2021 Education Guide

A comprehensive overview of education in the Pikes Peak region

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Welcome to the 2021 Education Guide Choosing the right school is one of the most important decisions a parent or prospective student can make, which is why we are honored to bring you this 2021 Education Guide covering the Pikes Peak region and beyond.

Listing nearly 300 schools and higher education options, this year’s guide covers everything from school choice to charter schools to homeschooling. In the midst of the coronavirus era, we also examine how teachers and students are coping, recap lessons learned amid COVID-19 and explore what education might look like post-pandemic.

Informational Events:

Jan. 9 & 14 Feb. 6 & 18 • Mar. 3 & 17 • Apr. 9 & 21, May 7 & 19 5:00-6:00 p.m.

RSVP to infonight@cscharter.org

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NOW ACCEPTING APPLICANTS Accepting Applications NOW ACCEPTING ACCEPTING For the 2020-2021 School YearNOW InformationalFOR Events: THE 2021–2022 SCHOOL YEAR and curriculum APPLICANTS NOW APPLICANTS ACCEPTING VP to infonight@cscharter.org Jan. 9 &For 14 KINDERGARTEN Informational Events: –Year 8TH GRADE Synchronous classes with the 2020-2021 School 5:00-6:00 p.m.

9 & 914&KINDERGARTEN Feb.and 6 &online 18 • Mar. 3 & 17Jan. • Apr. 21, May 7 & 19– 8 GRADE – 8 TH GRADE in-person learners APPLICANTS RSVP to infonight@cscharter.org KINDERGARTEN VISIT CSCHARTER.ORG OR CALL Feb. 6 & 18 • Mar. 3 & 17 • Apr. 9VISIT & 21, May 7 & 19 CSCHARTER.ORG OR CALL For the 2020-2021 School Year Teacher and teacher’s aide5:00-6:00 in p.m. 719-636-2722 OR CALL For the 2020-2021 School Year WITH QUESTIONS 5:00-6:00 VISIT p.m. CSCHARTER.ORG every K-6 classroom 719-636-2722 WITH QUESTIONS EST. 2005

Informational Events:

We 9kindle Jan. & 14 enthusiasm to craft bold and effective citizen-scholars.

18 • Mar. 3 & 17 • Apr. 9 & 21, May 7 & 19 Informational Events: Rigorous academic standards 5:00-6:00 p.m Jan. 9 &. 14 Feb. 6 & 18 • Mar. 3 & 17 • Apr. 9 & 21, May 7 & 19

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719-636-2722 WITH QUESTIONS RSVP to infonight@cscharter.org

RSVP to infonight@cscharter.org Foreign language instruction No Common Core

Focus on character Sports, choir and band COLORADO SPRINGS Hybrid whole school remote CHARTER ACADEMY learning EST. 2005 Fun, year-round family events

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VISIT CSCHARTER.ORG OR CALLOR CALL VISIT CSCHARTER.ORG APPLY TODAY

719-636-2722 WITH QUESTIONS 719-636-2722 WITH•QUESTIONS Colorado Springs Charter719-636-2722 Academy 2577 N. Chelton Road | CSCHARTER.ORG Colorado Springs Charter Academy does not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, national origin, sex or other protected classifications in enrollment or admissions.

Colorado Springs Charter Academy 2577 N. Chelton Road Colorado Springs, CO 80909

Colorado Springs Charter Academy’s chosen curriculum exceeds the Common Core content standards.

Colorado Springs Charter Academy opposes assessments and content standards that have little or no input at the state or local level and impinge upon the innovative solutions provided by charter schools and local school districts.

COLORADO SPRINGS – 8TH GRADE KINDERGARTEN CHARTER ACADEMY

THE GAZETTE SPOTLIGHT

// FREE PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS

Free public charter schools

cater to varied interests, abilities

Debbie Kelley, The Gazette

Charter schools have popped up in malls, vacant manufacturing plants, former banks and other nontraditional places.

But the free public schools, which are funded by tax dollars and usually look and feel a little different from what students are used to, are just as legitimate as the longtime neighborhood school.

2021 EDUCATION Even though students may be required to wear school uniforms, learn cursive writing, follow a character development plan, play an instrument, develop a business, or volunteer in the community, for example, it’s still school, but better, many say.

Tisha Harris decided to send her children to The Classical Academy in Academy School District 20 because the school is known for having sound academics and "the fact they touted small class sizes, which in turn gave the teacher more attention for each student." Twenty-eight years after the first charters opened in Colorado, they’re more popular than ever, statistics show.

They’ve become desirable because there’s something for everyone, said Amanda Oberg, spokeswoman for the Colorado Charter School Institute.

With leniency allowed in governance, curriculum and operations, charter schools use educational models such as classical education, Core Knowledge curriculum, project-based learning, language immersion, the Montessori technique, alternative education with adjustable schedules, early college programs, a focus on the arts, technical trades or technology, and other options.

Schools have autonomy from school districts, including on scheduling when school is in session, but are still held accountable by districts and the state and must meet benchmarks, said Harris, who's the spokeswoman for The Classical Academy.

Such choices have “provided a lot of flexibility and expanded the different types of models available in a community,” said Bill Kottenstette, director of

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(cont. from page 5)

school choice for the Colorado Department of Education. While public school enrollment decreased statewide by 3.3% this school year over last, charter schools collectively showed a slight increase, he said.

Charter schools that began offering or already had online learning drove the growth, he said, which was likely influenced by the coronavirus pandemic forcing remote learning. Also, charter schools that provided in-person learning in the fall saw enrollment increases, he said.

