About Us

Tesla is an alternative school. We work on a trimester system (there are 3 trimesters per year instead of 2 semesters), allowing students more opportunities to earn credits. We also have smaller class sizes, allowing students more time and attention from teachers.

If you have an active truancy case at your current high school or middle school, we will continue with that case. Just because you switch schools does not mean that your truancy case will go away. Tesla is an attendance-driven school. If you cannot attend school regularly, then Tesla is probably not the school for you. At Tesla, we believe in giving all students a second chance. If you do not attend classes regularly at Tesla, you cannot earn credits. Tesla takes attendance daily. We try to help parents come up with solutions to help their students be successful. At Tesla, our #1 goal is for students to graduate. (Sometimes that requires intervention from the courts.) Please keep in mind that we are not trying to punish, we are only trying to help you better your future.

Tesla is an alternative school and 95% of our students are at risk of not graduating from a traditional high school. Many of our kids are at risk due to no fault of their own. We try to give all students a second chance and have been very successful with seeing students "turn around", so to speak.  At Tesla, we will not give up on a student if they truly want to graduate. However, if a student is causing problems at Tesla and does not make an effort to get their credits, they will be sent back to their home school. Tesla will not tolerate a student causing problems on campus. Any students caught breaking any rules will be dealt with accordingly.

Because Tesla is not a traditional school, there are several pro's and con's that families need to consider before enrolling at Tesla. We want the entire family involved in learning what their role will be if you decide to attend Tesla. Tesla is a parent involved school.  Parents need to be aware that they will be receiving phone calls on a regular basis, these can be calls about attendance, discipliary issues, or positive calls about your student. Parents will also be held accountable for ensuring that their child is at school on time every day.  Students will also be held accountable for grades and attendance. If a student or a parent is not willing to take on the responsibilities that Tesla requires, we do not want you to enroll.  We try to be as honest as we can about what is expected, and we want you to be honest about whether Tesla is a good fit for you or not. 

Transportation is provided from various District 11 schools around town. Please see our bus schedules to find the closest bus stop to your house. The Bus Routes and Stops are updated at the beginning of every school year. To search for the exact route, please use the District Bus Route and Stop Information page.

If you have more specific questions about buses and bus routes, please contact us at 719.328.3111.

Although we try to get as many students in as possible, we have to look at class sizes and availability.  If you have come to an information meeting and have made the required call back the next day, we will get your student's transcript to see if we have openings in the classes that they will need to graduate. If we do not have enough room in those classes, we will call to put you on a waitlist. Wait list times will vary by what classes we have openings in. We can only enroll for a short period of time at the beginning of each trimester. We do our best to make room for all students who wish to attend Tesla, but due to our small size, sometimes that is not possible. We will try to get you in as soon as possible.

Tesla has one high school special education teacher and a half-time middle school students special education teacher. That teacher must first look over your IEP to see if we have the resources to accommodate it at the time. It is best to let us know in advance so that there is time to look and see what availability, if any, we have. We will try to take as many students as we can who are interested in coming to Tesla, as long as we have the resources available to do so.

Tesla has a student council and various clubs that are set up by the students with a teacher advisor. If you would like to participate in sports or other after-school activities, you are able to do those at your home school for District 11. If the activity or sports team you would like to be on is not at your designated home school, you will need to get permission from that school to participate. Even though you are going to Tesla, participation in sports and other activities in District 11 requires you to keep up your grades and attendance to remain eligible. If you fall behind, you will no longer be allowed to participate until you get your grades caught up or you start attending school regularly.