Lakewood · Licensed center
Colorado Kids Academy
- Small Reggio Emilia–inspired center, licensed for 30 children.
What the state has found
The state lists 3 visits below. Shortlist has not read the reports behind them, so there is no share of visits that cited something to set beside other providers yet.
State record — Colorado Department of Early Childhood
- Last visit
- January 27, 2026
- On file
- 3 visits since April 2024
- Fixed?
- The latest correction deadline was January 27, 2026. Colorado Department of Early Childhood does not publish whether it was made.
- Most serious
- Colorado Department of Early Childhood does not publish a severity level for a citation, so there is no most-serious to name.
Colorado’s Department of Early Childhood lists each program’s complaints on its Colorado Shines page, with the department’s verdict on each and a report behind it, going back about three years. Older complaints are released only on request. The department does not rank complaints by severity in either place.
Jan 2026 Supervisory visit 4 findings
Supervisory visit · January 27, 2026
2.120.C.1.a · Correction due January 27, 2026
Licensing Specialist reviewed 7 staff files and observed staff member #1 to be missing documentation of a completed TRAILS background check.
Required correction: All individuals requiring a background check must review Navigating the Background Check Investigation Unit's (BIU) Webpage powerpoint. Submit verification that staff member #1 has reviewed the powerpoint within 24 hours. Submit documentation of TRAILS for staff member #1 with written response to the Specialist. Correct by 1/27/26. Document compliance to Specialist by 2/3/26. Correct by 01/27/2026
Licensing Specialist reviewed 7 staff files and observed staff member #2 to have an expired FBI background check.
2.230.B · Correction due January 27, 2026
A hose sticking out of ground on the Sunny Playground that poses a potential tripping hazard.
Required correction: Indoor and outdoor equipment must be study and free of hazards. Correct by 1/27/26. Staff cut the hose and removed it from the playground. Corrected at the time of inspection. No response necessary. Correct by 01/27/2026
2.615.K · Correction due January 27, 2026
An unlocked lower drawer, accessible to children, in the Giraffe Room, to contain 2 hammers.
Required correction: Any hazardous items and materials including, but not limited to tools and medications must be inaccessible to children. Correct by 1/27/26. Staff moved the hammers to a lower, locked drawer while the Licensing Specialist was present. Corrected at the time of inspection. No response necessary. Correct by 01/27/2026
Mar 2025 Supervisory visit 4 findings
Supervisory visit · March 12, 2025
2.122.A · Correction due March 12, 2025
The center to be missing a current and compliant fire and health inspection.
Required correction: Obtain a current and compliant fire and health inspection. Correct by 3/12/25. Document compliance to Specialist by 3/19/25. Correct by 03/12/2025
2.230.C.3.c · Correction due March 12, 2025
A kayak within the use zone of a large tire mounted in the ground that is used as a climbing structure. The kayak was within one foot of the side of the tire climber.
Required correction: Preschool climbing equipment must have a six foot use zone surrounding the equipment. Correct by 3/12/25. Staff removed the kayak from the side of the tire climber creating a six foot use zone. Corrected at the time of inspection. No response necessary. Correct by 03/12/2025
2.230.B
On the Sunny Playground observed one bolt protruding over a quarter inch from a wooden fence and two nails protruding from the wooden block that the slide connects to. The bolt and the nails pose a potential safety hazard. Previoulsy cited on 4/30/24.
Required correction: All outdoor indoor and outdoor equipment must be kept safe and free of hazards. Correct by 3/12/25. Staff covered the protruding bolt with pipe insulator and duct tape and removed the nails from the wooden block on the slide.
2.121.D.5 · Correction due March 12, 2025
Reviewed 5 staff files and observed S.C. and A.G. to have an expired FBI background check.
Required correction: All individuals requiring a background check must review Navigating the Background Check Investigation Unit's (BIU) Webpage powerpoint. Submit verification that staff members S. C. and A.G. have reviewed the powerpoint within 24 hours. Submit documentation of FBI, for staff members S. C. and A.G. with written response to the Specialist. Correct by 3/12/25. Document compliance to Specialist by 3/19/25. Correct by 03/12/2025
Apr 2024 Supervisory visit 12 findings
Supervisory visit · April 30, 2024
2.127.C · Correction due April 30, 2024
No posting about where to file a complaint.
Required correction: At all times during the operating hours of a child care center, the facility must post in a prominent and conspicuous location information regarding the procedures for filing a complaint with the Colorado Department of Early Childhood. Correct by 4/30/24. Document compliance to Specialist by 5/30/24. Correct by 04/30/2024
2.213.G
Reviewed 5 staff files and observed S.C. and A.D. to have an expired child abuse prevention training.
2.209.A.7 · Correction due April 30, 2024
Reviewed 3 child files and observed one child to have an expired emergency medical authorization.
