ScoopToo » JM

Khan Academy: What’s Your Take?

JM — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 20:41:38 +0000

If you caught last Sunday’s 60 Minutes that featured a piece on Khan Academy, were you as amazed as I was? I just love this concept and feel strongly that if I ever had the chance to learn this way as a student, it would be a whole new world for me. Sometimes it just takes longer for things to sink in for some people and with math, I am one of those people. I could go on forever about how, if I had the opportunity to learn this way and the opportunity to master a concept at my own pace, I would have been a much more focused and successful student. I am so grateful for Sal Khan and what he has developed so that my children can benefit.

Let us know your thoughts on Khan Academy and whether you think this concept would work for your child in his or her classroom or at home!

Click here to read an article from Education Week about Salman Khan.

Denver Montclair International School Celebrates Groundbreaking for Historic Lowry Air Force Building Renovation with Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock

JM — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:07:45 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 24, 2012

Contact: Kate Paquette, Marketing and Communications Manager

(303)340-3647 Office; (303)709-1560 Cell; kate.paquette@dmischool.com

Denver Montclair International School Celebrates Groundbreaking for Historic Lowry Air Force Building Renovation with Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock

(Denver, Colo.) Denver Montclair International School (DMIS), the Rocky mountain region’s oldest international school, is renovating one of the former Lowry Air Force Base buildings on the 6.4 acre school campus. DMIS will celebrate the groundbreaking of this renovation with Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, Denver City Councilwoman Mary Beth Susman and Colorado State Senator Pat Steadman on Monday, March 5 from 9 – 10:00 a.m.

Mayor Michael B. Hancock will speak at the event about the importance of education and the redevelopment of the City and County of Denver, including the historic Lowry neighborhood. DMIS students will also perform.

After the ceremony, there will be a closing reception inside the Peacekeeper building from 10 – 11:00 a.m.

All community members and Lowry neighbors are welcome to attend this special event. Guests may park in the lot located at the corner of 4^th Avenue and Red Cross Way. The Groundbreaking Ceremony will take place at the southeast corner of the parking lot, in between the Peacekeeper building and the main entrance to the school. Please RSVP to Diane Mourning, Director of Institutional Advancement, at diane.mourning@dmischool.com.

Denver Montclair International School is an independent school that offers full-immersion, bilingual education in French, Mandarin and Spanish to students 3-years-old through 5^th grade. The new middle school is an International Baccalaureate Candidate School implementing the Middle Years Programme in grades 6 and 7. The mission of Denver Montclair International School is to develop conscientious, self-confident, multilingual and multicultural thinkers and learners prepared to thrive in a competitive world.

For more information about the school, please visit www.dmischool.com

THE SCOOP ON DENVER SUMMER CAMPS 2012 !!!

JM — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:06:35 +0000

It’s freezing cold outside. You’re finally recovering from holiday planning and bills. Super viruses are rampant and your kids have been out sick for a week at a time. We parents have been sick for a week at a time. You just can’t catch a break because now you are tasked with focusing your attention on the summer. Besides your annual trip to Cape Cod, or to Disney World, or home to Iowa, you have 12 more weeks to plan for so that your children can be occupied and entertained this summer. Who’s got time for that?

ScoopToo is here to help…a little. Our annual Denver Summer Camp List has been in the works for a couple of years now. Every year, we hope to make it more comprehensive with your help. Talk to us. Tell us what you did last summer and this summer. Help your fellow parents with feedback on camps that your kids loved. We will continue to aggregate the information and deliver it right to you. This year, we have a downloadable list for your convenience. Enjoy and good luck!

Download a PDF here: Denver Summer Camps 2012

DENVER SUMMER CAMPS 2012

List Compiled by:

For those with TWINKLE TOES:

For the ANIMAL LOVER:

For the OUTDOOR ADVENTURER:

For those with GLOBAL SIGHTS:

For the SPORTS ENTHUSIAST:

Gymnastics:

University of Denver

Golf :

The First Tee of Denver

Fencing:

Denver Fencing Center

Basketball:

Denver Nuggets

Tennis:

Denver Park and Rec Tennis Camps

Soccer:

Lacrosse:

Multi-sport:

For the next PICASSO:

For the next OCSAR WINNER:

For the SCIENTIST:

