James Irwin Charter High School

Posted: July 16, 2026

Posted: July 16, 2026

Posted: July 16, 2026

My oldest attended JICHS 16 years ago. Had the military not moved us, all three of my children would have graduated from this high school. Every place we lived, I compared schools to the structure, character development and academic rigor that JICHS offers and continues to build upon. Due to the mission, vision and genuine care the faculty and staff have for the students of JICHS, graduates leave this high school with the tools to succeed in whatever they pursue.

Posted: July 16, 2026

Posted: July 16, 2026

Posted: July 16, 2026

Posted: July 16, 2026

Posted: July 16, 2026

Posted: July 16, 2026

I am so impressed by the students at James Irwin Charter High School. In the last two years alone, four of the graduates have won Daniels Fund Scholarships that pays for their entire four year education any where they want to attend. The a capella group won a Superior award at the state competition. So many of the athletes and several teams have gone to state. The percentage of students who take AP credits and actually pass it with 3s, 4s, and 5s is way above the state average. New teachers remark how well behaved the students are and how CALM and CLEAN the hallways are. The graduates that come back to visit after attending college say that this high school prepared them very well to be successful in college. I believe that James Irwin Charter High School is one of the best high schools in the city of Colorado Springs.

Posted: July 16, 2026

Posted: July 16, 2026

Posted: July 16, 2026

Posted: July 16, 2026

Posted: July 16, 2026

Posted: July 16, 2026

Posted: July 15, 2026

Posted: July 15, 2026

Posted: July 15, 2026

Posted: July 15, 2026

Posted: July 15, 2026

Posted: July 15, 2026

Posted: July 15, 2026

Posted: July 15, 2026

My student is graduating this year, and I am so grateful for the time and attention invested from staff, the rigorous curriculum, and the positive environment at James Irwin! She has grown so much in her time here and it truly feels like a family community. If you are looking for an excellent school where your child will feel like they belong and will be challenged to be the best version of themselves, this is the place!

Posted: July 15, 2026

James Irwin Charter High School is an exceptional institution that truly delivers excellence in education. Its unique Direct Instruction model ensures that students fully master foundational concepts before moving forward, creating a highly effective and engaging learning environment. By centering its curriculum on Western civilization, the school provides students with a rich historical context and critical thinking skills that are rare in modern education.
James Irwin does more than prepare students for college; it equips them to be successful in life. The school focuses heavily on character development, teaching integrity, personal responsibility, and a strong work ethic alongside rigorous academics. Students graduate not only ready for higher education but also prepared to be productive, thoughtful, and successful citizens in the real world. It is a fantastic choice for any family seeking a structured, high-quality, and values-driven education. I would highly recommend it.

Posted: July 15, 2026

Posted: July 15, 2026

Posted: July 15, 2026

Posted: July 15, 2026

Posted: July 15, 2026

Posted: July 15, 2026

Posted: July 15, 2026

Posted: June 2, 2026

Posted: June 2, 2026

Posted: June 2, 2026

Posted: June 2, 2026

Posted: June 2, 2026

Posted: June 2, 2026

Posted: June 2, 2026

Posted: June 2, 2026

Fails to communicate with parents. Student threatened to blow my head off and nothing was done. Student was SA and again nothing was done. Handles my 504 illegally with no parent awareness. Handles cyber bullying by literally doing nothing. Teachers have assaulted students while yelling in there face in the middle of the Hall. Multiple shooting threats in the duration of my seventh grade year and the two owners of the Spotify japple acks podcast were almost manipulated to take down there podcast by teachers, staff and students. I do not recommend this school if don't want your child to go through mental pain and even physical. This has really made my mental health go down the drain and into dark places if I were you I would save your kid instead of putting them into actual hell.

Posted: November 22, 2022

My experience with this school was terrible. Most of the teachers weren't qualified to teach at all, and several would leave midway through the year. One year, they hired a woman with a degree in music education to teach geometry classes. Another teacher, who was qualified to teach college level writing courses, left midway through the year and caused the students' class to be in jeopardy due to no other teachers being qualified to teach these college courses.
The school is heavily Christian. This is a fact that they do not disclose to families seeking to enroll their children into their school. They had us writing Bible scripture as part of our notes for our ethics class. They taught chastity in our ethics class rather than providing any sort of sex education course or resources regarding safe sex. There was an unspoken pregnant student problem in part because of this. Any discussions of religions that were not Christianity were little to none. I can't remember discussing anything like Judaism or Islam outside of brief mentions of them in my freshman year history class.
Bullying was frequent and improperly handled. Myself and others frequently experienced harassment with upper staff doing the bare minimum to handle it. A student was told to write a sorry note to another for harassing him, and ended up giving the guy he harassed a note telling him to kill himself because staff didn't look it over beforehand. Bigotry was allowed to flourish as well. Racial slurs, mainly ones directed at black people, were not uncommon to hear, especially from underclassmen. Black students were discouraged to celebrate their race and culture by staff, including by then principal Alex Marquez. A history class substitute would frequently complain about immigrants and foreign countries, especially China. At least two after school clubs that were LGBT friendly were not allowed to advertise their inclusivity in any capacity.

