In 1941, as World War II loomed, things picked up for the military boys’ school. New barracks and a stable were added, the ROTC established a unit on campus, enrollment reached an all-time high of 136 students in grades 1-12, and many of the school’s officers and alumni proudly fought in the war. The end of the war was an invigorating time, highlighted by the 1945 Stock Show in which a whopping 48 Colorado Military School riders took home ribbons.

In 1947, the school purchased the land on which it resides today. The pastoral setting had been the former country estate of industry tycoon Jesse F. Welborn, president of Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. The relocated school opened on September 8, 1947 with just a few buildings purchased from its new neighbor, Fort Logan. Despite high hopes for the future, demand for a military education began to decline, and in 1951 Superintendent Lt. Col. A. Y. Hardy was forced to declare the school’s bankruptcy. By 1952, there were only seven graduates.

Help came in the form of F. Charles Froelicher, a young educator from the East who, upon arrival, said of CA’s physical condition, “It was worse than that of any other school in the United States.” When he assumed his post as head of school in 1955, there were 56 boys enrolled. By the end of that school year, there were 90.

The young headmaster’s first move was to restructure the school, changing it from a military academy to an independent, college preparatory, boarding school for boys. Accordingly, the name was changed to Colorado Academy. It was a year of tremendous change and revitalization, culminating in an unusual year-end celebration called Giant Relay Day. Life magazine came to campus to cover the unique event in 1959. More than 50 years later, the school year at CA is still concluded with Giant Relay Day.

It was a gradual rebuilding process; grades 10 and 11 were reintroduced in 1957 and a few years later, grade 12. Enrollment climbed to 162 by the end of the decade, and the school was growing its enrollment and gaining financial strength until a fire destroyed the Lower School in 1959. Six volunteer fire departments fought the blaze in sub-freezing temperatures that December, but they could not save the building.

Mr. Froelicher left another significant mark when he helped establish and became president of Colorado Outward Bound, an organization dedicated to outdoor adventure and skill building. That respect for and appreciation of the wilderness remains with CA today and is evidenced every year in the variety of challenging outdoor programs that take place in Middle and Upper schools.

The rest of the sixties reflected the turbulent conditions in the country at large. CA experienced another structural fire. This time flames consumed the Stevens House dormitory. Despite the setbacks, the school continued to grow. Lacrosse was launched; the football and soccer teams were on a roll, the Glee Club, with its roster of 90 boys, was touring the world. The library boasted 10,000 volumes, and the Knowles Upper School was dedicated. The keynote speaker that day was Dr. Milton Eisenhower, the president of Johns Hopkins University.

The next major metamorphosis in CA’s identity occurred in 1970 when the Board of Trustees voted to eliminate the boarding component of the school and turn CA into a coed college preparatory day school. Lifetime trustees Thomas Howard, Thomas Knowles, and Frances Newton paid off all remaining debt from the military school era, and another new beginning was at hand. In 1971, enrollment was at 486, with 113 girls—28 of them enrolled in the Upper School. By the middle of the decade, lacrosse and soccer teams were winning state championships, the private instrumental music program was started, and a fledgling computer club was launched, documented by archival notes that read, “The possibility of obtaining a Hewlett-Packard computer system is being considered by a special committee.”

In 1973 a young teacher named Chris Babbs was hired, and in 1975, after 20 years at the helm of CA, Chuck Froelicher announced his retirement. On January 21, 1976, Frank Wallace was installed as the new headmaster. There were more firsts: a new Middle School library, the first Grandparents Day, the debut of the parent-led auction, student trips to such exotic destinations as China and Alaska, the arrival of foreign exchange students on the CA campus, and a $300,000 bequest from the estate of Thomas Howard to establish the school’s first permanent endowment fund. The Colorado Children’s Chorale headquartered itself on CA’s campus and, in the creative spirit of the times, plays, concerts, guest lectures, and art festivals abounded. By the end of the decade, the student body was nearing 600. In 1979, there were 47 graduates.