Charter schools can be authorized to operate either by the public school district in which their building is located or by the Colorado Charter School Institute, which has 42 schools under its umbrella statewide, including 10 in El Paso County.

The schools collectively posted a 12% enrollment increase in the fall of 2020 over 2019, for a total of 20,749 students.

New charter schools opening, existing schools expanding grade levels and new programs, such as homeschool enrichment to help families that have decided to homeschool their children, contributed to the jump, Oberg said.

Two Colorado Springs schools under the Institute, Thomas MacLaren School and James Irwin Charter Academy, are among nine recently accredited with a “Performance with Distinction” rating. That places the schools in the top 25% of public schools in the state, as per reportable academic data.

Two in Colorado Springs, Mountain Song CommunitySchool and Colorado International Language Academy, recently had their contracts renewed.

And the Colorado Springs campus of Colorado Early Colleges will expand to add middle school students beginning in the fall. The school has operated a high school that promotes dual enrollment — students earn college degrees or certificates while in high school.

Colorado Military Academy, the state’s only prep program for younger students, added to its campus in the fall Orton Academy, which caters to students in grades 3-6 who struggle with reading because of dyslexia. Future plans include opening classes to kindergarten through eighth grade students.

Some charter schools that have contracts with local school districts also have grown.

Atlas Preparatory School in Harrison D-2, where 90% of students are Hispanic or Black, opened a $13.5 million elementary school and gymnasium with donations and grants last year to better prepare students to enter Atlas Middle School, officials said.

Eighty percent of fifth graders enter below the national average in math and 77% were below in reading. The school says its teaching can help kids catch up in two years. Monument Academy in Lewis-Palmer School District 38 added a new 60,000-square-foot high school last semester to its offerings of preschool through middle school.

Liberty Tree Academy, which opened in D-49 in 2018 in a temporary facility for grades K-8, has built a permanent school for high school students and will open a second phase with 11 new classrooms in the fall. The school is affiliated with Hillsdale College for training in its "traditional American education."

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The Classical Academy, the state’s largest brick-and-mortar charter school with 3,700 students on seven campuses, is so in demand, it already has a wait-list of 4,800 students for fall enrollment for grades K-12, Harris said. But the list is “very fluid,” she said, and deceptive, since many students will get a seat, particularly the lower grades. “Just because there are a lot of names, doesn’t mean you won’t receive an offer,” Harris said.

THE GAZETTE SPOTLIGHT

// COVID SHINES LIGHT

2021 EDUCATION

In Colorado Springs and across the globe

COVID shines light on existing educational inequities, creates new ones Erin Prater, The Gazette

COVID has left an indelible mark on the world of education, shining a light on preexisting inequities and worsening them all the while, and creating new gaps and issues for which there's no quick fix or vaccine.

Education in the Pikes Peak region was already shifting ahead of the introduction of the 2019 novel coronavirus to the state early last year.

Academy District 20 had just overtaken Colorado Springs District 11 as the largest in the region. Final 2020-2021 enrollment numbers, released by the state education department in January, showed that Academy maintained its status as the area's largest district, with Falcon overtaking District 11 as No. 2, by just under 100 students.

District 11 believes it mirrors the state in that its "largest grade drop was at the kindergarten level," said Devra Ashby, district spokeswoman, in December.

The district is down nearly 850 kindergarten enrollments.

Before the pandemic the district was "moving in a whole new direction with a new strategic plan, new equity policy and equity team, a new facilities master plan, and a new academic master plan, adding a whole menu of choice options for families," she said. "Although D-11 has been declining for a while now, with these new efforts we managed to slow the projected loss a year and a half ago by 300 students, which is a positive sign."

This year, "we do believe many families chose to homeschool, not knowing the uncertainty this school year would provide," she said.

Falcon experienced a gain in students — 94 — in a year during which all other Pikes Peak region schools (save Hanover District 28, which gained five students) and schools across the state saw enrollment drop.

Falcon's preliminary enrollment figure, released in December, "affirms current projections of population growth, keeping our district on our pace of being one of the most rapidly growing districts in the state of Colorado," Falcon's Brett Ridgway, chief business officer for the district, told The Gazette in December. The district had already known that "continued growth will, inevitably, make District 49 the largest district in the region," he added.

This school year Colorado public schools experienced the first decrease in year-to-year enrollment since 1988.

That drop was fueled by the pandemic, state education officials said.

Enrollment this fall was down 3.3% over the previous year statewide, with more than 30,000 fewer students enrolled in preschool through 12th grade.

Preschool experienced a 23% drop, and kindergarten experienced a 9% drop, officials said. Grades 1 through 5 experienced a cumulative 4% drop in enrollment.

The number of homeschool students doubled this year, to 15,773. The number of students enrolled in online programs increased by 434% over last year, they said.

Douglas County, Jefferson County, Denver Public Schools, Aurora Public Schools and Colorado Springs' District 11 experienced the largest drop in students from last year, with Douglas County losing the most — 4,326 — and District 11 losing the fifth most — 2,155.

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2021 EDUCATION

THE GAZETTE SPOTLIGHT

// COVID SHINES LIGHT

(cont. from page 7)

Superintendent Walt Cooper said his district is in the process of "determining what additional instruction/interventions look like for summer school, and also during next school year, when we anticipate all students to be back full time under normal, or near normal, conditions."

The district is up 288 homeschool enrollments this year.

