Monday through Thursday, school hours for all students are from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. Recesses, lunch and P.E. are included in these hours. Fridays the schedule varies depending on the time of year and grade level. During most of the year, school hours on Fridays are 8:30 am to 12:30 pm. During winter, from January through the end of March, the Monarch Ski and Snowboard Program runs a longer day, from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm for the older students grades 4-12. For Holidays and other special schedule days, see calendar.

Charter schools are tuition-free, public schools that have the flexibility to be innovative, entrepreneurial, self-governing, and yet are held accountable for student and operational performance. ​ Charter schools are independent public schools with rigorous curriculum programs. Each charter school is different, thus offering parents a variety of choices so they can select the school that best fits their child's unique learning style. ​ In exchange for operational freedom and flexibility, charter schools are subject to higher levels of accountability. The Crestone Charter Schools is tuition-free and open to all students, and offers quality and choice in the Moffat Consolidated School District. ​ The "charter" establishing each such school is a contract detailing the school's mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. The "charter" contract is between the charter school and the entity granting the charter ("the authorizer"). The Moffat Consolidated School Distirct is the Crestone Charter School's authorizer. ​ In Colorado, charters are granted for a period of time, generally five years. At the end of the term, the authorizer may renew the school's contract. Charter schools are accountable to their authorizer, as well as to the students and families they serve, to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract. Charter schools must also follow state and federal public school laws. ​ Like traditional public schools, charters receive state funding based on a formula for each child enrolled in the school.

The foudners of the Crestone Charter School decided that a school lunch program is best handled in the home, where families can decide what is the best choice for their student. For this reason, we do not offer an in-school lunch program. We do offer a healthy snack program, that can help supplement a lunch from home. This program is supported by donation from the Crestone community and is always 100% organic and GMO free. Parent volunteers help plan and prepare these snacks on a weekly basis. If you are passionate about healthy eating, this could be a great volunteer opportunity for you.

No, CCS is a publicly funded free school. There may be some costs associated with special programs or trips, but we do our best to keep these costs to a minimum. By keeping our overhead low, utilizing parent and community volunteers and creatively fundraising, CCS can offer programming that is typically associated with private schools at affordable prices or even for free.

Yes! There is an after-school program every day and programs during Winter, Spring and Summer breaks. Students can participate in a variety of athletic programs, Wrestling, Basketball, Football, Track and Cross Country. There is a school band that also offers afterschool sessions and the opportunity to perform live around the community. Clubs can vary from to year to year, but Chess, DnD and a Dance club are all typical offerings.

The Mentorship Program is CCS's take on electives. Community members shareand teach their passions, skills and/or trade with the students. Programs like, soap making, sustainable building/agriculture, encaustics, computer programming, and silversmithing have all be offered. There is a consistent offering of a wide variety of music, art and culinary classes as well. All mentors are Federally background checked and work under the supervision of CCS staff.

Children are often the first communicators that something is not going well at school. If they have a complaint about a teacher or another students, they are likely to voice this concern to their parents. It is important that parents pay attention to what their children tell them; it is also important for parents to check out what the child has reported. The first best thing to do is talk to the child’s teacher to get another perspective on the event. Miscommunication and misunderstandings are easily come by in schools when many children are vying for a teacher’s time and attention. Sometimes in a high energy classroom a teacher may have misunderstood a child’s need; sometimes children have not understood what a teacher expected. Talking to the teacher is the most important thing that parents can do to resolve a problem or nip misunderstanding in the bud! It is a central feature in the school’s program that teachers are available to parents, and that classrooms are permeable to parent visits and observation. The goal is to have teachers and parents work as a team in the best interests of the child. The parents’ next recourse is to speak with the school’s Director. The Director will suggest a course of action, depending on the issue, but is always inclined to try to get the parents and teacher to communicate effectively, albeit with the Director’s help. Meetings may be set up at times convenient to all parties. The child may or may not be involved, depending on the issue. Every effort will be made to resolve the matter in a way that protects the child’s and teacher’s rights and integrity, preserves the appropriate functioning of the classroom, and provides a method for continuing communication between parents and teachers. The Director’s role in conflict resolutionis to help find a way that the child, the teacher and the parents come to a satisfying and effective resolution of the matter. If parents are still not satisfied with the outcome of these discussions, parents have recourse to the school’s Governing Council, composed of parents and community members. This is done through contacting one of the members of the Council to determine what appropriate steps should be taken.The Governing Council will always seek to have the concern resolved at the teacher or Director level. For students who are served under section 504, a formal complaint process has been established by the Moffat Board of Education which covers all complaints against District personnel and practices including compliance with the rules and agreements set forth under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This is Policy AC-R of the District Administrative Policy Manual. Under this policy, the Compliance Officer is the Superintendent of schools. All formal complaints should be filed with the Superintendent. Because enrollment at the Charter School is a choice made by parents and children, parents always have the option of withdrawing their child and seeking educational alternatives at other schools or through home school.