Tag Archives: letters

Fact check – Letters to the Editor

The amount of disinformation being published in the Courier is disturbing…and I’m not sure how best to counter that. For now, I’ll just use this blog to address some of what I’m reading. First there was David Illingworth’s letter to the editor (see my review here). This time, it’s Aaron Helstrom, one of the District Accountability Committee members hand-picked by this board last fall, writing his own Letter to the Editor. I’ll pick some of his comments to review, and include his entire letter at the end here.

The article also makes it seem as if the school board is pulling all mental health funding. Fortunately, in a recent interview, School Board Member David Illingworth mentioned the rejected grants had conditions attached that went against the school’s standards and parent’s desires for their children.

In ’22-23, the district received 30 grants; they’ve applied for only a few for ’23-24. The board has never given any examples of any conditions attached to any specific grants to explain the reason not to pursue them again.

…has slowly been adapting a new, and superior, set of standards, which they have been forthright in discussing publicly.

The board never discussed the American Birthright standard, they adopted it with little public input and the public only had about one day advanced notice due to my seeking clarification of a board agenda item.

They also omitted the fact that parents and others were offered the gymnasium as an overflow room (which they did not accept).

We were never offered the gymnasium. We were told we could seek shelter in the Commons Area. Those wishing to participate in public comment needed to stay close to the doors, in the rain, to see if their name was called.

…the board granted teachers the biggest pay raise in the district’s history

Yes, per-pupil funding and sales tax revenue have greatly increased the budget allowing for this, that has nothing to do with the board and it remains to be seen if this was a sustainable move. For example, per pupil funding next year is increasing about 8%; will the board pass along that increase to teachers in the form of another raise?

has helped to offer transportation services to students to attend classes

The board has extended transportation services to Merit Academy, without asking them to pay their fair share.

They have approved funding for meal services so any student in the district who needs a free meal is able to get one

The funding comes from the state, via the free lunch program funded by Proposition FF. The board did not approve funding. The board and superintendent vocally opposed this program, until presumably public opposition made them change their mind.

The board also started the first charter school in the district, giving parents greater choice.

Merit Academy was started by Ken Witt and Brad Miller, under the umbrella of ERBOCES in the ’21-22 school year. The board did not start the charter school, the transferred Merit from ERBOCES to WPSD.

Most notable, for the first time in over a decade, enrollment grew by an astounding 15%, placing Woodland Park district in the Top Five for student growth in Colorado.

This ignores the massive decrease in the district with Merit opened up under ERBOCES. If you count those students as always being in WPSD, the actual increase is around 3%. Considering the COVID trends of people moving to rural areas, it’s impossible to assign credit for that increase to any one factor. Read more here.

Continue reading →

Anonymous letter from a WPSD teacher

An anonymous letter from a Woodland Park school district teacher was recently posted to the Concerned Parents of Teller County Facebook group…I’m reposting here:

I could write a novel about the things I didn’t know I was signing up for when I became a teacher. I didn’t have a clue that I’d spend nights awake worrying about my kids, or that I would have days that I would leave work too physically and mentally exhausted to function. I didn’t know how extensive the paperwork, planning time, and meetings would be. We are always working overtime and we often skip lunch/bathroom breaks because there is not enough time. Teachers turn the other cheek constantly and give students, co-workers and parents fresh starts everyday. Most of these things are not typed up in the job description when you apply for a teaching job. A job that starts out at around $40,000-45,000 a year for the record.

This job is hard. It is exhausting under normal circumstances. BUT it becomes impossible, infuriating, and quite frankly, DEGRADING when unqualified officials take over and use their power to destroy a school system.

It’s clear to most rational community members that the board has a political/religious agenda and wants to profit off of Merit. However, what is less apparent is how it is affecting the students lives. Teachers have to follow confidentiality rules. We can’t share heartbreaking stories about the students that will get left behind in public school. Not every student has parents to fight for them and not every family has the ability to choice their kids into other districts. We also can’t share information on the amount of kids that have come back to public schools after attending Merit. Some of which are students whose IEPs haven’t been served correctly. The kids that will be left behind in the public school system after all this will largely be the students that live in poverty, have behavior needs or IEPs.

What drew me to this profession was making a difference in kids lives. You get to show up for kids in really tough situations. I fell in love with reading books to students, sharing laughs about the silly things they say and watching the progress they make- not just as learners, but as humans. In this job, you get to share moments with kids at the most magical time of their lives. At this point in their lives they are still quick to forgive, they are incredibly resilient, they love to have fun, and they build relationships based on nothing other than how you treat them. The kids are what makes it worth it.

