When You Dream

The beautiful development of Flying Horse Ranch located on the north end of Colorado Springs is home to a new District 20 grades K-12 school called “Discovery Canyon” at 1810 North Gate Blvd.  It is situated on 84 acres south and east of North Gate Rd.  The Discovery Canyon campus provides a safe secluded setting that integrates all grade levels K-12 in a forward-thinking, content rich study program.  With an amphitheater and special areas in which to display student work, Discovery Canyon is as much a community as it is a place of learning.  Its unique location is perfect for environmental studies and plays favorably with the school’s choice theme of science and mathematics with space and aviation science integration.

The mission of Discovery Canyon is to educate and inspire all students to achieve social, emotional and academic success through a comprehensive inquiry-based curriculum with real-life global applications taught in a purposefully designed environment.  The curriculum and co/extra-curricular programs are designed to provide a wide range and variety of experiences to engage students learning opportunities.  Needs-based offerings featuring experiential learning problem-based curriculum opportunities and self-directed learning investigations will complement traditional curriculums.  Students attending Discovery Canyon will have multiple opportunities to assume stewardship responsibilities for the land, wildlife and campus environment.  

The educational benefits of Discovery Canyon include the following:

• Enhanced communication among students and as a result of proximity of programs and facilities.
• Many facilities are shared by multiple grade levels for peer-mentoring and tutoring programs.
• International Baccalaureate (IB) instructional methodologies and strategies used by all staff.
• All staff trained on inquiry-based instruction.
• All students receive the benefits of the IB instruction.  Students choosing to qualify for the IB diploma (DP) will have additional requirements.
• Multiple world languages available throughout the campus.  French and Spanish are both offered as world languages.

As a convenience for parents and patrons, the Discovery Canyon campus includes a unique feature of centralized campus services.  These services include attendance, health center and counseling, which are located in an area convenient to all students, staff and parents.  

Student capacity is set at 600 for elementary, 1,000 for middle school and 1,200 for high school.  Grade 12 opens August 2011.  Enrollment is open to residents of Flying Horse Ranch as well as a few surrounding communities, making it a highly desirable benefit among many for families looking to relocate to the Flying Horse Ranch community.  

As schools go, the Discovery Canyon campus is clearly in a class all its own.  Featuring seamless curricula for grades K-12, the campus is a bold new direction in contemporary education – one that allows multiple schools to share common grounds in pursuit of uncommon academic goals.  The difference is more than academic.  For more information, the Discovery Canyon campus can be reached at 719-234-1800 or District 20 at 719-234-1200.

This Blog written by Dean Skinner Flying Horse Community Specialist  

Tax Credits are Now Available for Saddletree and Symphony Homebuyers

With the anticipated extension of the successful first time home buyer tax credit program, Congress gave an unexpected gift to existing homeowners. Now existing homeowners that have owned a personal residence for 5 consecutive years out of the past 8 years, are eligible for a tax credit of up to $6,500.00 on homes valued up to $800,000. And this is a tax credit and not just a deduction, meaning that even if you do not owe any federal income tax you would be eligible for a refund of the $6,500.00. Better yet, some loan programs allow you to “monetize” this tax credit to be used as a type of cash in your purchase transaction.

The tax credit can also be earned buy customers who currently own their own lot and enter into a contract to build a home prior to April 30^th, 2010 and obtain a certificate of occupancy by June, 30^th 2010. This option will require quick work to complete a home by that June 30^th, 2010 deadline.

Some of the rules to this program are that your maximum income is limited to $125,000 for single filers and $225,000 for joint filers, although partial credits are available for income levels up to $145,000 and $245,000 respectively. Contracts have to be written by April 30^th, 2010 and closed by June 30^th, 2010 but extensions may be available to active duty military who were deployed for a period greater than 90 days in either 2008 or 2009. The credit is limited to 10% of the purchase price.

Although there is reporting requirements to the IRS to obtain this credit, the paper work is fairly simple using documents that you will receive at closing.

The first time homebuyer credit of up to $8000.00 applies to buyers who have not owned a personal residence within the last 3 years. All of the timing and income requirements are the same as for the existing homebuyer credit.

These credit appear to be a once in a lifetime gift from the federal government and should not be overlooked. Contact a Saddletree community specialist to see how these credits can benefit you.