Denver Museum of Nature & Science

For the future ENGINEER:

For the TECH INSPIRED:

For the PIONEER:

Four Mile Historic Park

For those with PATENTS PENDING:

Camp Invention (you will find several locations around Denver that host this camp)

For the NATURALIST:

For the CREATIVE:

For the FOODIE:

Sticky Fingers Cooking

For the ROCKER:

Camp Jam

For the DAY CAMPER (various programs):

For the OVERNIGHTER:

PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU HAVE A CAMP TO ADD OR MAKE A COMMENT IF YOU’VE HAD A GOOD EXPERIENCE WITH ONE OF THESE CAMPS. LET US KNOW IF ONE OF THE LINKS IS BROKEN SO THAT WE CAN UPDATE IT. THANK YOU!

Announcement: Montessori School of Denver to Open a Middle School!

JM — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:42:33 +0000

Head of School, Stephanie Flanigan, stood before the Montessori School of Denver community Wednesday night and announced the exciting news that the school will be launching a middle school in August of 2013. The MSD Board of Trustees had voted unanimously to extend MSD’s grades from Toddler through 6th grade to Toddler through 8th grade.

The idea of opening a middle school has been tossed around since the 1980′s at MSD but until now, “the time was not right” according to Stephanie. Last night, the audience stood up and cheered with the revelation of this news; it is something they’ve been waiting for for a long time.

This will be the only Montessori middle school option in Denver and will implement best practices for a top-notch, 21st century education for elementary and middle school students. There is an exciting new and enhanced curriculum being developed that will take students outside the walls of the school, literally and figuratively, to encourage each student to be the critical thinkers, entrepreneurs, globally minded, stewards of our next generation.

Along with facilities planning for the addition of the 7th and 8th grades, the school will complete a comprehensive master plan, designed to address all MSD’s program and campus needs including acquiring additional property on which to build.

Enrollment will be for 40 additional students, 20 each for 7th and 8th grade, bringing the school’s total enrollment to 340 students by August of 2014. At this point, the Montessori School of Denver will celebrate it’s 50th year in operation, a true legacy of premier education in Denver.

To learn more, please visit the Montessori School of Denver website for frequent updates.

5280 Magazine and DIY Network Announcements

JM — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 21:20:25 +0000

ScoopToo Readers,

Recently, two different media organizations, 5280 Magazine and the DIY Network, have reached out to us hoping to make you aware of some things they are working on here in Denver. Though it is not core to the educational theme of the blog, we do feel that you might be interested in what they have to offer. Please see the two announcements below:

5280 Magazine to Sponsor Toy Drive

December 1, 2011 (Denver, CO) – 5280 will partner to collect toys at The Orchards for Volunteers of America for underprivileged families this holiday season. 5280 will place gift-wrapped donation boxes at participating stores for shoppers to drop off their contributions to the Toy Drive at The Orchards shopping center. New, unwrapped toys for children of all ages will be accepted.

WHEN: November 28 – December 16 WHERE: The Orchards Shopping Center

The corner of South Holly and Orchard Road.

PARTICIPATING STORES:

Boxwood and Begonia, Christy Sports Ski & Patio, Fast Frame, Mailboxes Plus, Matelasse, Rice Bistro, State Farm Insurance, and VCA Orchard Animal Hospital

Media Contact:

Carrie Horn, Marketing Director, 5280 Magazine Phone: 720-266-6245; Email: Carrie@5280.com

DIY Network

The DIY Network’s hit show “RESCUE RENOVATION” is now searching for do-it-yourself Denver area homeowners who have gotten in over their heads and have stalled in their home renovation project. Selected applicants should have started a remodel of one area of their home (demolition stage preferred), but are now stuck for one reason or another and don’t know what to do next.

Licensed contractor and host, Kayleen McCabe, and her team of experts will come to the rescue and save these project-challenged homeowners! Applicants must have an appropriate budget already set aside for the renovation. If interested, please e-mail rescue@highnoontv.com for an application, or apply on-line at: http://www.highnoonentertainment.com/casting_apply_new.php?application_id=2A

Delay Kindergarten at Your Child’s Peril – a recent NYT op ed piece

JM — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:50:14 +0000

We posted a series on “redshirting” a while back and it still seems to be a hot topic. Many of us question whether to advance our kindergartner or keep them back for a second year so they can mature or get ahead, especially we are told, if they are boys. It’s a common dilemma many parents face if a child is born somewhere between August and December. In Denver, the public school cut-off date is October 1st as is the same with most private schools. Some have set their dates in September. Either way, we question what makes the most sense for our child. Are they emotionally ready even though they are academically ready? Would they benefit and get ahead if they spent another year in kindergarten?

