John Adams Academy opens as Sterling Ranch’s first school

John Adams Academy was ribbon-cut Aug. 1 as the first school to open in Sterling Ranch, giving the Douglas County development its first dedicated campus as homes, roads and neighborhood services continue to catch up with growth. The “liberty-based” classical charter school is opening in a community that has been adding residents fast enough to force bigger decisions about where children will go to class.

Sterling Ranch already had roughly 2,500 homes built as of early 2025, with plans for 12,050 homes over two decades. By late 2025, the development was also pledging 130 total acres for schools, including space for an 80-acre public middle and high school and almost 12 acres for a second school site.

John Adams Academy is entering that landscape as a tuition-free classical education school. The academy’s website says it is accepting applications for grades K-8 for the 2026-2027 school year, with available seats filled on a first-come, first-served basis. A John Adams Academy - Douglas County Facebook post said open enrollment ran from Nov. 1, 2025, through Jan. 11, 2026, with a lottery date to follow, and the school said it would begin with K-8 and expand to K-12.

Douglas County planning records show a Location and Extent request for a K-8 charter school at 7979 Butte Creek Street in Sterling Ranch. A John Adams Academy Douglas County Instagram post said the school received a 25-acre land gift in Sterling Ranch and that an official address would be announced once construction begins. That physical footprint, along with the opening celebration, marks a shift for a subdivision long known more for grading, framing and street layouts than for classroom bell schedules.

Earlier debate in the community centered on whether a charter school should count toward a 110-acre school land commitment, and NoJAA organized opposition to the project while saying it aimed to protect Sterling Ranch schools.