The Pikes Peak region's loss of thousands of students will lead to a loss of millions of dollars in funding. District 11 expects to take a $3.4 million hit, Ashby said in December, but will not have to adjust its budget "due to salary and benefit savings from positions not hired due to pandemic, decreased enrollment or hard-to-fill positions."

Academy District 20 saw the second-steepest decline in the region, losing nearly 900 students — equating to a financial loss of roughly $3.8 million, spokeswoman Allison Cortez said in December. The district has a "healthy reserve" to cover losses and is "committed to keeping any needed budgetary reductions as far away from our classrooms as possible," she said.

Widefield School District 3 took the third largest hit in the region, with a loss of 500 students. The financial impact is "in excess of $1.5 million," district spokeswoman Samantha Briggs said in December.

Other Pikes Peak region school districts saw a decline of anywhere from 15 to 341 students.

Walt Cooper Cheyenne Mountain School District Superintendent (Photo courtesy of Cheyenne Mountain School District)

Where do schools go from here? Plans include boosting enrollment, eliminating inequities exacerbated by the pandemic and bridging educational gaps that existed before the pandemic, as well as ones that occurred due to it.

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And, some say, there are more immediate concerns, such as first ensuring children are stable socially and emotionally, and helping high school seniors who may not be on track to graduate this spring due to difficulty adapting to online learning.

Cheyenne Mountain District 12 Superintendent Walt Cooper said his district is in the process of "determining what additional instruction/ interventions look like for summer school, and also during next school year, when we anticipate all students to be back full time under normal, or near normal, conditions."

Ashby said District 11 is "planning to hold extended education after our traditional school year ends in May." And Widefield District 3 is planning "several unique summer opportunities," spokeswoman Samantha Briggs said.

The districts were looking toward federal funds to cover the costs.

Manitou District 14, too, is examining "credit recovery and summer learning opportunities," Superintendent Elizabeth Domangue said.

And Academy is "working on possible after school learning opportunities, as well as summer options" to help students catch up, Cortez said.

Local districts have opened their choice enrollment windows, hoping to boost their rosters, and funding along with it.

But there's a larger concern, Cortez said. “While the percentage of students lost this year is shocking, the more pressing concern is ensuring these students are not lost forever, that their educational journey has only taken a temporary detour and we can get them back on track," she said in December.

“We know this is a unique year and families needed to do what was best for them. But, we must now connect with these families and students and encourage them to reengage and reenroll. Our schools are a safe place, and the education of Colorado’s students cannot be a causality of this pandemic.”

THE GAZETTE SPOTLIGHT

// COVID SHINES LIGHT

2021 EDUCATION

Volunteer Sarah Wittasek helps with sorting and stuffing 10,000 backpacks full of donated school supplies in preparation for the Backpack Bash event, to equip El Paso County students who are in need of supplies, in Colorado Springs on Tuesday, July 28, 2020.

JANUARY 31, 2021

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2021 EDUCATION

School Choice STILL GOING

STRONG despite pandemic Debbie Kelley, The Gazette

It seems like every aspect of education has been altered by the coronavirus pandemic, but the ability for families to choose where students will attend school isn’t one of them.

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THE GAZETTE SPOTLIGHT

// SCHOOL CHOICE STILL GOING STRONG IN COLORADO

“The choice system is still working,” said Bill Kottenstette, director of school choice for the Colorado Department of Education. “Parents still have broad choice in schooling for their kids in Colorado — COVID did not affect that.” Though when life will return to “normal” is still unknown, parents and students are being asked to make decisions for the fall. This is traditionally the “choice window,” when student may apply to other schools beyond their neighborhood for the coming academic year. But the process is ongoing.

“It calls the community’s attention to now’s the time to select your school — although we still accept applications through the rest of the spring,” said David Engstrom, deputy superintendent of achievement, learning and leadership for Colorado Springs School District 11.

Colorado became an early adopter of allowing students to choose where they go to school, when in the fall of 1993, the state’s first two charter schools opened.

“Colorado has been on the leading edge of choice policy,” Kottenstette said.

“Our policy framework is very supportive of choice.”

JANUARY 31, 2021

The concept has intensified competition, Engstrom said.

“It’s here to stay in Colorado,” he said. “It’s part of the way public education is going to be.”

The choices continue to expand with not only religious and private schools but also charter schools, magnet schools, online schools and homeschooling. “It’s helped schools really identify their focus and commitment to parents on what to expect,” Kottenstette said. In response to community surveys, Colorado Springs D-11 is adding more choices to its repertoire, Engstrom said. D-11 will debut a new traditional online school, likely for kindergarten through eighth graders, in the fall, since many parents want to keep their children at home, he said.

Also, a Spanish-language immersion program will start at a D-11 elementary school, with students learning half the time in English and half in Spanish. More magnet schools are on the way in D-11 in coming years, Engstrom said. Magnet schools follow a certain instructional theme in all grade levels, don’t limit students by geographical boundaries and provide transportation for students.

THE GAZETTE SPOTLIGHT

// SCHOOL CHOICE STILL GOING STRONG IN COLORADO

Concentrations will include visual and performing arts, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), and career and technical education.

The areas were selected after polling students and parents, Engstrom said.

“People want choice, and it’s our way of responding to meet the interests of the community,” he said.

COVID-19 has led more parents to realize they have options in education, said Deborah Hendrix of Parents Challenge, a nonprofit organization in Colorado Springs that awards grants to about 240 students each year from low-income households to attend schools of their choice.

