Polaris Expeditionary Learning School in Fort Collins

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	7/10	The Test Score Rating examines how students at this school performed on standardized tests compared with other schools in the state. The Test Rating was created using 2025 Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) data from Colorado Department of Education.
College Readiness	7/10	The College Readiness Rating uses this high school's graduation rates, college entrance exam participation and performance, or AP, IB, or Dual Enrollment participation to determine how well schools are preparing students for success in college and beyond. The College Readiness Rating was created using the following data from the 2021 Civil Rights Data Collection: percentage of students enrolled in IB, AP or Dual Enrollment classes in grades 9-12, using 2025 4-year high school graduation rate data from Colorado Department of Education, using 2025 Average SAT score data from Colorado Department of Education, and using 2025 demographic data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Posted: February 26, 2026

Polaris is a fantastic gem of a school. My two kids both attended Polaris. My daughter started in kindergarten and is now a junior and my son started in 5th grade and graduated 5 years ago. He has often said that college was easier than Polaris and that he felt extremely prepared. He graduated from Bard College with honors as a double major in political science and theatre and is now getting his masters in International relations at a school in Germany.

Polaris has taught both my kids to be motivated, self directed learners. They are confident and have great social skills that allow them to interact easily with adults. However, what I really value about Polaris is that it ensured that my kids would be good people. Polaris has a very welcoming and inclusive culture. I know a lot of kids come to Polaris to escape bullying and to feel comfortable being themselves. I sent my kids to Polaris so they wouldn't become bullies. My kids are largely traditional learners, confident, and socially strong. I could easily see them becoming mean kids. Polaris, and, in my son's case, schools similar to it back in New York, taught them the value of empathy and service.

The academics at Polaris are outstanding. The culture is even better.

Posted: February 26, 2026

Posted: February 23, 2026

My student was very disengaged in middle school, and going to Polaris for high school really turned things around. I love how the school helps the students take ownership of their own learning ("we are crew not passengers"). As a smaller school, you can't fall through the cracks. While there are not the vast variety of classes, we have appreciated the choices provided, and the choices within those. For example video games as literature, or a geography class focused on national parks that also included a graphics design component of creating posters about elements in the park. Or a class that had students making maps using Legos. The intensive weeks during the year provide a different kind of learning - fishing, creating a mural, costuming, catering, river rafting, etc. Some of these intensive programs build on additional work, such as the technical theater and after school theater program leading to an intensive where they put on a musical at the Lincoln Center theater. Or students learning about coral and then going to do a coral restoration project. The best thing about the school is the teachers. With rare exceptions, the teachers are engaging and my student has made strong connections. It's been awesome to see my child go from being "too sick" to go to school, to getting straight A's and being a leader.

Posted: February 23, 2026

Posted: February 12, 2024

Hello, I'm a current student in 8th grade at Polaris Expeditionary Learning, and I can say nothing but positive comments on how my experience was. When I first started at this school in 6th grade, it was a big change for my life in school, I had experienced bullying and never managed to fit in at my previous schools. Everything changed for me that first quarter, and I was delighted, I made friends who were so kind and accepting of me, you always expect at least one bully going into middle school, and yet, there were none. I was introduced to all kinds of things and experiences I never knew I could have, and I finally found out who I was, and what I was good at. Like my social skills. I used to be so shy and hard to have a conversation with, but enrolling in this school changed that, and I found out that I am great around people, I'm an excellent speaker, and people in the lower grades are not afraid to ask me for help when they need it. We have these things that are called 'Intensive Weeks', and wow. Why don't all schools have these?! I got to try so many new things. Intensive weeks allow students to try so many new things, they are an entire week of us doing an adventure led by a teacher. My first intensive week that I chose for was a ski trip. Around 18 kids got to go to a nice cabin and ski each day at Wolf Creek. It was a blast, and I know I will never forget that week of my life. Acceptance, adventure, friendship, learning, growing, finding who you are, that is what Polaris is about. Sadly, I will be leaving next year for High School at Poudre, but I will make sure to enjoy these last few months of Polaris. I really became who I wanted to, and I can't wait for High School, because I know how to do so much more than I would have if I want to any other middle school. Thank you, for taking your time to read this, tell you what, Polaris is worth it. Go PENGUINS!! <3

Posted: February 12, 2024

Posted: October 4, 2023

Polaris is the hidden gem of PSD schools. We feel so fortunate that my daughter has been able to be a part of this school for several years. The teachers are amazing and my daughter loves to go to school.

