The Garden School began with 11 students in a small rented facility in New Castle, Colorado in the fall of 1997. The school moved to New Hope Church’s, Apple Tree Park building the following year after extensive prayer, fund-raising, and remodeling. Subsequent improvements have included the addition of classrooms, a well-equipped library, as well as a multipurpose art and science room in 2005 and an expanded classroom facility in an adjacent rented building in 2006.

The school was the brainchild of Dave and Renee Miller. The Millers along with a handful of stalwart homeschool parents, paved the way for what has become a vibrant faith-based, classical school partnering with parents to provide quality educational programs meeting the needs of over 60 families from Delta to Basalt. Parents still say they are most pleased with the dedicated, loving staff members, the smaller class sizes, and the consistently high level of academic and biblical encouragement their children receive. Over the years, various programs have been tailored to meet the differing needs of young people in our community.

The school shares its education vision with its sister-school, the CrossRoads Academy. The CrossRoads Academy reaches out to the disenfranchised or “at-risk” youth and offers these high school students the same Classical approach in an environment that helps them discover a more positive direction for their lives.

The Enrichment Program, a third school day option, was introduced in the fall of 2006 and was opened to our high school students as well as the general home schooling community. We proudly began a Christian preschool program the same year, hoping to encourage and educate young families as they are making important choices about how they will ultimately choose to educate their children.

The Garden School Board of Directors and the administration are planning and praying about the further growth of the school, both in facilities and the scope of the program, as more families become convinced of the necessity and advantages of a classical, Christ-centered education. The board operates under the school’s adopted by-laws, vision and goals statements, and provides policies to the directors for implementation in the programs. More details on the board’s operation and policies may be obtained from the school office.