As teachers, we learn to be solution oriented. I am struggling to find ways to fix the mess that has been created by Ken Witt, the board, and Charis Bible college. If they respected teachers enough to ask, these would be the solutions I would share.

To the parents of students in the school system and the community members:

Please keep speaking out on social media and at board meetings.

Vote them out in November!!

File complaints to CDE

https://www.cde.state.co.us/spedlaw/statecomplaint

If you have kids with special needs research your rights and speak up. Check out this link if you want more information on how charters affect kids on IEPs. https://exceptionalchildren.org/…/Public%20Funds%20…

You can write to government officials and speak to the press.

To the board members and superintendent:

I challenge you to spend time in the classrooms. Sit with students and talk to them about what they like about their schools.

Shadow a teacher and see what they do in a single day while you spend an absurd amount of money on lunch.

Try going to counseling. Some SEL could teach you a lot.

Please understand your political agenda may help your career but it is RUINING kids lives.

Keep in mind there’s separation of church and state for a reason.

Ask yourself, do you truly think what you are doing is in the best interest of the kids in Woodland park? Because they are pretty important to our future.

To the teachers that are staying:

Keep fighting for kids. I thank you for what you are doing for the people in this community. You have one of the hardest jobs in the world and I am in awe of you.

Letters to the Editor – March 22, 2023

Here are some recent letters to the editor about our schools:

The dangers of the American Birthright curriculum

I am writing to express my concerns about the American Birthright curriculum and its potential dangers for young people. While it is important to teach our youth about the history and culture of our country in ways that do not bring shame or internalized hate to today’s youth, the way in which this specific curriculum approaches these topics is problematic.

I have only reviewed the social studies section for 11th grade and 12th grade. At first, I thought this was a more thorough and pervasive curriculum than I remembered from my own excellent high school education in the 1970’s because of the breadth of original documents included. I opened my mind to the possibility that this wasn’t so bad after all….

It is, however, obvious that much has been skewed toward one perspective of history with minimal minority views. In fact, so far I have found only three speeches and two African-Americans represented. The American Birthright program presents a narrow and one-sided perspective on American history, emphasizing only the positive aspects and ignoring the darker parts of our past. This can lead to a distorted understanding of our nation’s history, ultimately hindering our ability to learn from past mistakes and create a better future. History does, in fact, repeat itself if we don’t learn from the past. Germany carries the legacy of Hitler. Rather than ignore it, German schools teach deeply about what happened so that it can never happen again.

What is this school board and some religious zealots so afraid of about accurate history and different but equally valid perspectives?

Additionally, the program seems to promote particular religious and political agendas, often advocating for conservative views on social and economic issues, promoting Bible passages and religious interpretation of the Founding Fathers without a fair and balanced representation of all the Founding Fathers and their arguments about the role of religion in society. The FF were consensually clear that no religion should rule the land, yet this American Birthright program indicates a different conclusion. This curriculum not only limits critical thinking and analysis but also reinforces societal divisions and prejudices.

Finally, the program’s lack of diversity and inclusivity also raises concerns. The curriculum fails to acknowledge the contributions and experiences of marginalized groups, leaving minority students and girls feeling excluded and invalidated. No. Small. Thing. Self-image is radically volatile for teenagers without feeling marginalized.

In conclusion, while the American Birthright and its supports have good intentions, its narrow focus and potential political biases are harmful to young people’s education, development, and ability to be critically and practically ready for the “real world.” It is crucial that we provide our youth with a well-rounded education that encourages critical thinking skills and diverse perspectives. Faith can withstand critical analysis. Freedom can only stand if people are free to explore, consider, and express themselves.

As a community, I’m begging school board members and community members to listen to the experts, your state’s board of education, so many parents. I hear a lot of prayer and scripture being quoted during board meetings, but when I hear from parents and teachers? It’s to steer clear of this program and stop stifling our brilliant students, scaring (and firing or sidelining) teachers, and let teachers get on with being teachers.

Trina Hoefling, Florissant

Loss of programs will harm students

Thank you for revealing that the Woodland Park School District is cutting programs to support students’ well-being. This is one more decision the board had hoped to slide quietly through without informing parents or the community.

Grant applications that have been frozen include over a million dollars and fund a total of eleven counselors and social workers district wide. The district has also decided not to participate in the universal free lunch program that was passed in November. Citizens are paying for this food through state taxes and should not be denied access to it.

There is clear evidence the programs funded by these grants improve academic achievement; they help students focus, cope with challenges and be ready to learn.

Eliminating or reducing these services will harm the students and families most in need. If your children don’t experience a family crisis, suffer from stress or anxiety, and if your family has not been impacted by inflation and your children know they will have plenty of food at each meal, your family probably won’t miss this support.