Required correction: Obtain current emergency medical authorization. Correct by 4/30/24. Document compliance to Specialist by 5/30/24. Correct by 04/30/2024
2.209.B.4 · Correction due May 30, 2024
Reviewed 3 child files and observed 2 children to have expired health statements. Observed 1 child to not have a health statement on file.
Required correction: Obtain current health statements. Correct by 5/30/24. Document compliance to Specialist by 5/30/24. Correct by 05/30/2024
2.213.B
Reviewed 5 staff files and observed J.K. and S.C. to have an expired Standard Precautions training.
Required correction: Obtain a current Standard Precautions training. Correct by 4/30/24. Document compliance to Specialist by
2.213.D · Correction due April 30, 2024
Reviewed 5 staff files and observed M.M. and A.D. to have expired shaken baby/abusive head trauma training.
Required correction: Obtain a current shaken baby/abusive head trauma training. Correct by 4/30/24. Document compliance to Specialist by 5/30/24. Correct by 04/30/2024
2.127.B · Correction due April 30, 2024
No posting of most recent licensing inspection report or no posting about where the report may be reviewed.
Required correction: At all times during the operating hours of a family child care home, child care center, school-age child care center, or children’s resident camp, the facility must post its most recent licensing inspection report or a notice as to where the report may be reviewed at the facility. Correct by 4/30/24. Document compliance to Specialist by 5/30/24. Correct by 04/30/2024
2.223.A.2
Staff members A. D. and S.A. could not provide an accurate count to the Licensing Specialist that matched written attendance verification.
Required correction: The time a child arrives and leaves the center each day must be recorded. Staff members must complete written attendance verification periodically throughout the day, including during transitions. Correct by 4/30/24. Document
2.230.B · Correction due April 30, 2024
Three nails at children's level protruding from the wooden wall that surrounds the slide on the big playground.
Required correction: All indoor and outdoor equipment must be safe and free of hazards. Correct by 4/30/24. Document compliance to Speicalist by 5/30/24. Correct by 04/30/2024
2.230.C.1.a · Correction due April 30, 2024
Less than 3 inches of resilient surfacing surrounding both large, in ground tires that are over 18 inches in height.
Required correction: All climbing equipment over 18 inches in height must have at least 6 inches of resilient surfacing in the use zone. Correct by 4/30/24. Document compliance to Specialist by 5/30/24. Correct by 04/30/2024
2.237.G · Correction due April 30, 2024
Five cardboard boxes next to the furnace and the hot water heater in a closet.
Required correction: Combustible materials must not be stored in hallways, stairways, boiler rooms, mechanical rooms, or electrical equipment rooms. Correct by 4/30/24. Staff removed the boxes from the closet. Corrected at the time of inspection. No response necessary. Correct by 04/30/2024
2.120.C.1.a
Reviewed 5 staff files and observed S.C. to have an expired TRAILS background check.
Where this record comes from
The Department of Early Childhood keeps about three years of complaints on a program’s public page. Anything older is released only on request, as a single file covering the whole state. Shortlist asked for that file under the Colorado Open Records Act and renews it yearly; it is what this page shows for complaints older than the department’s own window.
The file this page is built from arrived on October 10, 2026 and covers complaints the department publishes today, and complaints back to January 2023 obtained by records request. The next request goes in October 2027.
The department publishes a report for each of these visits. Shortlist has not read those reports yet, so this page shows when the state came and not what it found.
Ask for this program’s record now
The department will also review one program’s complete file on request, which is more than either source above contains. Leave your email and Shortlist will ask for Colorado Kids Academy’s file specifically, instead of waiting for the next one.
Shortlist replaces people’s names in the state’s text with initials. This is done by rule, not by hand, so it can miss a name or shorten a word that isn’t one. The state’s report, linked on each row, has the original.
Openings, child care subsidies, cost, hours and late pickup, ratios and staff, a typical day, and sick and biting policies aren’t on this page.
How they teach
Reggio Emilia–inspired, play-based and developmental
“Our approach is play based which can easily look and feel simple at first glance.”
Details
- Website
- cokidsacademy.com
- Address
- 10240 W 26th Ave
- License
- 1673838, active
- Quality program
- Colorado Shines Level 1
- Ages they serve
- 2.5 – 6 years old
Run Colorado Kids Academy? Correct or add anything here, free.
Add what is missingSources and dates
Where every fact on this page came from, and when Shortlist last checked it against that source. Anything Shortlist could not source is named here rather than left blank.
How they teach
- Approach — Checked July 2026 cokidsacademy.com
Details
- Website — Checked July 2026 cokidsacademy.com
- Address, License — Checked July 2026 data.colorado.gov
- Quality program — Checked April 2026 data.colorado.gov
- Ages they serve — Checked July 2026 cokidsacademy.com
Small means the smallest quarter of Denver-area’s 1,147 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 10 to 40 children. Medium is 41 to 114; large is 115 to 402.