Posted: January 6, 2023

Polaris lives up to its name as a shining star in Fort Collins. We are so very grateful our children had and have the opportunity to be a crew member of such a well rounded place. The students are seen and celebrated there. Watch a graduation on you tube, and you will see what I mean. They get to use their strengths and voices to learn and question. They also get the opportunity to revise and rework the areas where they need to improve. The teachers are an incredible team who bring passion, real world experience, respect, creativity and high expectations of character and education to their classrooms.
As an ELS school, the students know how to go out into the world and find information, resources and experiences. This happens not only for the layered education leading up to intensive weeks, but on field work days and requirements for class work, papers and projects. I wish I could share the portfolios and presentations of learning of our now college students they built during their time at Polaris. They are proof they are ready for the world and have the personal, intellectual, and emotional skills they need to face new opportunities and challenges.
Having student athletes, two who continued on to compete in college and a current Polaris student/Poudre athlete, they gained so much from having those two different worlds (and both schools cooperated beautifully). One son said, I have my second family at Polaris made up of one of my best friends, artists, intellects, creatives and people of all kinds, and then I have a friend and social group through sports at Poudre. Polaris is small which is terrific for class size and teacher/student engagement. After 7 years there, our children have created friendships that are deep and will be life long. Through the crew program, they have been a part of a fabric of understanding, celebration and respect for people of all backgrounds, religions, identities, family structures, economic diversity, which in itself, is a tremendous education. The culture is one of respect, curiosity, determination, hard work, learning through experience, creativity, fun, mistakes and dedication. This creates truly wonderful humans.
Our two who are in college are thriving. They say they have all the skills, work ethic, confidence, love of learning and meeting new people both in and out of the classroom they need because of their teachers and Polaris. An education and experience at Polaris is a true gift.

Posted: January 6, 2023

Posted: August 1, 2022

The concept of Polaris is an exciting and very intriguing one. However, it has veered from being an expeditionary school for all kids, to exclusively supporting LGBT community. The greater part of the student body either identifies in this group or are strong allies. If you are neither, just a regular kid, you will not find a healthy place to land here. The principal himself uses a lot of great words to make you think he has the best intentions of all students but, if you let him talk long enough his bias is clear. As far as the expeditionary experiences, they are not available to the average student ether. They are reserved for the favored students (just as you will find at all other schools in the district). There is supposed to be a lottery type of system to get into them however teachers will openly tell students that if they sign up for their experience that they will get in. Yet others, who put forth great effort are not selected. It's a super cliquey, gossipy staff. The options for teachers are too slim for our comfort and the options for classes leave little variety for a broad High School Experience. I wish I could have the years back that we invested in the school as it turned my enthusiastic learner into a teen who wanted to drop out and lost their self-esteem. Polaris would benefit from leadership and faculty without bias.

Posted: August 1, 2022

Posted: January 23, 2020

These kids are confident and comfortable talking to adults, advocating for themselves and their friends. They can have intelligent conversations on a variety of topics. I teach college and most of my students cannot converse in class discussion nearly as effectively as my 16 year old son can. This school teaches kids to be community leaders not just memorize facts.

Posted: January 23, 2020

The principal and assistant principal know every student and every family. They support their teachers and they communicate effectively with families. Everybody feels valued at this school.

Posted: January 23, 2020

This school does not cherry pick top students to prop up their numbers. They take students with challenges and make them feel welcome and valued. There's no special ed. There are just counselors who support students when they need it but classes are integrated and nobody is singled out for being different.

Posted: January 23, 2020

Haven't encountered much bullying so I guess that is effective. Students feel comfortable telling faculty and staff if they see a problem and have the personal resources to tell their peers when they think they are behaving badly.

Posted: January 23, 2020

I think this school is phenomenal and the numbers don't do it justice. They do well on tests because they have a wholistic approach to learning that makes the kids better, smarter people. It's not an accident of being in a low performing state or district. This is not a low performing district. This is however partially a rural district and not all kids plan on attending college. This school respects students choices and strives to make them the best people they can be while being the kind of people they want to be, rather than trying o cram them into a mold.

