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Hebert, who by day teaches 5th through 12th grade band at the Academy of Charter Schools in Westminster, spends his evenings with Mile High Freedom Bands — donating nearly 50 hours a month to rehearsals, performances and planning for the volunteer-driven community band that has been bringing people together through music for more than 40 years.

Niche uses only the most up-to-date data available from dozens of public data sources, including the U.S. Department of Education and National Science Foundation, along with millions of reviews from students, parents, and residents. Their research team then combines user feedback and insights using industry standards to determine the key components that go into school grades. Finally, grades are assigned, and Niche report cards are built. These are purpose-built to capture what each school is really like.

The Academy's programs were all highly ranked:

• Elementary - #3 of 94 in Adams County
• Middle School - #3 of 57 in Adams County
• High School - #2 of 30 in Adams County

Our 2025 College Fair was another big success. Here are some stats:

• 30 colleges were represented from across the US
• 195 students registered
• 492 interactions occurred between students and colleges

Some fun things we heard from students and college reps included:

• "I didn't even know that college existed and they have every single thing I want in a college!"
• "Your students are respectful, engaged, and are asking great questions."
• "I always love coming to The Academy. You guys are great."
• "I didn't know community colleges had that option!"

Overall, it was a success!

From Tuesday, Oct. 7 through Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, all 32 public colleges and universities in Colorado and several private institutions will waive their application fees, making it free for anyone to submit an application. By waiving application fees—a common barrier to higher education—Colorado Free Application Days aims to improve access to further education and training, which is becoming increasingly critical in the state’s rapidly changing economy.

This year, The Academy had:

• 40 Seniors seek support for applying;
• At least 190 individual applications submitted to colleges/universities in Colorado; and
• These numbers don't even represent the additional applications students submitted to colleges/universities outside of Colorado!

Seniors will continue applying to colleges over the next few months. We wish them the best of luck!

Each year, Colorado State Thespians honors outstanding educators, administrators, community contributors and a veteran educator for their Hall of Fame awards. Individuals are honored for their dedication to their theatre programs and the support they have given to educational theatre. Coleman Zeigen was this year's honoree for the Middle School Educator category.