In a recent New York Times Op Ed piece titled Delay Kindergarten at Your Child’s Peril, the author suggests that “redshirting” your child – keeping them back another year despite their age – could be detrimental. I found this article especially interesting because it is exactly what I have done with my son. In retrospect, I may have fought a little harder for him to advance to the next grade given he was most certainly academically ready, though perhaps not emotionally. Granted, his birthday is in October so I would have had to present a very strong case for him to move into first grade. The other problem with advancing him was having him in a combined classroom of 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders which may have been too overwhelming at an earlier age. The most enlightening and perhaps controversial part of the article is where the author suggests that if you put your child with more mature students, then they will adjust to become more mature and therefore eliminate the fear of not having the social/emotional readiness that a first grader should have.

Please let us know your experiences and thoughts about holding your child back or advancing them forward to first grade when it was a questionable situation. We’d love to hear from you on this subject.

Article: Delay Kindergarten at Your Child’s Peril – New York Times Opinion column

By SAM WANG and SANDRA AAMODT

Published: September 24, 2011

Sam Wang is an associate professor of molecular biology and neuroscience at Princeton. Sandra Aamodt is a former editor in chief of Nature Neuroscience. They are the authors of “Welcome to Your Child’s Brain: How the Mind Grows From Conception to College.”

THIS fall, one in 11 kindergarten-age children in the United States will not be going to class. Parents of these children often delay school entry in an attempt to give them a leg up on peers, but this strategy is likely to be counterproductive.

The practice, called redshirting — from the term for allowing college athletes to delay participation in sports to prolong their eligibility — also has a connection to children’s sports. As sports-minded parents know, physical maturity allows older children to perform better. Coaches often mistake this difference for natural aptitude and respond by giving the older children on their T-ball or soccer teams more opportunities to improve their skills. And those athletes tend to gain a lasting competitive advantage. Does a similar approach work for academic achievement?

Teachers may encourage redshirting because more mature children are easier to handle in the classroom and initially produce better test scores than their younger classmates. In a class of 25, the average difference is equivalent to going from 13th place to 11th. This advantage fades by the end of elementary school, though, and disadvantages start to accumulate. In high school, redshirted children are less motivated and perform less well. By adulthood, they are no better off in wages or educational attainment — in fact, their lifetime earnings are reduced by one year.

In short, the analogy to athletics does not hold. The question we should ask instead is: What approach gives children the greatest opportunity to learn?

Parents who want to give their young children an academic advantage have a powerful tool: school itself. In a large-scale study at 26 Canadian elementary schools, first graders who were young for their year made considerably more progress in reading and math than kindergartners who were old for their year (but just two months younger). In another large study, the youngest fifth-graders scored a little lower than their classmates, but five points higher in verbal I.Q., on average, than fourth-graders of the same age. In other words, school makes children smarter.

The benefits of being younger are even greater for those who skip a grade, an option available to many high-achieving children. Compared with nonskippers of similar talent and motivation, these youngsters pursue advanced degrees and enter professional school more often. Acceleration is a powerful intervention, with effects on achievement that are twice as large as programs for the gifted. Grade-skippers even report more positive social and emotional feelings.

These differences may come from the increased challenges of a demanding environment. Learning is maximized not by getting all the answers right, but by making errors and correcting them quickly. In this respect, children benefit from being close to the limits of their ability. Too low an error rate becomes boring, while too high an error rate is unrewarding. A delay in school entry may therefore still be justified if children are very far behind their peers, leaving a gap too broad for school to allow effective learning.

Parents want to provide the best environment for their child, but delaying school is rarely the right approach. The first six years of life are a time of tremendous growth and change in the developing brain. Synapses, the connections between brain cells, are undergoing major reorganization. Indeed, a 4-year-old’s brain uses more energy than it ever will again. Brain development cannot be put on pause, so the critical question is how to provide the best possible context to support it.

