July 14, 2008
CURRENT PLANNING COMMITTEE UPDATES & ACTIVITIES
Support for the Glade Park Community School has been
tremendous.
We are currently working on a budget analysis to present to the school board on
August 4, 2008.
In doing so, we realized that it is crucial to the success of this project to
get an updated, more accurate count of the children and families who are
interested in attending the Glade Park Community School. We are looking at
a K-Fifth Grade scenario, which will apply to more families. Also, we are
presenting the school as a 'school of choice'. This means that Glade Park
residents would have first choice to attend and families living in town would
also be eligible through a lottery system. If you have not received an
updated 'Letter of Intent' either by mail
or through an e-mail, please use the 'contact us' page and we will get you one.
Dear Families
and Community Members,
As
many of you may know there has been much activity in regard to the Glade Park
School Project. Many important events have taken place over the year that it
has been officially proposed to the School District and many important concerns
have been aired as well. The School Board is nearing the time when they will
decide how this school will (or won’t) be incorporated into District 51, and the
Glade Park Community School Committee is continuing to gather the pertinent
information together to ensure that this will be a successful school and
community establishment for Glade Park.
Not long ago
a survey was sent out by the School District with the intention of gathering
information about what kind of support the Community will offer the school.
Unfortunately, this survey failed to represent many voices on Glade Park due to
the nature of the questions and also failed to collect data needed to continue
moving forward. It is vital to the success of this project that we hear from
all interested people—regardless of the age of your child, or even if you have
children at all.
The Glade
Park School will prove to be more than just a school catering to the young
children on Glade Park…it will be an anchor for the community that benefits
all. Some possible opportunities that the school can offer the community other
than an excellent educational facility for the children of Glade Park would
include:
v
An additional
event center for meetings and activities
v
A campus for
the 4-H Club
v
A facility
offering classes, workshops and other activities to adults and teens
v
Summer day
camps offering classes, workshops and childcare for children of all ages
v
A community
garden
v
A ropes
course or other types of experiential learning activities for youth
v
A playing
field for children and adults
v
A playground
v
Pre-school
v
Before and
after school child-care
v
Additional
visibility and fundraising opportunities for other community organizations (e.g.
Glade Park Volunteer Fire Department)
v
Collaborative
opportunities with home-schooling families
Community
Partnerships
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FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO ATTEND OUR LOCAL MEETINGS:
HERE
ARE A FEW LINKS TO PORTIONS OF THE DVD PRESENTATION WE PREPARED FOR THE SCHOOL
BOARD AND THE COMMUNITY.
CLICK EACH LINK FOR A SHORT
VIDEO CLIP
ON THE INTRO OR ANY TOPIC!
INTRO
VISION
CURRICULUM
HISTORY OF
GLADE PARK SCHOOLS
(IN QUICKTIME FORMAT)
GLADE PARK RESIDENTS WANT A
SCHOOL ON GLADE PARK AGAIN.
The idea could become a reality.
The
District 51 School Board warmly welcomed the idea. The school organizers
envision a "place-based school" in which students would learn about the history
and environment of the community. "Anytime we can get back to the
community school, it benefits the students greatly," said board member Ron
Rowley.
Organizers hope to begin in the fall of
2008, offering classes for pre-kindergarten through second grade. Valley
students would also be eligible to attend the Glade Park School on a
school-of-choice basis.
Superintendent Tim Mills suggested Glade
Park residents interested in a school gather for town-wide meeting sometime
soon, most likely a Saturday afternoon in January.
UPDATE FROM JANUARY 12TH
MEETING:
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Over 75 attendees! |
January 12, 2008 |
Glade Park Community Building |
Success! Thank you for your attendance at our meeting
Saturday. Your participation was extremely important in assessing the community
involvement and enthusiasm for providing an educational opportunity for our
children in our neighborhood. We believe the School District representatives
left with enough encouragement to continue pursuing this endeavor. Although
there was not a lot of discussion regarding the hurdles that need to be
overcome, there was support demonstrated by the community members that were
present.
The following information discusses some of the
issues/topics that have been discussed throughout the feasibility study, as well
as informal meetings with parents who are interested in having their children in
classrooms on Glade Park – we hope – as soon as August 2008!