The grants pay for tuition, uniforms, school supplies, sports equipment, tutoring and other educational expenses. When schools closed last March, switched to remote learning, and created hybrid forms of learning at home and at school,

“parents had to look for options,” Hendrix said, “because their kids still needed to be educated.”

Many families made conscious decisions to homeschool their children or enroll in dedicated online programs, she said. Pods emerged in some neighborhoods, where parents took turns having their children do remote learning in their homes so other parents could work. “Certain types of education may not be working for some students,” Hendrix said, “but that doesn’t make it wrong.

It just makes it not in that child’s best interest.”

Many schools aren’t allowing outside visitors so schools are doing virtual tours, online briefings or phone conversations with prospective new families. At some point, it’s important to do a face-to-face interaction with school leaders, Hendrix said, to determine whether the school is the best fit for a child.

“The choice is what’s best for your family,” she said.

2021 EDUCATION Education experts see schools shifting their models to incorporate online learning and adapting to what students and parents need.

“District schools are going to have to offer a segment of e-learning for families who have embraced this as their choice,” Hendrix said.

The concept of cohorts, small groups of students that stick together during the day, which many schools are using during the pandemic, also could be here to stay, she believes, because “it maximizes that time students are engaged.”

The traditional school calendar also could be in flux, with more schools considering offering robust summer programs and perhaps year-round instruction.

“As more businesses continue to let employees work from home, there’s going to be a lot of conversation around how to support that and other changes,” Hendrix said.

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2021 EDUCATION

ACADEMY DIST. 20

234-1200, asd20.org Academy Calvert K-8 Online Academy Academy International Elementary Academy Online Air Academy High School Antelope Trails Elementary School Aspen Valley Campus Briargate Preschool Challenger Middle School Chinook Trail Elementary School Chinook Trail Middle School Discovery Canyon Campus Elem. School Discovery Canyon Campus High School Discovery Canyon Campus Middle School Douglass Valley Elementary School Eagleview Middle School Edith Wolford Elementary School Encompass Heights Elementary School Explorer Elementary School Foothills Elementary School Frontier Elementary School High Plains Elementary School Home School Academy (Elementary, Middle and High Schools) Journey K8 (Elementary and Middle Schools) Legacy Peak Elementary School Liberty High School Mountain Ridge Middle School Mountain View Elementary School New Summit Charter Academy Elementary School Pine Creek High School Pioneer Elementary School Prairie Hills Elementary School Rampart High School Ranch Creek Elementary Rockrimmon Elementary School School in the Woods Elementary School The Classical Academy (Elementary, Middle and High Schools, College Pathways and Cottage School) The Da Vinci Academy School

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THE GAZETTE SPOTLIGHT

Timberview Middle School Woodmen-Roberts Elementary School CALHAN RJ-1

347-2766, calhanschool.org Calhan Elementary School Calhan Middle School Calhan High School

HEYENNE C MOUNTAIN DIST. 12

475-6100, cmsd12.org Broadmoor Elementary School Canon Elementary School Cheyenne Mountain Elem. School Cheyenne Mtn. Junior High School Cheyenne Mountain High School Gold Camp Elementary School Pinon Valley Elementary School Skyway Park Elementary School The Vanguard School OLORADO SCHOOL C FOR THE DEAF AND THE BLIND

578-2100, VP 358-2600, csdb. colorado.gov

COLORADO SPRINGS DIST. 11

520-2000, d11.org Academy for Advanced and Creative Learning Achieve Online Adams Elementary School Adult and Family Education Audubon Elementary School Bristol Elementary School Buena Vista Elementary School Carver Elementary School Chipeta Elementary School CIVA Charter Academy Columbia Elementary School Community Prep Charter School Coronado High School Doherty High School East Lake High School Edison Elementary School Freedom Elementary School

Fremont Elementary School Galileo School of Math and Science Globe Charter School Grant Elementary School Henry Elementary School Holmes Middle School Howbert Elementary School Jack Swigert Aerospace Academy Jackson Elementary School Jenkins Middle School Keller Elementary School King Elementary School Life Skills Center of Colorado Springs Madison Elementary School Mann Middle School Martinez Elementary School McAuliffe Elementary Midland Elementary School Mitchell High School Monroe Elementary School North Middle School Odyssey Early College & Career Options Palmer High School Penrose Elementary School Queen Palmer Elementary School Rogers Elementary School Roosevelt Charter Academy Roy J Wasson Academic Campus Rudy Elementary School Russell Middle School Sabin Middle School Scott Elementary School Steele Elementary School Stratton Elementary School Swigert Aerospace Academy Taylor Elementary School The Bijou School Trailblazer Elementary School Twain Elementary School West Elementary School West Middle School Wilson Elementary School CRIPPLE CREEKVICTOR RE-1

698-2685, ccvschools.com Cresson Elementary

// SCHOOL LIST

Cripple Creek-Victor Middle-Senior High School Early Childhood Education/Head Start EDISON 54 JT

478-2125, edison54jt.org Eagle Nest Preschool Edison Elementary School Edison Junior-Senior High School Edison Prep ELLICOTT DIST. 22

683-2700, ellicottschools.org Ellicott Elementary School Ellicott Middle School Ellicott Senior High School Home School Program FOUNTAIN-FORT CARSON DIST. 8

382-1300, ffc8.org Abrams Elementary School Aragon Elementary School Carson Middle School Conrad Early Learning Center Eagleside Elementary School Fountain-Fort Carson High School Fountain Middle School Jordahl Elementary School Mesa Elementary School Mountainside Elementary School Patriot Elementary School Weikel Elementary School Welte Education Center