For most children, that context is the classroom. Disadvantaged children have the most to lose from delayed access to school. For low-income children, every month of additional schooling closes one-tenth of the gap between them and more advantaged students. Even without redshirting, a national trend is afoot to move back the cutoff birthdays for the start of school. Since the early 1970s, the date has shifted by an average of six weeks, to about Oct. 14 from about Nov. 25. This has the effect of making children who would have been the youngest in one grade the oldest in the next-lower grade; it hurts children from low-income families the most.

Some children, especially boys, are slow to mature emotionally, a process that may be aided by the presence of older children. Kindergartners show age-related differences in social acceptance and self-perceptions, but these differences usually even out by first grade. The benefits of interacting with older children may extend to empathetic abilities. Empathy requires the ability to reason about the beliefs of others. This capacity relies on brain maturation, but it is also influenced by interactions with other children. Having an older (but not younger) sibling speeds the onset of this capacity in 3- to 5-year-olds. The acceleration is large: up to half a year per sibling. Although nearly all children reach a mature level of understanding by age 6, there may be lasting social advantages to developing this ability earlier. Parents concerned about a child’s emotional maturity might consider that frequent interaction with more mature classmates could help the developmental process along.

The initial redshirt advantage may disappear because children are not on a fixed trajectory but learn actively from teachers — and classmates. It matters very much who a child’s peers are. Redshirted children begin school with others who are a little further behind them. Because learning is social, the real winners in that situation are their classmates.

Announcement: Christ the King School Open House – 10.20.11

JM — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 23:54:52 +0000

Submitted by Johanna Mallory:

The first Christ the King School Open House of the year will take place on Thursday, October 20^th from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Christ the King School is committed to preparing students academically, spiritually, morally, physically, and socially to be the leaders of tomorrow, to succeed in a future we cannot even predict. You will be able to tour classrooms, discuss curriculum with teachers, mingle with currently enrolled families and find answers to your preschool, elementary and middle school questions.

Location: Christ the King Roman Catholic School, 860 Elm St.

For questions, or to schedule a personal tour, call 303.321.2123.

School Scoop: Christ the King Roman Catholic School

JM — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 23:40:48 +0000

School: CHRIST THE KING ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOL

Website: http://www.ckrcs.org/

Type: Private, faith-based Catholic School

Tuition: $4,800 for a registered Christ the King Parishioner, $5,800 for a non-Parishioner

Open Houses/Tours: There are open houses and tours and you can call the main office to schedule or register.

Admission Process: Enrollment at CK is dependent on availability and priority (Catholic siblings, non-Catholic siblings, Parish members, non-Parish members, non-Catholic students)

Main Phone: 303-321-2123

Hours: 8:00 am – 3:00 pm

Principal: Alison Higgins

Pastor: Reverend Daniel M. Leonard

Location: 860 Elm Street, Denver, CO 80220

Ages/Grades: Preschool (age 3) through 8^th Grade

Class Size: Pre-K 3’s – 20, Pre-K 4’s – 24, K-8^th- 25

Before/After Care: After care until 6:00 PM

Facilities and Playground: Located in the Hale neighborhood, across Colorado Boulevard from Congress Park, Christ the King Roman Catholic School is attached to the church by the same name. It is part of the Archdiocese of Denver Catholic Schools. The school is attached to the large church and on two levels. The ground level houses the pre-K program. There is one classroom for the 3 year olds and one classroom for the 4 year olds along with a dedicated playground just off of the two rooms. There is a long tight corridor down to the pre-K area but the classrooms open up to bright, colorful rooms that are organized and lively. The upper floor was dedicated to the older students and had a wide hallway lined with lockers. Each classroom was set up different than the next. Some had smart boards and some did not. The computer lab was also on the upper floor. I was surprised by how small the Library was and how few and dated books it contained, though our tour guide stated there were over 8000 volumes. Heading downstairs you will find several more classrooms for the lower grades, an art room, a science lab and a music room. There is also a large and updated gymnasium attached to the school. I did not see the upper school’s playground or fields but the pre-K was right outside the two classrooms. All in all the building is somewhat dated but the rooms are large and bright.