Posted: January 23, 2020

The teachers at this school are creative and passionate and really care about every student. They are skilled at differentiated instruction so every student gets individual attention. They also have some very impressive credentials. Some have PHDs. Others have years fo field experience in the subjects they now teach.

Posted: July 29, 2018

I am currently a high school student at Polaris and have loved it so far. The teachers are amazing and the students are kind to eachother.

Posted: July 29, 2018

Posted: November 28, 2017

I have two children at this school, and their experience has been extremely positive. The K-12 environment is rich with a genuine focus on deeper learning. Both of my kids regularly have opportunities to apply and broaden their skills in the real world, through field work. For example, while learning about the concept of community, my daughter's class took the city bus to a meeting with the mayor. My son's class, exploring different topics in writing, visited local spots for inspiration, including the library and a community garden. The atmosphere in the school is warm and welcoming, run by a team of administrators and teachers who embrace best practices in education. They encourage my kids to take ownership of their learning and focus on balanced growth, from academics to emotional intelligence. I feel fortunate for this school in our community.

Posted: November 28, 2017

Posted: March 3, 2017

I really wanted to like this school but it's just like any other school. It's trying really hard to say it's different. It's not. There are teachers here who only care about themselves and their image. If you see through this and you don't kiss butt, they will dislike you and punish you with lower grades and zero encouragement. Some will even demean you and your work in front of other students just to prove they have some kind of power.

The school says there is no bullying here. Did I mention teachers use grades and lack of encouragement to bully? There is also rampant bullying among students. I've seen students gang up and walk up to someone and say "We hate you. Why don't you kill yourself" and laugh and walk away. Ironically these bullies are the students winning all the awards and getting all the praise from the teachers who only care about image.

So what the school really teaches is, bow down to "authority" and don't think for yourself or you'll get punished. If you want to thrive this isn't the school for you despite all the trying it's doing to convince everyone it's "cool".

Posted: September 7, 2016

I attended Polaris for nearly six years and graduated recently. In theory, Expeditionary Learning was a great idea. However, it's not always well implemented at this school. There are some great intensive opportunities, but outside of those few weeks a year, EL isn't particularly present in the classrooms. When it is done, it can feel a bit forced and occasionally distracts from the learning rather than adding to it.

The biggest redeeming factor for Polaris is its staff- the vast majority of teachers are wonderful and dedicated. However, because it's such a small school, one or two bad teachers can drag down quality of education for everyone. In particular, Polaris has a focus on qualitative measures of growth rather than test scores and homework. In theory this sounds great, but in practice, it made the grading system absolutely ridiculous and arbitrary. My family struggled with a couple teachers and their grading methods- we raised some issues to the principal, who was incredibly helpful and insightful, but there wasn't much change.

Additionally, the behavior standards are questionable. Most of the students are great, but I felt that a few poorly behaved kids took all of the teachers' attention and really hurt the quality of the classroom culture. Polaris doesn't separate students into advanced or remedial classes. It's great because all types of kids can learn together. As a result, the test scores have really been improving recently. However, I feel that a lot of the success in this model comes at the expense of the gifted students. The teachers definitely try to challenge GT students, but it really isn't happening consistently.

The most helpful learning opportunity for me was the chance to take classes at the local community college. Overall, a lot of kids at Polaris are there because they found a great community and niche, myself included. However, this school can do better with its consistency of education and staff accountability.

Posted: September 7, 2016

There were some wonderful teachers.
Unfortunately, one or two bad ones can ruin the educational quality for everyone because its such a small school.

Posted: September 7, 2016

I was told that homework was limited so kids could develop hobbies, jobs, and social lives outside of school. This didn't work for two reasons.
First of all, I was not prepared for college at all. There was an entire time management skill set I never leaned in high school. Homework is a necessary part of life and education, and Polaris made it feel almost optional.

Additionally, as a past student, I can personally attest to the fact that every single student took the no homework model for granted. The staff thought that students would use the homework free time to go become skilled and active community members, but everyone pretty much used it to socialize or go home and do nothing.