Posted: November 22, 2022

Posted: November 22, 2022

Posted: November 22, 2022

Posted: November 22, 2022

Posted: November 22, 2022

Posted: November 22, 2022

Posted: November 22, 2022

Posted: March 22, 2022

"Inclement Weather" school closure days are out of control at this school. If you are a single parent trying to keep your job, attending this school is a very real challenge when your boss is wondering why none of your co-workers schools are closed. So frustrating to be driving on streets with no snow accumulation on a closure day. This is Colorado we know how to drive in snow! It is as if the decision maker has only ever driven in California.

Posted: March 22, 2022

Posted: March 22, 2022

Posted: March 22, 2022

Posted: March 22, 2022

Posted: March 22, 2022

Posted: March 22, 2022

Posted: March 22, 2022

Posted: July 31, 2021

I just going to say that I am not longer sending my kids to this school, I don't have to deal with them anymore! Every bad comment about this school is true.
The school year 2021-2022, they are planning on segregated the kids by 2 groups.

Posted: July 31, 2021

Posted: July 31, 2021

Posted: July 31, 2021

Posted: July 31, 2021

Posted: July 31, 2021

Posted: July 31, 2021

Posted: July 31, 2021

Posted: February 18, 2021

This school showed their true colors during the coronavirus pandemic. Proper safety precautions weren’t implemented, teachers didn’t wear face masks, lots of students wore their mask under their nose. So it’s no surprise that covid cases have arisen. If you want a safe environment for your children, enroll them at a different school.

Posted: February 18, 2021

Posted: January 6, 2021

Terrible school send your kids here if you want them to cry.

Posted: January 6, 2021

Posted: January 6, 2021

Posted: January 6, 2021

Posted: January 6, 2021

Posted: January 6, 2021

Posted: January 6, 2021

Posted: January 6, 2021

Posted: July 13, 2020

It is no longer a college prep school. They don’t keep up with technology or modern society. The teachers that stay are amazing but they can’t keep a lot of teachers and end up hiring unqualified ones.

Posted: July 13, 2020

Posted: July 13, 2020

The teacher turn over rate is super high. In 3 years they lost over 10 teachers. Many left in the middle of the year.

Posted: July 13, 2020

Posted: July 13, 2020

The vice principal is great. The principal is not a great leader.

Posted: July 13, 2020

They are anti IEP and don’t want to support special needs students.

Posted: July 13, 2020

Posted: August 6, 2016

Most teachers have no experience and I know for a fact that other parents have complained about many of the teachers and nothing has been done about it.

Posted: August 6, 2016

It's hard to develop fairness in students when teachers have their favorites and are more lenient towards more students than others.

Posted: August 6, 2016

The teachers have their favorites and several of the so called teachers aren't "teachers" at all.

Posted: January 31, 2016

Posted: January 31, 2016

Posted: January 31, 2016

Posted: January 31, 2016

Great committed staff. Engaged students. A joy to see how far these students have come.

Posted: January 25, 2016

Great school! Not only do students get an academic education that prepares them for college, they also receive a practical, applicable education on how to have great character. This also extends to the sports program which seems to improve year after year. The athletic director leads by example. When emotions run high, he keeps his cool and requires this same good character from fans, parents, and students. He handles situations face-to-face and doesn't hide from dealing with problems, meeting them head-on to find a favorable solution. He strives to build bridges between the teams, coaches, fans, and faculty and reminds everyone to be of good character at all times. Next to the AD, the varsity coach is fantastic. He coaches with passion and demands his players play with passion. When games get rough and refs don't live up to expectations, coach handles himself in a way that exemplifies JICHS character. When he was personally attacked publicly and wrongly accused by another team's AD recently at a local game, he used his personal discouragement to make a difference in the impressionable lives around him. James Irwin Charter High School is the place I want my children to be! I will sing their praises as long as there is breath in my lungs and as long as they continue to leave a legacy of excellent character and academics!!!

Posted: January 24, 2016

Posted: January 24, 2016

Posted: January 24, 2016

Posted: January 21, 2016

My boys received a great education and learned leadership skills and character traits that will make them better adults

Posted: January 21, 2016

The teachers that truly want to be there and have the students in the forefront as being the most important reason for their job are effective. Those that are just trying to get a little experience to move on no I do not feel are effective

Posted: January 21, 2016

I do not feel my students ever had too much homework. They were still able to handle school work and homework, sports, scouts and get enough sleep at night to be healthy.

Posted: January 21, 2016

These are some very good character qualities the school strives to teach their students to make them better adults.