Special & Core Programs: Because this is a Catholic school, the students are required to wear uniforms. The academics are designed to be challenging and follow an established curriculum, that of the Archdiocese of Denver. They use a phonics-based reading program as well as a special program called Lexia, which is specific to each students reading level and designed to enhance learning. Next year the school will be integrating Singapore mathematics into their curriculum as well. Beyond math and reading, the curriculum includes speech, science, Spanish and religion. They also incorporate a strong art, technology, physical education and music curriculum. Lastly, there are a number of after school activities where students have the choice to participate and those include community service, sports, choir, honor society, student council, Lego engineering, fly fishing and many more.

Impressions:

I thoroughly enjoyed my tour at Christ the King. From start to finish, it was a positive and enjoyable experience. If I were interested in sending my children to parochial/Catholic school, this would be at the top of my list! The open house began in the foyer of the church where we checked in and were assigned a tour guide (a parent) along with two 8^th grade students.

First, we headed into the church that was quite beautiful and lined with antique stained glass windows. The lights were off so the two 8^th grade girls ran to find the switch. They were completely aware and comfortable of their environment. This might not seem like a big deal, but right from the start I noticed a confidence and maturity in these kids that I have never seen before in any other visit to a school. I find that you can determine a lot from a school by the nature of its students and how they interact with those around them.

From the church, we walked back through the foyer (which also serves as their lunch room during school days) and past the kitchen. We were told that they utilize Organics Delivered for their daily meal service. Parents have the choice of paying for meals or sending their kids to school with home packed lunches. From here, we headed downstairs to the pre-K area.

Though the hallway section seemed “basement-y”, I was pleased that each of the pre-K rooms opened up to bright and lively work spaces. They were very organized and almost Montessori-ish with workstations for individual activities. The teachers were there giving parents an overview and answering questions about the program. They had an honest and dedicated air about them – so genuine with an obvious love for their work.

One observation that struck me so deeply about this school was the strong connection between the students and their teachers. Because the school is quite small, the teachers, who have all been around for years and years, have seen kids progress from pre-K to 8^th grade. They have known and taught their sisters and brothers and communicate sincerely with each other as if they are one big family. The strong sense of community at Christ the King was definitely apparent.

Because I saw this school during an evening tour, I was not able to observe the every-day life of a student at Christ the King. I do encourage anyone seriously considering this school to do both a tour during a typical school day and an open house. There may be some nuance that I missed because of this. During the open house, every teacher was present and engaged with parents. The students actually did a good majority of the tour from their perspective – as a student. The other portion, more fact based, was given by a parent. All three perspectives (student, parent, teacher) were very valuable to hear.

As each member of our tour group bounced from classroom to classroom, we had the opportunity to chat with individual teachers, all of whom were open to answering specific questions we had. I was particularly interested in the history and literature education, which is combined at this school. I felt it was a very tangible way to learn. I was also impressed with the integration of computer-based learning education for every student beginning in Kindergarten.

The school follows a curriculum developed and supported by the Archdiocese of Denver Office of Catholic Schools and much is designed by the teachers themselves. At Christ the King they have, or will be, implementing several different teaching tools for each of their subjects (i.e. Singapore Math, Lexia Reading, Discovery Education for history, and yet another for Spanish education) in order to deliver the curriculum to the students. I cannot vouch for the tools and whether it is valuable to use them or not, but I did find it somewhat disjointed to have a different program for each subject.

All of the classrooms were set up in a very traditional manner, with rows of desks and the teacher at the front. Again, I did not see the classrooms in action so I cannot say whether this was a positive or negative (or neutral) aspect of daily life at Christ the King Roman Catholic School. In the Kindergarten classroom, it was even more traditional, and included saying the Pledge of Allegiance every morning and prayer 5 times a day. As the children get older, the more and more they become involved with, and participate in, church activities. I will say that the students really seem to enjoy this aspect of school. I noticed artwork and projects everywhere that incorporated a strong faith message. My student tour guides were thrilled to be in choir, participate in church activities and visit with Father Daniel.

Overall on my tour, I found the students to be a delight, the teachers wise and dedicated, the parents involved and the administrators open and welcoming. If you are looking for a strong faith-based and loving community that is seeded in deep tradition and academic achievement, this is the school for you.

