Category Archives: News

Library updates for sixth graders

With the sixth graders being moved from the Middle School building to the three elementary schools, some of us were wondering, what will be done to give them access to library books in these new locations? We’ve learned a bit here so thought it’s worth sharing.

Columbine – 6th grade students were given the opportunity to create a 6th grade library wishlist last year. [Columbine staff] used their list as well as several 6th grade book lists, including one from the National Library Association to create a higher level library. 80% of the books in the 6th classroom are new this year and only available to 6th graders.

Gateway – parents were given the chance to sign a permission slip to allow their sixth graders to walk (as a group) to the public library every other Friday to check out books there.

Summit – we have not heard of the plan there.

It’s great that something is being done though allowing the kids to peruse the shelves of the public library, while simultaneously creating a ‘controversial topics’ section in the high school library requiring specific parental approval to check out, is odd.

The war on public education

Great TikTok video that talks about what’s going on with the attack on public education at a national level…and it helps explain many of the actions in the Woodland Park school district:

@electrobrogers

Remember #christopherrufo? The guy that invented the #crt #culturewar #outrage? Back in April 2022, he just spelled out the reason he did it. Erode publictrust. #publiceducation #propaganda #teachersoftiktok #teacher #defendpublicschools #defendpubliclibraries

♬ Stranger Things – Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

CDE publishes school performance ratings

The Colorado Department of Education has published its school and district performance ratings, here’s how our district fared:

As you can see, all schools ranked as ‘performance plan‘ (the only higher level is ‘distinction plan’), except for Merit Academy which saw its score knocked down one level to ‘improvement plan‘ due to their lower test participation rates. This highlights the issue that while test scores are important, if a significant number of students aren’t taking those tests, it becomes more difficult to truly judge the performance of a school.

(read more at Chalkbeat)

WPSD incumbents turn back to school night into campaigning opportunity

The Woodland Park school district back to school night is traditionally a student-focused time, where parents and kids get to meet their teachers and check out the schools before school starts a couple days later. While that was still the schools’ focus, the three school board incumbents – Mick Bates, Cassie Kimbrell, and David Illingworth – took advantage of this opportunity to campaign for re-election this fall. They made the rounds at each of the district schools, working the crowds (the two board members NOT up for re-election were not seen at the schools). The three challenging these incumbents were sighted at the schools where their children attend, but not the others.

Traditionally, the district has declared a Work Session whenever three or more board members gather at a school, as this would potentially be a violation of Open Meetings Law if they discuss district business. No such declaration was made this time though.

When they appeared at Merit the previous Friday, they even met with the two Deans of that school…and Illingworth’s Facebook post made it clear they were there acting as board members in support of Merit. So, it was communicated not as a campaigning event, but as board members meeting with the Denas to show their support (ie, district business). Here’s the post, along with a picture of them posing with the two Deans:

Witt and Miller address the staff – August 22, 2023

On August 22nd, 2023, Ken Witt and Brad Miller addressed the district staff in the annual convocation. Ken Witt talked about updates to benefits, PACE, universal pre-K, their partnership with Mindsight (counseling company), SROs and security, and introduced his administrative staff. At timestamp 14:30 in the audio recording below, he handed it off toe Ariel Elliott, regional director of PACE (Professional Association of Colorado Educators), to discuss that program.

Brad Miller takes the mic at about 25:15. He talked first about policy KDDA (which the district is being sued over). He says the point of it was simple things like if there’s a snow day, they didn’t want misinformation going around about whether school was canceled (note that KDDA was cited when Witt fired a staff member last spring).

The most important part to listen to starts at 35:06, where Miller outlines the district’s new policy for ‘students who want to express or identify their gender differently than what they were born.’ He acknowledges Colorado law on the matter and says they’ll comply (he calls it ‘unavoidable law’), but it won’t be a slam-dunk for kids who fall into this category. Before the school will respect the kids’ wishes, administration will hold a meeting with the parents of that kid because, as Brad Miller put it 37:50 into this audio recording, “it’s the parents’ decision to make” (not the kids?!). I’ve heard too many stories about kids in families where they’re not free to talk about such things…I worry for the mental health and safety of kids that are facing these conversations.