HANOVER DIST. 28

683-2247, hanoverhornets.org Hanover Junior-Senior High School Hanover Online Academy Prairie Heights Elementary School HARRISON DIST. 2

579-2000, hsd2.org Atlas Preparatory Elementary School Atlas Preparatory High School Atlas Preparatory Middle School Bricker Elementary School Carmel Middle School Career Readiness Academy

THE GAZETTE SPOTLIGHT

2021 EDUCATION

// SCHOOL LIST

Centennial Elementary School Fox Meadow Middle School Giberson Elementary School Harrison High School James Irwin Charter Elem. School James Irwin Charter High School James Irwin Charter Middle School Monterey Elementary School Mountain Vista Community School Mountain Vista Homeschool Academy Oak Creek Elementary School Otero Elementary School Panorama Middle School Pikes Peak Elementary School Sand Creek International Elementary School Sierra High School Soaring Eagles Elementary School Stratmoor Hills Elementary School Stratton Meadows Elementary School Turman Elementary School Wildflower Elementary School LEWIS-PALMER DIST. 38

488-4700, lewispalmer.org Bear Creek Elementary School Lewis-Palmer Elementary School Lewis-Palmer Middle School Lewis-Palmer High School Monument Charter Academy Online Elementary, Middle and High School Programs Palmer Lake Elementary School Palmer Ridge High School Prairie Winds Elementary School Preschool and Early Childhood Ray E Kilmer Elementary School MANITOU SPRINGS DIST. 14

685-2024, mssd14.org Manitou Springs Elementary School Manitou Springs High School Manitou Springs Middle School Manitou Springs Online Program Ute Pass Elementary School

MIAMI-YODER 60 JT

478-2186, miamiyoder.com Miami-Yoder Elementary School Miami-Yoder Middle/High School PEYTON 23 JT

749-2330, peyton.k12.co.us Peyton Elementary School Peyton Junior High School Peyton Online Academy Peyton’s Career Technical Education Peyton College Academy Peyton Senior High School Peyton’s Career Technical Education Peyton College Academy SCHOOL DIST. 49

495-1100, d49.org Academy for Literary, Learning & Innovation Excellence Banning Lewis Ranch Academy Bennett Ranch Elementary School Evans International Elementary School Falcon Elementary School of Technology Falcon Middle School Falcon High School GOAL Academy Grand Peak Academy Horizon Middle School Inspiration View Elementary School Liberty Tree Academy Meridian Ranch Elementary School Mountain View Academy Odyssey Elementary School Patriot High School Pikes Peak Early College Pikes Peak School of Expeditionary Learning Power Technical Remington Elementary School Ridgeview Elementary School Rocky Mountain Classical Academy Sand Creek High School Skyview Middle School Spacious Skies Charter School Springs Ranch Elementary School

OLLEGES AND C UNIVERSITIES

Springs Studio for Academic Excellence Stetson Elementary School Vista Ridge High School Woodmen Hills Elementary School WIDEFIELD DIST. 3

391-3000, wsd3.org D3 My Way Discovery High School French Elementary School Grand Mountain School James Madison Charter Academy School Janitell Junior High School King Elementary School Mesa Ridge High School Pinello Elementary School Sproul Junior High School Sunrise Elementary School Talbott Steam Innovation School Venetucci Elementary School Watson Junior High School Widefield District 3 Preschool Webster Elementary School Widefield Elementary School Widefield High School WOODLAND PARK RE-2 *(Teller County)

686-2000, wpsdk12.org Columbine Elementary School Gateway Elementary School Summit Elementary School Woodland Park Middle School Woodland Park High School

Air Force Academy Colorado College Colorado Christian University College of Adult and Graduate Studies Colorado Technical University Colorado Springs IntelliTec College Colorado Springs National American University Colorado Springs and Colorado Springs South Nazarene Bible College Pikes Peak Community College Pima Medical Institute University of Colorado at Colorado Springs PRIVATE SCHOOLS

Colorado Springs Christian Schools The Colorado Springs School Corpus Christi Catholic School Divine Redeemer Catholic School Evangelical Christian Academy - Pre-K, Elementary, Junior and High schools Fountain Valley School Giving Tree Montessori School Griffith Centers for Children The Hillsprings Learning Center Holy Apostles Preschool Holy Cross Lutheran School Hope Montessori Academy STATE-AUTHORIZED CHARTER SCHOOLS

Colorado Early Colleges Colorado Springs Colorado International Language Academy Colorado Military Academy Colorado Springs Charter Academy Coperni 2 Charter School Coperni 3 Charter School James Irwin Charter Academy Launch High School Mountain Song Community School Thomas MacLaren School

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THE GAZETTE SPOTLIGHT

Keith Owen

// KEITH OWEN SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR

Colorado’s 2021 Superintendent of the Year didn’t plan a career in education.

Engineering was Keith Owen’s calling, he was sure, but once the Pueblo native arrived at Colorado State University in Fort Collins and enrolled in a program where students spend time on the job with professional engineers, he quickly realized he’d picked the wrong field.

superintendent of the year

“Having the same routine, behind a desk all day….that was just not really intriguing to me,” said Owen, who leads the Fountain-Fort Carson School District.

Luckily, he had a mentor — technically the mentor of his then-girlfriend, now wife-of-25-years, Georgina. The man was a teacher who let Owen tag along to see what being in the classroom was really like. Owen was sold. He switched his major and never looked back, except to appreciate the serendipity.

Stephanie Earls, The Gazette

Some people spend a lifetime searching for their dream job. Owen got lucky, and in turn generations of Colorado students reaped the benefits, said his wife.

