Tag Archives: Middle School

School situation spiraling out of control | Guest column

From the 6/5/24 Courier, written by Susie Graf:

I come from a family of teachers and am a long-time volunteer and supporter of our district. It saddens me to see what has happened here, and how the situation is spiraling out of control. It is overwhelming and frightening.

In Woodland Park, teachers were always treated with respect and dignity and not called anarchists, socialists and enemies. These are our friends who we see in the grocery store and who sit next to us in church. They helped us raise our children, and that is not an attribute that can be quantified. People from out of state who don’t have children in our schools, or any school, are directing this diatribe toward our teachers. We should have the integrity and bravery to stand up to these people. Teachers are people even willing to give their life for your child.

In the 80’s, Parents, community members and leaders worked together to pass a bond issue for a new school using the middle school structure. Middle school kids were for years shuffled from one building to another as we had no place to put them. It took several tries to pass a bond, but we got the new building designed specifically for the middle school population. Classes were held in pods with students moving within those groups which allowed for cross discipline teaching and collaboration. The building itself and the principal received national attention. The current teachers there were accustomed to almost daily meetings to discuss characteristics needed to meet the educational and developmental needs of young adolescents at that age. We don’t know if this may take place in the new surroundings which are not designed to accommodate this age group.

The decision to close a building or give one away is not to be taken lightly, and there is a process to be followed. It is not to be announced on a Friday afternoon in an email to parents. These decisions should be discussed over time among all stakeholders, most notably residents who paid for the buildings, the parents, the faculty and staff and the administration. No one person should be making these decisions and then announcing them casually. A school is more than a building. It a place of love and laughter where growth and development take place daily in a very purposeful manner. Kids feel safe in their schools and with their teachers whom they love. You cannot take the emotional attachment away from the school building or the teachers.

Our children are our most important possessions. As an educational professional for over 50 years, and as a parent, I can tell you that those people who treat your children with kindness and respect and who encourage them in their educational and personal growth are the ones you can never thank enough and who you will always admire and yes, love. We need to support our wonderful teachers here in Woodland Park and not be hoodwinked by this Board of Education which is giving our district away.

WPSD hires new MS/HS principal for ’24-25 school year

The district has hired a new principal for the combined middle school / high school (grades 7-12) for next school year (’24-25). They chose Dr. Tory Richey, who is currently principal of The Home School Academy in D20. As its name suggests, that school “supports home school families with weekly enrichment (non-academic) programs.” Its enrollment focuses on lower grades; there are currently 173 7-12th graders enrolled there (599 total students). Exactly what makes him a great choice to lead Woodland Park’s combined MS/HS, with 789 students this year, is unclear. Note that Aaron Salt, the Woodland Park School District’s HR director, is also the president of the board in D20, where Richey currently works.

Here’s the press release:

Dear WPSD Families,

We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Dr. Tory Richey as the Secondary Campus Principal over Woodland Park Middle and High Schools, effective July 1, 2024. Dr. Richey brings a wealth of experience and dedication to education, and we are confident he will be an excellent addition to our Woodland Park Schools community.

What makes this announcement even more special is that Dr. Richey is an alum of WPHS. Also, you may remember him as he previously served as an assistant principal at WPHS from 2006 to 2009. After his time at WPHS, Dr. Richey continued to expand his career and expertise in education, including serving as the Cripple Creek Junior Senior High School Secondary Principal (2014-2016), Assistant Superintendent/Secondary Principal (2016-2018), and Superintendent/K-12 Principal (2018-2020) before taking his current role as principal at Home School Academy in Colorado Springs.

Dr. Richey is eager to reconnect with familiar faces and meet new members of our staff and families. In his enthusiasm to get to know everyone, he has expressed his intention to start working on these introductions as soon as possible. Although his official start date is July 1, 2024, he wants to ensure a smooth transition and build strong connections within our community.

Returning to Woodland Park holds a special place in Dr. Richey’s heart, as his parents still reside here. He is excited to contribute to the success and growth of our great Woodland Park Middle and High Schools and serve the wonderful community that has always been close to him.

