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Woodland Park Middle School student Paige Bissue hands out student-created and 3D-printed gifts to the Woodland Park School District RE-2 Board of Education. The items are Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) projects.
Woodland Park Middle School students presented their Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) projects to the Woodland Park School District Board of Education Oct. 12. Behind the students are teachers Benjamin Honeycutt, left, and Kelly Bradley.
This chart shows the names of newly appointed RE-2 District Accountability Committee members by school.
This chart shows the newly appointed School Accountability Committee members.
Woodland Park Middle School student Paige Bissue hands out student-created and 3D-printed gifts to the Woodland Park School District RE-2 Board of Education. The items are Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) projects.
The Oct. 12 Woodland Park School District RE-2 Board of Education meeting started out on a high note as Woodland Park Middle School teachers and students presented their Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) projects.
Library Media Specialist Kelly Bradley and Enrichment Teacher Benjamin Honeycutt led the presentations, allowing WPMS students Paige Bissue, Brynlee Havens, Quinn Morris, Bella Regester, Tristen Tisdall, and Ryder Vergenz to present their projects.
Woodland Park Middle School students presented their Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) projects to the Woodland Park School District Board of Education Oct. 12. Behind the students are teachers Benjamin Honeycutt, left, and Kelly Bradley.
Projects included 3D printed items including a functioning mini-golf course, a pool table, a pinball machine, and a variety of keychains and other small items. Many of these items will be sold in the Panther Store as a fundraiser to help bring a library to a school in Kenya.
Bella Regester’s legacy project is a mural she and other volunteers are painting at the entrance to the middle school library.
Honeycutt said the goal of the program is to integrate STEAM into the entire curriculum and help WPMS become a STEAM School by 2025. He said, “‘Student led’ has become the through-line for what we’re doing. …Kelly Bradley is the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of our team.”
The district is seeking grants for two more 3D printers to enhance the middle school program and create more opportunities for the entire student body, he said.
Tina Cassens, chief academic officer and district co-superintendent, and Gwynne Pekron, chief action officer and director of development at Merit Academy Charter School, presented reports on school performance as complied and issued by the Colorado Department of Education based on its transitional performance framework.
This transitional framework was developed to compare pre-pandemic performance to post-pandemic performance, Cassens said.
Statewide there was a significant drop in student performance over the past two years, but RE-2 students weathered the pandemic better than most Colorado schools, Cassens said.
“We’re going to use these scores as new baselines to measure district performance,” she added. “For the first time ever, all of our schools are in the green, meeting or exceeding expectations.”
Merit Academy didn’t exist pre-COVID, so current test scores will be its baseline. According to the charts, these scores compare favorably with scores in the rest of the district’s schools.
Cassens and Pekron updated the school board on new programs, changes to curriculum and student intervention, especially for at-risk students.
Cassens said the math curriculum at Columbine and Summit elementary schools is changing to Eureka Math, which is more rigorous than these schools’ current math curriculum. She said the new curriculum will create more challenge. Gateway Elementary School, which had good math test scores compared to Columbine and Summit, will continue to use the Summit Learning Platform.
Pekron said Merit is also focusing on interventions and core values. New to its curriculum is Latin. “It must be working,” she said. “My kids are coming home speaking (Latin) words I don’t understand.”
Cassens suggested that parents change the way they speak to students about education. Instead of saying “‘You’re so smart,’ implying that they’re doing well in a certain subject because of talent, you should be saying ‘You worked so hard to accomplish that,’ and letting students know that hard work has results.”
All test scores and other education information about each district and school in the state is available at cde.state.co.us.
At the board’s Oct. 6 special meeting, directors changed the way volunteers are appointed to school accountability committees and the district accountability committee. SAC and DAC members will be appointed directly by the board.
Cassens and Director Cassie Kimbrell presented all the applicants for these committees. The SAC lists included principals’ recommendations, but while the board was under obligation to review these recommendations, they are not obliged to heed them.
This chart shows the names of newly appointed RE-2 District Accountability Committee members by school.
Board Treasurer Chris Austin made a motion to accept all the principals’ recommendations, but it failed by a vote of 4-1.
Board President David Rusterholtz, who participated over Zoom, said he had concerns the board wasn’t fully following its new policies. “Did you submit all the new applicants’ names to the principals?” he asked.
The answer to that was “no” from Kimbrell. Board Vice President David Illingworth said it wasn’t necessary.
Then, after discussion, several names were moved from one list to another.
“You didn’t appoint any of the three Gateway Elementary School applicants for DAC and appointed someone who didn’t apply for a DAC position,” Austin said, then asked the board a question he also asked at last week’s special meeting, “How are you vetting these applicants?”
This chart shows the newly appointed School Accountability Committee members.
Illingworth asked Austin how he chose SAC members during his time on the previous board.
“I trusted the principals and went with their recommendations,” Austin said.
“Did you read all the applications?” Illingworth asked.
“I’m not answering that question,” Austin answered, “That’s not what we’re discussing tonight, and you didn’t answer my question.”
“You didn’t answer mine, either,” Illingworth said. “If you won’t answer my question, I’m not answering yours.”
To which Austin replied, “Oh my Lord!”
Despite Rusterholtz’ misgivings about policy, the board voted 4-1 to appoint all the people on Kimbrell’s list.
The board announced there will be a special meeting on Oct. 26.