“If there’s anything I can say about him, it’s that he is really doing exactly what he’s meant to do … and he is not afraid to speak up for kids, no matter who he’s speaking to,” said Georgina, who now works for the Colorado Department of Education.

D-8 Superintendent Keith Owen is an alumnus of Pueblo South High and a former chief academic officer and a principal in Pueblo City Schools District 60.

Keith Owen grew up and graduated from high school in Pueblo, and that’s where he returned in 1993 to begin his career, leading a class of 31 second graders as one of the few male teachers at Carlile Elementary.

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THE GAZETTE SPOTLIGHT

// KEITH OWEN SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR

The experience confirmed he’d made the right decision, and also that there was more, so much more, he wanted to do.

When an opportunity came up to attend a program run by the University of Northern Colorado for teachers who wanted to pursue higher degrees and enter administration, both Keith and Georgina, then a teacher in the Pueblo district, signed up. Both got masters degrees and became licensed as principals.

Almost as soon as Keith had his credentials, he landed a job as an assistant principal at John Mall High School in Walsenburg, thanks to a connection he’d made in the UNC program.

There, he “had a chance to really help him (the principal) change the culture of a high school building and change expectations about a school that had gotten to the point where it was really struggling,” said Owen, who was “being tasked with getting it turned around.”

That’s what he set out to do, by first asking those affected the most what went wrong.

“I started to see … when I talked to a lot of the high school kids who were struggling ... a connection with issues that they had had with reading, with learning, that hadn’t been addressed at the elementary level that were really impacting their ability to be successful in high school,” he said.

2021 EDUCATION

He was only at the school for a year, but the time had a “profound impact” on his path, how he thought about education, and how he thought he could help.

Perhaps most importantly, he’d learned that turning a high school around was something that needed to start long before students reached high school.

“If we didn’t do everything we could to help them become good readers and be prepared for the middle school experience, a lot of these kids wouldn’t make it through high school,” he said.

At his next post, and first principalship, Beulah Heights Elementary, in Pueblo, he put that wisdom into action.

“Rather than do the same old, same old — purchase a program, have the teachers get trained in the program and have the teachers deliver the program, he himself jumped in got trained and ended up teaching some of those reading classes as well,” said Georgina. “You just don’t see a lot of principals doing that, where they’re right there with the teachers teaching, but … he wants to be in there doing that work with students, so any opportunity he has to directly work with kids he does.”

During his five years at Beulah Heights, the school’s performance improved to the point that it was recognized by President George W. Bush as one of the nation’s top performing Title 1 schools.

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(cont. from page 15)

Owen left the school when he was tapped to serve as assistant superintendent for the district, where he coordinated instructional support. In 2008, the family — Georgina, and their two young sons — moved to Durango, where Keith served for three years as superintendent. Then came Denver, and a turn as the state’s Deputy Commissioner of Education, running programs for struggling schools around the state.

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“I really got to see what was working and what wasn’t working, and what I came away with was how great education was in Colorado, even in really removed rural areas of the state and even in large urban areas … how many great communities and people were serving kids each day,” he said. “But I also also had a lot of tough conversations with school districts that were struggling. I had to work with some that were trying their best to serve kids but still weren’t meeting expectations.”

He considered staying in state-level administration, but then the call came about the superintendent opening at Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8. He was told, come take a look, and “we think it would be a great fit for you.” Owen did, and agreed.

Board president Lori Kimball remembers how he made a lasting impression the first time they met oneon-one in June, 2015, soon after he was hired to lead the district. She asked him to look into a couple issues, a few concerns she had and wanted addressed, and asked if he could get it done before the beginning of the next school year.

Rather than giving a boilerplate “sure thing” to make his de facto new boss happy, Owen told Kimball he saw her point, and understood the goal, but needed to look into it himself.

“He’s an educator, he’s a teacher, so he has his pen and paper with him and he’s taking notes," Kimball said. “He was very willing to listen to what I had to say … but wanted to do some research, wanted to go through and talk to people. That’s the way he handles everything -- very honest, very knowledgeable, very thorough. He’s just a good guy.”

Kimball nominated Owen for the statewide award, announced late last year by the Colorado Association of School Executives.

Georgina Owen doesn’t doubt the news left her famously humble husband full of pride, all directed outward, toward the educators who serve one of the state’s most heavily military districts.

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“I just think even though this award is being given to Keith, I know being in education myself it’s a huge team effort,” she said. “And so I think that’s something he’s really proud of, just the people he works with every day and this amazing military community we get to serve.

It really is an entire village of people who make it work.”

The fact that Owen’s wearing the laurel for a school year that’s unlike any in generations, when the threat of interrupted and lost learning is real for students at schools that had not previously been “struggling,” is not lost on him.

“I’ve been in education a few years, this has been by far the most challenging situation we have ever had to face in my experience in public education,” said Owen.

“There was a devastating impact when we had to close schools last March. This year has caused us to do things that K-12 schools have never done before. But now … we’re testing students, testing staff, and we’ve seen everyone rise to incredible heights.”

In-person classes in the district began after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, with elementary school students attending full-day classes and an every-other-day model in the high school.

“Our elementary school finished an entire semester of in-person learning, five days a week for the first semester during the pandemic. Our educational teams met with them on a daily basis,” said Owen, adding that, to date, there have been no outbreaks at the school. “I would call that first semester just a huge success story that we were able to pull it off and support our kids. We’re a public school district and we know our best work is done in person.”