Posted: September 7, 2016

Posted: June 24, 2016

My experience with Polaris has been nothing but positive and I can't say enough positive things about the staff and students there. Students seem, for the most part, to be enthusiastic learners and teachers consistently strive to challenge students by helping them learn how to think rather than what to think. Also note that their composite ACT scores have improved markedly over the 9 years that they've been around from 17.7 to 22.5.

Posted: June 24, 2016

Posted: February 14, 2015

This year I am a freshmen at Polaris. Though this is my first year (I recently switched over from a much more traditional school), I know I have certainly found my place. It's incredibly close-knit which I think is a benefit of the small size. I enjoy learning by doing and discussion rather than lectures and textbooks. I have found that Polaris is definitely the best place for experiential learning. It's also an amazingly open-minded place. You can be yourself and nobody could care less if you have piercings and purple hair or are gay or button your shirts to the top and go to church every day. Teachers are always there for you, always there to help you one-on-one with schoolwork or even personal problems. It is very laid back and students have a lot of freedom. I'm sure lots of people might disagree with this and think that "hey, these kids are much too young to have that much choice" but the truth is that you won't be prepared for college or the so called "real world" unless you learn how not to abuse freedom. The school is fairly casual and puts very little stress on standardized testing and homework. It provides lots of opportunities to find yourself. I love this school.

Posted: November 12, 2014

If you were to go to CDE's webpage and look at each school's "report card" (School Performance Framework), you'll notice that Polaris in 2014 became the highest ranked school out of all the public schools within the district. This is a testament to the staff. They don't filter kids into AP/remedial courses, they have about 20 fewer days in class to get these results due to their Intensive Weeks and Fieldwork days, they don't inundate my child with homework, and they only use textbooks in math and foreign language. Kids to digital portfolios and preset them to panels at the end of 8th, 10th, and 12th grade. True 21st century learning in my eyes.

Posted: August 1, 2013

As a several-year student of Polaris, I believe it is a school which provides incredible opportunities for students. Coming from another, more traditional high school in Fort Collins, I found my voice was not heard and I was more of a statistic than a member of the community. At Polaris, all the wonderful teachers are supportive and push you as you need. I feel at Polaris, students must foster their own motivation however, because of the system. Although we do not have an AP, or IB program, the classes are engaging and I have learned much more than my time at other schools. With the hands-on, small classroom community, we can have discussions and learn how to critically think. With any criticism towards this school, I would say that the individual may not have flourished because of their lack of effort. The best way to have a rewarding learning experience here is to value your own education, which I have found easy here.

Posted: June 12, 2013

This school cultivates a culture of mediocrity, starting with the principal and going down through the ranks all the way to the students. The student population they attract are largely those who are unable to be successful in a "traditional" school atmosphere. Many people send their children there because they think Polaris provides more opportunities for individual attention, flexibility, and creativity. However, they in reality seem to cater to and encourage not much more than an anti-establishment mentality that in fact stunts the development of a good number of their students who otherwise have potential. Overall, there is an anti-intellectual culture -- among both staff and parents -- that is resentful of students who strive to achieve academically. Parents who take an active interest in their child's education are treated with suspicion and even disdain. In sum, this school is a great fit for students who do not have especially high academic aspirations, but anyone who is academically motivated should steer clear.

Posted: July 16, 2012

This is an incredible school! Motivated, kind teachers and staff- individual attention, understanding of each child's potential. This is not a school for slackers- learning skills for the 21st century- hands on - I highly suggest you take a tour of the school, meet the principal and teachers. All are the most highly comitted people I have ever met. Kids are active, group oriented, and very interesting people! We love this school.

Posted: July 15, 2012

Excellent teaching, hands-on learning and character building expeditions that take kids out into the real world. Rigorous academic standards. My kids love it so much they wish it went through college!

Posted: January 19, 2011

This is a great school for the more artsy, creative, sensitive students. The class sizes are small, very involved, caring environment. They are very understanding of flaky kid behavior. The academics are not overwhelming and adequate to the goal of the kids developing an understanding themselves and being able to do well at college or work. Not rigorous, but basically solid. The kids genuinely seem to care about each other, bullying is nonexistant. Lots of opportunities to travel. Loosely based on the Expeditionary Model. The principal is exceptional.

Polaris Expeditionary Learning School

Fort Collins, CO 80521

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Polaris Expeditionary Learning School

Fort Collins, CO 80521

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