But we know some students in this district feel sad every day, need help coping with loss and family crises, need safe and healthy supervised activities during school breaks and need access to healthy lunches without the shame or pressure of applying for charity.

In his message on the school webpage, Superintendent Witt promised to create a “positive and transformative learning environment for all students”. Other board members have promised to protect students and make their safety and well-being a top priority. The decision to eliminate these services is a direct violation of those promises and needs to be reversed.

Holly Sample, Florissant

Obsession with fake dangers

In response to Mr. Grina’s letter of March 8, I have to wonder if he lives in the area. He seems to think that the local schools spend their time teaching “questionable use of the 1619 Project, the (Ta-Nehisi) Coates book ‘Between the World and Me,’ staging drag queen shows, and encouraging teachers to conduct discussion of gender transition.” As a list of right wing fear-mongering it hits all the talking points, except didn’t use the word “grooming.” But to represent the teaching of children in public schools in Colorado, or Teller County specifically, it is complete fantasy. Anyone know the last drag queen show in a school in the County? Maybe if the local high school staged “Some Like it Hot”, which I doubt has ever happened.

This obsession with fake dangers to our kids is just impossible to countenance. They are pure fiction, and all part of a campaign to control the education of kids to strictly (very recent definitions) of conservatism, which hides uncomfortable facts, inconvenient history, and denies the value of empathy and discourse. That is what education is, especially the critical subjects of history and social studies! Teaching the ability to process information, both the good and bad, assess it’s impact on our surroundings, and to engage with others is vital. Trying to purge all uncomfortable subject matter is a disservice to our future as a region and nation. That’s why it is so amazing that today we have one side claiming that the other is engaged in censorship, while they purge instructional material, ban artistic expression, criminalize speech and ostracize those not in their political circle. Hypocrisy is not a strong enough word.

Mr. Grina says he just wants the other side to calm down, asserting that the “campaign” he disagrees with are combative, illegal or even violent, it shows that a discussion of reality is not really the goal. It is pushing an agenda in response to a fantastical progressive education system that does not exist. No, “gender transition” has never been in the curriculum, and there has not been a single drag show or Critical Race Theory (CRT) course taught in county or state primary schools. That is the problem: the critics of a full history or social studies curriculum can’t actually point to real issues, they have to create a false “woke” agenda that doesn’t reside on schools, educators or textbooks. Only then can they try to assure others that they are the reasonable ones, just trying to “protect the children”. No. They want to control the allowable subjects, and purge anything that opens the minds of students to other perspectives and lives. That is about control, not education.

This subject is not going away, and as the heroes of censorship and control expand their national profile for elected office, it will only get more shrill. The only defense is an informed citizenship, and students taught to approach subjects with a critical eye, and an open mind.

Michael Eaton, Divide

Neither silent nor the majority

Thank you for posting the many letters regarding WPSD withdrawing the book “Between the World and Me” from their curriculum. I read a very thoughtful response from Jerry Paul ( March 8) who actually experienced many of the crimes of Nazi Germany and gives a clear perspective of racial biases which America is leading into. He says this is exactly how Nazi “Brown shirts” controlled the public’s opinion pre WWII.

The letter by Curt Grina (3/8/23) disturbs me and I say this “politely” since he accuses people with different views to be “aggressive.” I would like to ask him what he means by “ the status-quo people “ since he referred to that three times. He also claimed that he is part of the “silent Majority” and I would like to say that he is far from “silent” nor is he the “majority”, His very defensive stance seemed to be attacking and full of hot air. He denies any “banning” yet in the original article written by Jameson Dion, that term is used several times. If we have “Freedom of Speech” in this country we MUST embrace ALL opinions and encourage children ( who will soon be adults) to Think for themselves, to embrace the Declaration of Independence and equal rights for ALL. Denying that this country has every had or has racial prejudice is like living in a bubble which some day may burst. Thank you Courier for being a wonderful newspaper where people can still express themselves!

Pamela Deck, Florissant

Original article: https://gazette.com/pikespeakcourier/letters-to-the-editor-march-22-2023/article_3a6fd890-c1eb-11ed-94a1-0bac5420deee.html

Banning books is for bullies | Writers on the Range | Pikes Peak Courier | gazette.com

Some people have become so alarmed by what children might read in school or in libraries that they want books they don’t like removed — immediately. The targeted books include
— Read on https://gazette.com/pikespeakcourier/banning-books-is-for-bullies-writers-on-the-range/article_34d7c554-9db6-11ed-8d25-cb9a566cc720.html?fbclid=IwAR1zfhKHPusA50ruYBTm4jgfwO0QxtrtVjU3EXiPdKtF-v-w0hJI0xDYces