Despite efforts to keep things as streamlined as possible, he knows the repercussions of COVID-19 won't end with the pandemic.

“I think we’re going to see gaps occurring because of this, educational, social and emotional,” he said.

“Hopefully by August we’re at a state where we can get back to a lot of the things that make schools great again. But our kids are going to have gaps that need to be closed over the following year, and years to come.”

Colorado schools

adapt to new ways of teaching, learning

O'Dell Isaac, The Gazette

The COVID-19 pandemic turned Colorado homes into schoolhouses over the past year.

Flexibility has been the order of the day for teachers, students, and families as school districts have adopted online learning options in an unprecedented school year.

While the region’s largest districts have offered limited access to virtual learning for years, the rapid spread of the virus has forced them to expand their platforms and shift to new ways of teaching and learning.

“It has been a very disruptive year, for all teachers, students, and districts,” said Colorado Springs School District 11 spokeswoman Devra Ashby. “We’ve had to pivot to a whole new way of life, and a whole new way of education.”

For the 2020-21 school year, most districts have offered three learning options, when conditions permit: fully in person, fully online, or a hybrid in which students attend classes in person two or three days a week.

Achieve Online, District 11's online middle and high school, has offered virtual instruction for years, Ashby said. But when it became clear that students in all grades would need some form of distance learning, the district adopted an online learning platform that included elementary students. That platform has been in place since August, and the transition was not without difficulties, Ashby said.

“Teachers have had to learn, very quickly, how to teach in person and online at the same time,” she said. “That is an extreme amount of work.”

Ashby said there has been a noticeable overall decline in teacher morale, and that some teachers quit out of frustration.

“They didn’t sign up for this,” she said. “None of us did.”

dents has widened over the past few months, Ashby said.

“We’re seeing a loss of learning and retention on the lower end of the spectrum,” she said. “On the other end, students are thriving, including kids who didn’t expect to adapt well to online learning. But there’s not a lot of middle ground, and that concerns us.”

An unexpected upside of the new learning model is that many students have quickly picked up on the new educational technology. Ashby said some of the more tech-savvy kids have helped their teachers learn the nuances of Webex, Schoology and other online learning tools.

Academy School District 20 has offered online instruction for students from kindergarten through middle school for at least a decade, said district spokeswoman Allison Cortez. Journey K8, the district’s primary online school, offers virtual and hybrid learning, with a curriculum that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Cortez said.

Under normal circumstances, enrollment at the online school would be a few hundred students. But enrollment exploded this school year, Cortez said.

“This fall, the school had an enrollment of 2,600 students,” she said. “This semester there are 1,662 students.”

Cortez said that many students, parents, and teachers have developed a preference for the online model.

“While this style of learning isn’t for everyone, there are definitely more families who are considering it as their educational path moving forward – pandemic or no pandemic,” Cortez said. “Many families who may have never tried online learning have discovered this is a great fit for their child.”

A steadily increasing number of parents are considering homeschooling as an option for their children.

Because the state does not regulate home schools, the parents have to carry the entire educational load, buy books and supplies, keep records and administer tests.

That means homeschooling parents are principal, teacher and test proctor.

“It’s a lot to take on,” said homeschool teacher Cheryl Thayer.

The gap between the highest and lowest-achieving stu-

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THE GAZETTE SPOTLIGHT

// COLORADO SCHOOLS ADAPT

(cont. from page 17)

Thayer’s home is a kind of learning hybrid; she homeschools two of her three children while her oldest, Paul, is a 4th-grader enrolled online at a District 20 school. Despite missing regular in-person contact with his classmates, Paul is thriving, Thayer says.

“He’s just learning like crazy,” said Thayer, who taught elementary school for 4-1/2 years before deciding to homeschool her kids full-time.

Thayer prefers the flexibility homeschooling offers. She can mold her lessons to fit her children’s interests and enthusiasms, and can make adjustments when those interests shift. “I can make my lessons more interesting that way,” she said. “Kids learn better when they are interested and engaged.”

Candace Hillier began homeschooling seven years ago when her son, who has cerebral palsy, began having academic and social difficulties in school. The school suggested he attend more as an observer than an active participant.

Also, because their teacher is also their Mom, students aren’t shy about asking questions or requesting help when they have difficulties.

“They have the confidence to tell me when they don’t understand, and not feel ashamed at being behind,” she said.

Whether homeschooling, or schooling at home, the pandemic has changed the way we learn. Ashby thinks some of the changes may be permanent.

“Now that the technology has been introduced, virtual learning will be with us in perpetuity,” Ashby said. “It’s not going anywhere.”

“My husband and I didn’t agree,” Hillier said. “So I quit my career and decided to teach him.”

Hillier said she loves being able to provide the kind of one-on-one instruction and guidance that is next to impossible in a brick-and-mortar classroom that might have more than two dozen students in it.

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THE GAZETTE SPOTLIGHT

// COLORADO SCHOOLS ADAPT

2021 EDUCATION

Second-grader Joey Beightol gets her temperature checked before entering the lunchroom by LaShawna Gallardo at Coperni 3 public K-7 charter school in Colorado Springs on Thursday, August 6, 2020. Coperni 3 opened their doors to students this week, and are offering two options for the new school year online, at-home learning or in-person classes at school with social distancing.

(Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)

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2021 EDUCATION

THE GAZETTE SPOTLIGHT

// TIPS FOR NAVIGATING HOMESCHOOLING

Amid a pandemic that has turned parents into de facto teachers, more parents are considering homeschooling as an option for their children.