PLEASE NOTE! No decisions have been made regarding any of
these topics. These are only the “hurdles” that need to be discussed and
resolved to move forward. This is where your involvement and participation may
come in – do you have ideas, suggests that can shape this project into reality?
Topic
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Commentary
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Curriculum |
The proposed curriculum is unique to a traditional curriculum by its
approach to teaching the core subjects. It is true that there is a
lot of technical jargon, but there is a large amount of research that
supports the proposed methods/philosophy. In a nutshell, it is really just
getting back to the basics --- children (and adults) learn by doing! Our
community can provide many opportunities for hands-on learning by “our”
parents and “our” community members, “our” teachers – sense-of-place.
Children will be attending school in their neighborhood with their
neighbors. This curriculum does align with the Colorado State Standards
AND the mission and
vision of School District 51 leaders. They would not be supporting
this project if it did not align with district goals for Continuous
Student Success. |
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Placed-based |
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“Hands-on, Minds-on” |
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4-day school week; Friday planning day |
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Grade Levels/progression |
During the feasibility study, we made contact with approximately 28
families of students in the K-2 grade levels. There are
also approximately 10 Pre-K children. The school district does not provide
education and support for Pre-K; this would have to be provided
separately by an independent Pre-K instructional program. K-2 grade
levels classroom will be multi-age, and support from the school district
as far as teacher, aides and administrative would be assigned as
necessary for classroom size. The vision is to grow to 5th grade as the
students grow. Of course, the ultimate goal would be to grow through to
12th grade – but – first things first. |
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Multi-age classrooms |
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Teachers/aides |
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Administration |
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Home school vs. School of Choice |
All schools in the district have attendance boundaries; if you reside
within the boundaries for a particular school that is your home school.
If you want your child to attend a different school within the district,
School of Choice is an option. You have to apply to attend that school
and if there is room in that school, your child may be enrolled.
Transportation is the parent’s responsibility for a School of Choice
school. Alternatively, if our school is a home school and parents want
to drive their children to Glade Park, and there is room, they may
enroll in our school. |
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Location |
To be able to have children learning on Glade Park by August 2008, a
temporary location is a must. The building and facilities must meet the
Life and Safety codes for the school district. Private individuals have
offered locations; assessment will be performed to determine suitability
for these locations. Permanent locations should be central to the Glade
Park crossroads. There are sections of property currently for sale in
this area. Are there other individuals that would be willing to donate
and/or lease property for a school?? |
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Temporary |
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Permanent |
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Utilities |
Basic issues to be resolved with land purchase and building code and
permit issuance. |
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Water, Sewer, Trash, Electric |
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Facility |
The ideal permanent facility vision is to be environmentally
conscientious in design. There are many models available. The school
district has designed “dome-model” buildings that we will explore. Many
other options exist and will be investigated. |
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Modular construction |
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Framed construction |
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“Green” Construction |
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Transportation |
The school district will provide transportation for all students;
provided the school is the home school for Glade Park students. |
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Lunch program |
Temporary facilities will not provide lunch programs; students will be
responsible for bringing sacks lunches. |
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After-school program |
Independent contractors provide after-school programs in the district.
We would like to see a before/after-school program put in place.
Also, to provide day-care on Fridays-teacher preparation days. |
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Community Participation |
OK – this is where the rubber meets the road! The sky is the limit!
Volunteers are a valuable resource that can make or break this project.
Everyone has the opportunity to provide assistance.
Volunteers may range from:
Classroom assistance
Field trips
Parent-Teacher association groups
Building and district accountability groups
Labor/construction donations
Property donations
Financial donations Grants |
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Volunteers |
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Labor/construction donations |
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Property donations |
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Financial donations |
Again, we want to reiterate. These are topics and
discussions that have been recorded in the feasibility study. No decisions have
been made. Where we go from here is up to “us”…. How can you become involved,
what can you do to support learning and education in our community?
The School District 51 Board Members and Administrators
will continue to investigate the feasibility of the Glade Park Community School
project, but they will be looking at us to provide the support to make it
happen! Are you in?
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GLADE PARK
COMMUNITY SCHOOL