We look forward to a bright future under Dr. Richey’s leadership and invite you to join us in welcoming him back to the Woodland Park School District.

School superintendent tries to stop interview after question about program funds

In the email, the middle school principal tells parents an after-school academic program has to be canceled because the funds used to pay the teachers have run out.

When asked about the email, Witt told News5 to cut the cameras. We did not agree to the request and kept rolling.
— Read on www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/school-superintendent-tries-to-cut-interview-short-after-questioned-about-program-funding

Letter to the board

A letter sent to the WPSD board recently by a community member:

Dear BOE Directors:

I cannot express the anger and disappointment that I am feeling as a result of the announcement regarding the middle school last Friday. After the turmoil over the past two years, and recent election in which the results were very close, I had hoped that the incumbent directors would be a little more willing to solicit input from, and to listen to, staff, parents, and students. Clearly that was wishful thinking.

Over 30 years ago, the taxpayers of this community approved a bond issue to build a new school so that 6-8 grades would have their own space away from high school students. For 29 years, the Woodland Park Middle School was that space, and then a new school board was elected. The middle school has been a place for 6-8 graders to transition from elementary school and get ready for high school. The middle school grades are unique because of the massive changes that kids go through at this age; they aren’t little kids anymore, and they aren’t teens and young adults. The middle school is a place for these kids to not only learn academics, but to experience greater choice of electives than elementary and start to develop their own interests, to join sports’ teams, academic teams, and Forensics, and to have a safe place in which to grow that belongs to them.

Starting last year, the middle school students started to lose their space. The middle school was being, “under utilized.” There weren’t 30 kids in every classroom. When Merit Academy was given half of the middle school building, the middle school students lost a large part of their space. The middle school staff went on educating middle school students and working to make sure that all students were welcomed into the safe space of the middle school. Then the decision came, despite parental and staff input to the contrary, to move 6th grade out of the middle school that was built, in part, for them. It was stated that the middle school was over-crowded (funny, since a year prior it was, “almost empty”). Parents, staff, community, etc. were told that it was so much better for the 6th grade to be in the elementary schools away from the older middle school students. A BOE director gushed over the, “opportunities,” that Superintendent Witt had created for the 6th grade students at the elementaries. Did you ever consider the opportunities that were stripped from them? In the middle school, 6th grade band students have band five days a week. Art, P.E., Consumer and Family Studies, Choir, STEM classes meet five days a week. They have all academic classes five days a week. In the elementary, they are lucky to have electives two or maybe three days a week. Thanks to the middle school band teacher now having to travel three days a week, 6th grade students get one day of band weekly, which will have a negative impact on the future of the WPSD band program. In the elementary school, science and social studies are not taught every day. 6th grade students no longer are able to join the Forensics team like they have for years, and just when 6th grade students were being added to all middle school sports teams, they get moved out and lose the opportunity.

Now the 7th and 8th graders are losing their entire building. If it wasn’t good for 6th graders to be with the older 7th and 8th graders, how is it good for the 7th and 8th graders to be with juniors and seniors? What considerations have been made regarding this move? The middle school PE program just received equipment to upgrade their fitness room. Where will that new equipment go in the high school building so that the 7th and 8th grade students will be able to utilize it? Will the middle school students really have their own safe space in the high school? Will they still have their beloved teachers and administrators? What about classroom space and storage space? Is there really adequate space in the high school? The high school building has numerous problems due to its age. Will all available space be safe for students? And what about sports programs? At this time, there are 7-8 basketball teams, and depending on numbers, could be as many as 9, practicing and playing games. Middle school practices daily in the middle school gym (with new bleachers that have WP). They play games on Mondays and Wednesdays. High school teams practice in both the North gym and main gym and play games usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays in both gyms. The high school boys and girls, as they have done for decades, already alternate early and late practices. Can you explain how this will work when middle school teams are added in the mix? How are up to 9 teams going to practice and play games in two gyms?! The same goes for the fall with volleyball. The cheer team has to practice after volleyball practices, and in between basketball early and late practices. Baseball has started their preseason practices, and the cheer team now has to shorten their time because the baseball team needs the space. During track season, middle school practices on the middle school track. Will they still be using the middle school track when they are housed in the high school? If so, will the district be bussing them each afternoon to the middle school? What kind of costs will be incurred in order to provide for middle school and high school teams.? Can you explain how this is even fair to WPMS and WPHS students and athletes? Can you explain how it’s ok for Merit to have 10 kids in a class, but when the middle school only had 25 kids in classes, it wasn’t enough?

