think of those social media posts that list the top 10 things I wish I would have learned in high school, well, we’re trying to check those off the list. We even brought driver’s education back in the building.”
Bailey said the original plan for adding sixth through eighth grades would be a tiered approach, grouping certain grades together for a different focus that is appropriate for the age. He said there would be a combination of sixth and seventh grades, with a focus on students transitioning out of elementary. The eighth and ninth grades will focus on students who have tried a traditional middle school that is not working for them. The third group is the current 10th through 12th grades.
“We are going to use the same building with two separate hallways for eighth through 12th, with a permeable boundary between eighth and ninth and 10th through 12th so there can be more interactions with incoming eighth graders and upper grade students,” Bailey said. He said this program allows for mentorships, tutoring and young students learning from more mature students. Students will be able to take classes at higher levels and then go back to their eighth and ninth grade classes.
The sixth and seventh grade students would be in a separate building, providing a “relatively firm boundary between them and the rest of the campus.” Bailey estimated the addition of sixth and seventh grades will take place in about one to three years.
Starting in the fall of 2025, the school will have two different tiers. The 10th through 12th grades will focus on applied learning. “Our goal is that our 11th and 12th graders are out of the building as much as possible doing job shadows, work studies and internships in the community,” Bailey said. The school currently has culinary and construction programs where students have an opportunity for real-world experience.
Every Friday morning they have Pathway Design classes for 3 1/2 hours, he said. During this time, students choose to engage in the community doing something related to careers. He said they have internships at Falcon Elementary School, robotics classes and boxing gym.
“We want students to take this time to learn about careers and develop mentorships and relationships with individuals in the community so they have someone they can connect with once high school is over,” Bailey said.
Patriot’s goal is to grow and develop more partnerships in the community, he said. “If you’ve got a business that needs a little extra help, our goal is when a student works on an internship, they are a value-add to the company,” Bailey said. “Not only are students getting skills but also bringing support to the business.”
One of their business partnerships is with Mountain View Electric Association. During the NFH interview, Bailey said MVEA staff members were on the school site blowing up a watermelon while demonstrating electricity to the students.
Patriot has big plans to refurbish the original Falcon schoolhouse located on their campus. “It is an incredible project for our construction students to work on,” Bailey said. There is abundant work to be done, including the abatement of lead paint and asbestos. Engaging the community is critical for the different aspects of the project, he said. As part of refurbishing the building, they would like to include a conference room and are asking the community to donate historical items so that it could be a historical building.
Community members and businesses interested in partnering with Patriot can contact Bailey directly at Ryan.Bailey@d49.org.