The next decade began with more cultural and educational innovation: CA launched the Lower School Scottish Exchange Program, the school changed to a trimester system, computer workshops were offered for faculty, fourth graders visited their pen pals on a Navajo reservation, and master drawing classes, kite day and parenting seminars popped up on the school’s calendar. In 1983, Chris Babbs left CA to become the headmaster at the Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale, but not before leading the school’s five-girl track team to the State Championship. In 1988, the Coors Family Foundation made the largest gift to that date in CA’s history—$500,000 for the Howard House Middle School Science Wing. The Upper School drama production that year was One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and the women’s varsity lacrosse team won the State Championship for the fourth time in five years.

After 14 years of overseeing CA, skillfully guiding the school through times of explosive growth and change, Headmaster Frank Wallace stepped down. After a year’s stint by interim headmaster Richard Loveland, Chris Babbs was installed as the new head of school— fittingly, on homecoming day of 1991. There was much to celebrate at the beginning of the new decade, including CA’s designation by Yale University as a “School of the 21st Century.”

In 1992, alumnus Paul Wylie captured Olympic silver at the Winter Games in Albertville, France, joining his fellow CA alum Dorothy Hamill ’75, who had earlier won ice skating gold in Innsbruck. CA became the first independent school in the region to compete in the PANDA (Pan-African Nurturing and Development Association) games, taking home third place. Lower School students won the State Chess Championship, and an organized community service program began in the Upper School, and golf and tennis were introduced.

In 1996, when CA opened with a record enrollment of 730 students, the school began a campus beautification and modernization campaign that would last a decade. First to be built was Raether Library, so named because alum Paul Raether ’64 and his mother, Jane, gave one million dollars toward the new facility. The preschool and Froelicher Theatre were renovated and, soon after, the Gates Family Foundation Lower School Wing was built. Next came the major remodeling of Stevens Center for the Visual Arts, followed by the new Carolyn Smith Administrative Center. The facilities took a giant leap forward once again when CA parent Linda Chowdry donated $5 million in tribute to her late husband, Michael, to build the new Chowdry Middle School. Not long after came the Schotters Music Center, followed by the new dining hall and campus center, a gift of the Anderson, Fie, and Porterfield families.

Interspersed among all these construction projects were various renovations and expansions, including the Upper School and the transportation and operations facilities. Additionally, the campus grew by another 18.5 acres in 2004, when the Board of Trustees, with an eye toward the future, purchased the Frances Newton Ranch directly across Pierce Street, allowing for the construction of Slater Field. Soon after, the CA Tennis Courts were renovated, expanded and named to honor Jane Stuart “Stuie” Froelicher, the wife of Chuck Froelicher.

At the same time, applications to the school were skyrocketing, the Board committed itself to increasing diversity, the weekly All-School Assembly program—with its enfolded Senior-Kindergarten Buddy Program—was a cherished part of the week, and the Middle School Circus started traveling to other schools. In 1998, Horizons Summer Enrichment K-8 program—designed to help low-income at-risk children—came to campus. The fifth grade began annual trips to Crow Canyon near Mesa Verde, fine arts and athletic programs continued to expand—receiving honors on local, regional and national levels—a majority of CA high school seniors were getting into their first-choice colleges and, in 2005, CA graduated its largest class ever of 83 students. In 2006, as well as celebrating its centennial, CA became the recipient of a two-million dollar gift from the Malone Family Foundation to endow financial aid for top-level students. It is one of several programs CA employs to ensure the availability of a CA education for deserving and qualified students.

Dr. Davis made his mark early. In his first year, he successfully guided the school through challenging economic times, supervised the creation of a new mission statement, advanced the school’s “green” agenda, promoted a new, interactive website, and oversaw capital improvements. At the forefront of these changes was the addition of Chinese to the school’s language program, including a new World Language Laboratory. CA was also designated a SMART Showcase school, highlighting its regional leadership in technology. Early accomplishments also include the passage of a five-year Strategic Plan that focused on 21st-century learning and excellence and innovation in education, an overhaul of the school’s service learning efforts, continued expansion of CA’s Global Initiatives, the hiring of a Director of Experiential Education, work toward an enhanced mathematics program, expanded sustainability efforts, continued promotion of the school’s robust professional development program for faculty, and continued record-breaking years for parent support of the school’s Annual Campaign.