For the past two plus years, it has appeared that, although the BOE is the board of WPSD, it has done everything in its power to benefit Merit Academy at the expense of WPSD schools, particularly WPMS. Now, please understand that I am all for school choice; I’m in support of having a charter school. But I am not in support of how the BOE has worked to destroy WPMS. Most charter schools are not given a building that is already in use, and then push out the students that are using that building. What has been done is wrong. It is decisions like this, without thought, without staff, parent, student, and community input or support, that continue to create strife. It is also decisions like this that continue to put Merit Academy at odds with WPSD parents, students, and staff; not because of Merit, but because of the actions of the WPSD BOE.

With sadness,

Laurie Gutierrez
Community member, taxpayer, former WPSD student, former WPSD staff member

WP cuts middle school after school academic assistance program

The Woodland Park school board found the money to give superintendent Ken Witt a $15k raise (plus 5% annual raise and up to 15% bonus), and found $328,000 extra to give to their pet project, Merit Academy, but followed up by CUTTING an after school academic assistance program at the middle school. As is typical for the Woodland Park school district, details are scarce…we’ll post an update as we learn more.

UPDATE – another email was sent out as a followup with new information. CORA request has been submitted to see if there’s any paper trail that would shed some light on this. The new email said:

Hello WPMS Families–

Earlier today I sent out a notification concerning the status of our Afterschool Academic Assistance program.  Unfortunately that email went out prematurely, and I did not have all the relevant information.  I apologize for any confusion, distress, or inconvenience that caused.

We are NOT cancelling our Afterschool Academic Assistance offering.  We will continue to offer this to students on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:20pm to 4:20pm.  In the event we need to cancel a particular day due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances, we will communicate that on the day of as needed.

Again, I apologize for any inconvenience this caused our community.

Thank you,

Bill Phalen

The original email:

Middle School (7/8 grades) being moved to High School building

About a year ago, the district made a surprise announcement that sixth grade was being moved out of the middle school building and into the three elementary schools. A teacher walkout and public protest followed, though it didn’t change the ultimate move. Today, the district announced that 7th and 8th grades would be moved out of the Middle School building to the High School, thereby giving the entire Middle School building to the charter school, Merit Academy.

This should come as a surprise to no one. Last August, the board modified their agreement with Merit to give that charter school as much of the middle school building as they said they needed…so the writing was on the wall. Still, like most board decisions, there has been no discussion with the community about any of this and no discussion in any public board meeting.

Naturally, no further details have been offered, no estimated costs have been shared. Taxpayers approved a bond issue in the early 90’s to build the Middle School building for use a middle school; starting this July it’ll be in the possession of a private non-profit corporation running a charter school.

Here’s the email parents received:

Dear WPSD Families, 

We want to provide an important update about facilities planning that will affect WPMS and WPHS.

We are currently discussing how to improve the efficiency of our building usage, specifically the utilization of the middle school and high school. In line with our commitment to providing the best facilities for our students, district administration and WPMS and WPHS leadership are planning a facilities merge, integrating WPMS 7th and 8th graders into WPHS, effective for the 2024-25 school year. No changes will occur during this current semester.

We understand the significance of such decisions and assure you the process is being approached carefully for our students’ educational experience and safety. All finalized decisions will be communicated through official channels, and we remain committed to transparency throughout this planning process.

If you have specific concerns or questions, please contact Aaron Salt, COO, at asalt@wpsdk12.org. 

The district surveyed parents in November of 2022 about the topic of building utilization…here’s the results of the relevant question: