Pikes Peak Academy’s (PPA) curriculum is tailored to meet the different needs of each student. Our 3-part program is composed of an academic portion that takes place at the school, a Life-Skills portion that takes place at the school, and a Work-Study portion that takes place either at school or in the community. When students have successfully met all of the requirements in the 3 areas detailed in bold below, they will have earned approximately 44 credits and will be awarded a Pikes Peak Academy high school diploma, accredited by the National Association of Private Schools


In the academic portion of our program, students will participate in individualized, teacher-guided instruction from 8 a.m. to Noon as they seek to complete a minimum of 8 semesters of math and English and 6 semesters of science and social studies courses written to Colorado Department of Education standards. Unless special permission is given, all academic coursework must be completed at school. PPA is not a correspondence school.


Life Skills is the part of our program that helps equip students with skills necessary for successful independent living, including considering a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Life-Skills activities are held at different times throughout the week. Since students earn elective credit during Life Skills, attendance for and participation in this part of our program is required. Life Skills activities—filled with lively discussions, debates, group projects, guest speakers, teambuilding activities, etc.—provide a change of pace from the normal academic routine. Students must participate in 75 seminar hours to earn a semester elective credit.


The third required component of our program is the Work-Study experience. The different types of Work-Study opportunities include employment, formal volunteering, internships, extra vocational-specific class work, extra-curricular activities, or other unique service-learning projects. Like the Life-Skills seminars, diploma elective credit will be granted for the Work-Study experience on a semester basis. Students must complete 270 hours in one or a combination of several of the activities listed above to earn each semester’s Work-Study elective credit. The 270-hour total is based on a 3 hours per day, 5 days per week, 18-week semester time frame. This component of the program provides an important opportunity for students to apply many topics discussed in Life-Skills. Students are expected to participate in this part of the program as long as they still have academic credits to complete.