Posted: December 14, 2015

The teachers truly care about the students. The school offers so much training on how to be an effective teacher. They truly care about doing what is best for the students.

Posted: December 14, 2015

Posted: December 14, 2015

Posted: December 14, 2015

Posted: December 10, 2014

I love working at James Irwin. The focus is on students, where it should be. I could make more money teaching somewhere else, but I cannot seem to put a price tag on respectful students, a culture of high academic and behavioral expectations, dedicated co-workers and leadership, more professional development than I received in all my years of college and working at other schools combined, and did I mention wonderful students? The leadership and teachers are not overly obsessed with test scores, yet we do very well on them because we continue to hold standards high for students. I enjoy supporting and getting to know students through extra-curricular activities such as our all-school retreat, concerts, dances, and sports events. I've never worked with so many teachers who genuinely enjoy working with teens. Many alumni and spouses of alumni have chosen to return here. Many families choose James Irwin for all of their children from elementary through high school.

Posted: September 14, 2014

I have loved having my children at JICHS. My daughter attended all 4 years and graduated, set up well for college and beyond. I also look forward to the coming for years as now my youngest is attending. She was absent from school due to a bug and the teaching staff got back to me in a timely manner and supported her while she got assignments completed and turned in. The administrative staff has also helped with both of my children, making sure that they received all of the help they needed, my son who attended a different high school in a different district, didn't have the same level of support.

Posted: August 2, 2014

The teachers give the students very little individual attention and they don't teach you everything you need to know for your homework. The teachers favor certain students that kiss up to them (teachers pet). The lunches make kids puke and is very bad quality. their heaters inside do not work good enough during the winter. The uniforms are very ugly, we look like little cars sells men.

Posted: April 9, 2014

My school is James Irwin Charter High School. My son graduated from this school and my daughter will be there next. It is a great academic school that allowed my son to be challenged compared to the regular public school. This communication the teachers have with their students awesome. The offers sports and other activities. I am looking forward to my daughter attending next year.

Posted: February 25, 2014

Not a good school. All kids are required to take a character and ethics class, but it all ends there. Very little respect, poor leadership, teachers don't stay/last long, and test scores are dropping each year. There are plenty of better choices out there.

Posted: September 13, 2013

This school is great academically IF you don't mind a strict dress code, strict dress-code enforcing teachers, the fact that it is Christian-based, and strict teachers in general. I am now a senior (moved here last year) and it's alright. I like the fact that they really do try their best to help you succeed. I don't really like the dress code, which has gotten crazy since last year. I don't really like or care for the other students, especially the other seniors, they're very annoying. Coming from a public school in Hawaii, this school is very different. But I guess it depends on the person, a lot of other people actually like this school. Go to Sierra instead, your life would be a lot less miserable.

Posted: September 1, 2013

This school is good for your kids if they fit in "the box". Beware if they are struggling in any subject. The teachers don't know what to do because a lot of them are new/young teachers and don't know how to help the students who are struggling. My child started at the elementary school and I never imagined leaving this school but we did. We put up with the overbearing principal and vice principal at the elementary school. We put up with all of the strictness of all the schools. We saw this as a good school with high character. When we started having academic trouble with my student, we called numerous times to speak to the principal and another teacher and NEVER heard anything back from them. If you jump through all of their hoops that are asked of you and don't ask for anything else, then everything will go well. As long as you go along and do everything that is asked of you it's great. It's when you need to stand up for your child then they are "too busy" to deal with you. Very disappointed.

Posted: June 7, 2013

This school iss just the best thing that happened to Colorado Springs in a long time. Although limited with factors like money/funds it makes the most out of what it has. I have had the best school years while my time in this school.

Posted: June 7, 2013

This school is one of great excellence. It really prepares students for a life of success. Although it is not located in the best location it stands out, showing it greatness. This school offers programs and opportunities that further student success. There is truly no other school like this one.

Posted: April 3, 2013

There are other GREAT schools out there where you don't have to put up with archaic rules and dress codes that are only enforced on kids who are not the "pets" of the school! I don't like the fact that the dean was very condescending with me, but it did not surprise me as that is the typical culture in CO Springs on a whole. My child absolutely LOVES 3 of her teachers at JIHS and has made friends that she will miss terribly but she begged me months ago to remove her from this school (when they made her wear another girl's clothes) and we were undecided and then I had to face this administrator and that finalized my decision. He was nasty and pretended that I was demanding something that I absolutely WAS NOT just so that he could be right! The administrators often do not realize that many parents (such as myself and my husband) have just as much or more education as they do and act surprised when you won't tolerate them looking down on you or allow them to treat you like an uneducated person. They will be glad to not have to see me anymore and the feeling is quite mutual!!!!! The teachers are mostly great and I don't have a problem with them at all!!

Posted: January 27, 2013

i love james irwin! this school is great! :D it's better than widefield by a long shot

Posted: November 27, 2006