One of Douglas County’s more rapidly growing communities can officially prepare for its first public school.

County commissioners Tuesday approved Douglas County School District’s land conveyance request to build an elementary school in the Sterling Ranch community.

DCSD plans to open Sterling Ranch Elementary School in August 2027. School officials told The Denver Gazette the district plans to put shovels in the ground in January or February 2026.

The 12.51-acre school site is at the northeast corner of Georgetown Street and Blue River Avenue. The elementary school will accommodate students from pre-K to sixth grade.

In a letter from DCSD to county commissioners, officials said Sterling Ranch Elementary School “will accommodate ongoing enrollment growth in the Chatfield Urban Area” in northwest Douglas County.

“This is a school that’s needed,” Commissioner George Teal said of a school in Sterling Ranch. “Not just in one of the fastest growing communities in the county, but in the state of Colorado.”

Sterling Ranch is about 20 percent completed. With roughly 2,500 homes already built, the affluent community plans to build 12,050 homes over the next two decades. The community plans to expand to more than 33,000 residents on 3,500 acres of land.

In November, Douglas County voters greenlighted a $490 million bond measure to build two new elementary schools in Sterling Ranch and RidgeGate, which will require a combined $150 million in bond assistance.

The bond will also provide additional programming and existing building upgrades across DCSD.

“We are grateful for the voters’ support and look forward to initiating design and construction,” DCSD officials said.

Preliminary renderings for Sterling Ranch Elementary show it will feature three outdoor learning spaces, a playing field, an outdoor amphitheater and three playgrounds.

The Sterling Ranch site was earmarked for a future school back in 2015, when DCSD first mulled over the need for a school bond to build a new school.

“While it has been delayed gratification for ourselves and the members of the Sterling Ranch community, we are thrilled to be able to provide support to the Douglas County School District,” Brock Smethills, president of the Sterling Ranch Development Co., said in a statement.

“This much-needed school will provide a quality education to students in a safe and welcoming environment,” Smethills said. “Our community will certainly support the school, as well as its students, parents and educators as we build this incredible new school.”