While this can be a viable an fulfilling option, there are many things to consider. Below are a few tips, from experienced homeschool teachers, on how to maximize the experience:

Tips for navigating the world of

HOME SCHOOLING O'Dell Isaac, The Gazette

1. KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GETTING YOURSELF INTO. Parents need to be fully informed of the subjects they’re required to teach, and of attendance and record-keeping requirements. Because home school is not regulated by the state of Colorado, parents are responsible for obtaining books, supplies, tests, and any other incidental costs related to schooling. “It’s a lot to take on,” Cheryl Thayer said.

2. TAILOR YOUR LESSON TO FIT YOUR CHILD. Children have different learning styles. To maximize your child’s learning experience, it is vital to know what teaching style fits your child. “I know my kids,” Thayer said. “If I want to get the most out of their learning, I need to make (the lessons) fit the way they learn.

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“I try to do the harder lessons early in the day, when they’re more alert and focused,” Thayer said. Homeschool teacher Candace Hillier agrees: “My kids are better rested in the morning,” she said. “So we tend to hit the weaker spots first.”

4. MAKE TIME FOR PLAYTIME. Scheduling plenty of breaks helps kids stay focused. “The state requires four hours of instruction per day, but it shouldn’t be four straight hours,” Thayer said. “You need to break things up.”

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Colorado has a growing homeschooling population, and there are many support groups available. There are also groups that offer field trips and sporting events specifically for homeschooled students. Check Facebook, or even Google, for support options in Colorado.

Post-pandemic learning in El Paso County schools:

What is likely to stay and what will go Jessica Snouwaert, The Gazette

The COVID-19 vaccine is rolling out across Colorado and as more people get vaccinated educators are hopeful for a return to normalcy in El Paso County schools. But as hypodermic needles spread hope, teachers and administrators are taking stock of the lessons they’ve learned in education during the pandemic.

Many teachers and administrators say the tools of digital learning and remote connectivity are here to stay, but educators also said the pandemic demonstrated the crucial need for in-person learning — the mixture of a brick-and-mortar setting reinforced with digital tools will be the norm in a post-vaccine education.

An instructor helps a Palmer Lake Elementary School student.

Kathleen Smit is a language arts teacher for the adult and family education program in Colorado Springs School District 11. She works with students over the age of 17 who are trying to get their high school school equivalency diploma, including many learning English as their second language.

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“There were some barriers that didn't allow them to come into a physical school or have access to coming into school and so we can meet the needs of those learners online,” Smit said.

After seeing that she could reach more people by offering online classes Smit decided to work with the director of her program to create a true online program to run even when most classes return to in-person learning.

But Smit said working online with many students was difficult.

“Having students have reliable internet, having a device that they can connect to, and then also having tech support for students and for teachers, so it's been just a whole team village effort,” Smit said.

"It's been a challenge."

Despite the initial hurdles of getting students online, Smit thinks that online learning created an invaluable tool for her students — 24/7 access.

With tools like WebEx and Zoom, Smit said students don't have to wait until they are sitting in the classroom to get help. Instead they can have brief virtual tutoring sessions with their teachers and study online with classmates.

THE GAZETTE SPOTLIGHT

// POST PANDEMIC LEARNING

“I think we've learned that we don't always have to all be in the same space at the same time to meet the needs of our learners,” Smit said. “So I think that stuff is here to stay. I think it's good.”

Rob Lessig, an English teacher at Mitchell High School, sees the strengths of digital learning but thinks it has taken a toll on his students.

“I know a lot of the kids are really lonely,” Lessig said.

“I think a younger person, they're still establishing who they are," he said.

"I think that social systems help them better understand themselves and who they want to be, and I think that not having that social connection is really, really hard on a young person's development.”

Digital teaching also creates difficulties for Lessig. Over a screen, Lessig said many communication signals are lost, making it harder to support students.

“I just feel so much more connected to people, when we're together,” Lessig said. “It's easy to see if a kid is struggling, you could look at their face, you can see they're confused, you can see they're tired, and then you can kind of work with that kid.”

Lessig said the toll of the pandemic was more than just emotional and social.

Some students fell behind in their work and stopped showing up to online classes. Make-up courses were created for those students.

That is the reason Palmer Lake Elementary School principal Peggy Griebenow is looking into expanding summer school offerings for students.

Lewis-Palmer School District 38’s elementary schools met in-person for the 2020-2021 school year with some families opting for remote instruction, but Griebenow said some online students fell behind.

“Our goal is that kids are successful," Griebenow. "And that's ultimately why we are creating the systems we are doing.”

The outcomes of online learning compared to in-person learning during the pandemic reinforced Griebenow's belief that brick-and-mortar learning is here to stay.

She said in-person learning helps students thrive not just because of the interaction with teachers and other students, but it also helps level the playing field between students.

Students’ home life and family support is not always equal across the board, so online learning can cause some students to fall behind while others excel.

“When you have families who are impacted because of their own personal home situation or work situation, I think there are some real inequities that get created there,” Griebenow said.

But even when students are learning in-person Griebenow said she sees the partnership between parents and teachers as vital for students’ success.

That is where Grienbenow sees technology coming into the picture.

“We have these immense digital resources available for us and leveraging those in the future is going to help us be even more flexible and how we're going to meet the needs of students and their families,” Griebenow said. “So things like virtual meetings, staff meetings, virtual conferences for parents -and that built-in convenience that we're discovering through some of that 22 EDUCATION GUIDE

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JANUARY 31, 2021

– I think it's going to carry on after the pandemic.”

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