Updates on WPEA vs. WPSD lawsuit

Earlier this month, the Woodland Park Education Association (a local affiliate of the Colorado Education Association…more commonly referred to as ‘the union’ though there are some subtle differences) filed a lawsuit in district court against the Woodland Park school district, alleging violations of teachers’ first amendment rights to free speech and free association, mostly related to district policy KDDA (what some refer to as the ‘gag order’). If you’re not already familiar with this lawsuit, catch up quick by reading the CPR article.

From the KRDO article:

The lawsuit is asking the U.S. District Court of Colorado for several resolutions, including removing the policy that “punishes school-based employees if they speak publicly as private citizens about matters of public concern regarding the school district, declare that no employee who makes statements about their employment as private citizens on matters of public concern can be disciplined, terminated or retaliated against and declare that attempting to compel members to join PACE is unconstitutional and an unlawful use of taxpayer money.”

link

You can read the entire court filing here if interested.

On August 16th, lawyers filed for a preliminary injunction against the district, asking for:

Specifically, WPEA seeks a preliminary injunction as follows:

  1. Enjoin enforcement of current School District policy KDDA.
  2. Revise School District Policy KDDA to the policy language in effect prior to
    February 2023.
  3. Prohibit the School District from forcing employees of the School District to become
    members of PACE.

One interesting detail in that request for preliminary injunction is on the last page…the attorneys this is being served to include of course Brad Miller, but notably, there’s a new attorney listed working on this case for this district. It’s Matt Werner of Alpern Myers Stuart. His website lists his practice areas as:

Defense of Persons Accused of Serious Felonies, Sex Assaults, Domestic Violence and DUI; Juvenile Defense; School Expulsion and Discipline Defense; Complex Civil Litigation and Personal Injury; Administrative Hearings.

Including him in a first amendment lawsuit does not appear to align with his advertised specialties and is a curious move. With the earlier addition of Scott Gessler to handle the appeal on the CORA lawsuit, this makes at least three law firms now working for the Woodland Park school district and board of directors.

Braver Angels launches chapter in Woodland Park | Pikes Peak Courier | gazette.com

Driven by the nation’s polarization that has trickled down to Woodland Park, the local chapter of Braver Angels launches an introduction this month.

“I feel like this is an opportunity to make a difference,” said Billie Donegan, who with Holly Sample initiated the event Aug. 29.

Founded by David Blankenhorn after the 2016 election, Braver Angels is a New York-based nonprofit dedicated to political depolarization around the nation.
— Read on gazette.com/content/tncms/live/

High School update

The HS principal’s update, from the latest Panther Nation newsletter:

It’s always exciting to see the calendar change from July to August. That means it’s just about time to welcome back the next set of students to our school. We’re so ready for the classes of 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027 to join the annals of Panther History! 

WPHS has recently enjoyed an incredible five year run of consistent improvement in student achievement. Unprecedented growth and achievement data with in the SAT and PSAT have put our school squarely in the conversation as one of the best choices a student can make in the Pike’s Peak Region.

Our staff and students have worked hard and challenged themselves to improve each and every year. We value the Productive Struggle that comes with being a Panther student. We’re proud of where that intentional growth mindset has landed us. We love watching parents and caregivers enjoy the journey too. The magic of learning happens right there – when the challenge is appropriately tough and never easy.

We’re pleased to announce that WPHS was recently recognized as a High Reliability School by Robert Marzano and Associates. This five year journey is one that our staff and school are proud to achieve. The school will soon be awarded a certificate of achievement as a Level One Certified School in January at the HRS National Summit. Stretching ourselves and pushing the environment forward have been a part of the journey. And it’s one we plan on continuing.

Great to have everyone back! Can’t wait to see you all next week.

Mr. Burr