Rocky Mountain School Of Expeditionary Learning

RMSEL’s approach is based on Expeditionary Learning, where students learn through extended, purposeful “learning expeditions” (in-depth projects organized around compelling topics and clear learning targets) rather than isolated, one-subject-at-a-time lessons. The school emphasizes developing students’ character as well as intellect, building a collaborative culture of respect and high expectations (“We are crew, not passengers”), often connecting learning to real-world fieldwork, community service, and ongoing reflection and revision.

RMSEL admissions are handled through an online lottery application (SchoolMint) linked from the RMSEL website; students are eligible if they reside in Aurora Public Schools (APS), Denver Public Schools (DPS), or Littleton Public Schools (LPS). (rmsel.org) For the 2026–2027 school year, the deadline to be included in the lottery was January 31, 2026 (midnight); applications submitted after that deadline are not in the lottery and instead go onto the waitlist in first-come, first-served order, and families must reapply each year. (rmsel.org) Lottery priority categories are (in order): children of staff, siblings of currently enrolled students (with continuous enrollment from October 1 of the previous year), children of RMSEL’s BOCES Directors, children of RMSEL alumni, general applicants, then out-of-district applicants only if there are no member-district applications for that grade. (rmsel.org) Applicants not offered a seat are automatically waitlisted; RMSEL contacts the next student as openings occur, and the waitlist runs until September 30 (after which RMSEL does not enroll new students) and does not carry over to the next year. (rmsel.org) Admission may be denied for reasons including not meeting age requirements, recent expulsion/serious safety-related behavior, not being a resident of a sponsoring district for the initial lottery, immunization noncompliance (unless a waiver is signed), or missing/false application documents; if a student has an IEP, RMSEL says a complete up-to-date IEP must be submitted and reviewed prior to enrollment to confirm services can be provided. (rmsel.org)