I asked Principal Alison Higgins if she was willing to share her perspective on the school as well. Here is what she had to say:

How long have you been the Principal or Executive Director of your school?

2010 – 2011 is my first year at this school

How is the school different from when you started to now?

Christ the King School was already an outstanding school engaged in quality education. Now there is clear intentionality regarding the focus of the school which incorporates character development, philanthropy, environment education and inter-generational learning. There is close collaboration and great communication between home and school.

What makes your school truly unique and special?

Christ the King’s rigorous academic program has consistently produced above-average scores preparing our students for the high schools and colleges of their choice and sets them up for success.

Christ the King School is consistent with all the schools of the Archdiocese of Denver in that we have two strong goals: rigorous academics and profound catholicity. What makes us unique are the pillars supporting those goals which teach to the mind, body, heart and soul through:

Character education and leadership training (anti-bullying and conflict resolution skills)
environment education and world ecology
philanthropy and service learning
inter-generational learning opportunities which honors our community and enriches our students

The generosity of our parent body is key to our success. We truly count on our parents to give of their time and talent. The school truly benefits due to the engagement of parents in supporting the philosophy and direction of the school and in giving their time to their children’s education experience.

We are proud of our outstanding faculty who come to us with strong credentials, extensive backgrounds in education and wide experience. There is a strong and successful collaboration between home and school.

What are you doing to make your school as progressive and successful as possible?

The key is remaining relevant in today’s society. The beauty of the catholic school is that the model of Christ is always relevant and we do not find ourselves scrambling for “meaning”. We look very closely at current research to make strategic decisions about our academic future. We are constantly engaged in cyclical review of our curriculum in cooperation with the Office of Catholic Schools. We are committed to technical proficiency and to adopting emerging media in meaningful ways to enhance the education experience at Christ the King. We are currently updating our website and we go live with an online parent portal and electronic delivery of student reports in June 2011.

Is there anything that you’d like to change about the school if given the opportunity?

We are currently researching options to bring additional grass surfaces to our campus to expand our school garden and incorporate outdoor classrooms. We are also looking at a variety of new electives for our Middle School next year and extra-curricular activities which support the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) as well as Arts focus of the school program.

We are committed to giving our students the best education and educational environment from the moment they walk through our doors until the moment they leave. We are committed to the formation of mind, body, heart and soul in a way that sets them up to succeed as future servant leaders in a future we cannot even predict.

School Scoop: Lowry Elementary

JM — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 04:24:38 +0000

School: Lowry Elementary

Website: http://lowry.dpsk12.org/

Type: Denver Public School – DPS

Tours: There are no formal tours at Lowry Elementary School. Parents can just show up and check in by going to the office. There is one open house in November and you can check the Lowry website in October each year for the exact date.

Main Phone: (720) 424-5910

Principal: Carolyn (Cari) Riedlin

Location: 8001 East Cedar Ave, Denver, CO 80230

Hours: 8:45 AM-3:45 PM

Grades: ECE-5^th Grade

Average Class Size: unknown

Before/After Care: Lowry offers aftercare (Kaleidoscope Corner) as well as after school a variety of enrichment and sports programs that vary throughout the year.

Facilities/Playground: Located in the redeveloped Lowry Neighborhood on the former Lowry Air Force Base, the school was built in 2002 as a state-of-the-art facility. The school is huge, but is filled to the brim with students of diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Besides the carpeting that covers almost the entire building including the classrooms (that definitely needs to be replaced) the facilities are impeccably clean. The playground and outside areas are quite nice but lack shade – typical of these redeveloped areas. There is an orchard of trees just off the playground area that is used for picnics. There are also two gardens for the children to enjoy – a Peace Garden and a vegetable garden.

Special & Core Programs: There is an innovative program at Lowry called the Challenge Program. This program offers educational opportunities for students who excel or have an interest in a certain area of study. There is also an ESL (English as a Second Language) program as well as a Gifted and Talented program available for students. On the tour, we also learned that there is a special education program for those that need extra help in any subject. The students can/will participate in these special education sessions as long as they need the boost.

Impressions:

I had the opportunity to visit this school along with a fellow mom who is weighing her options. She lives in the neighborhood and Lowry is one of a few schools she is considering for her daughter beginning in first grade. Her daughter is currently enrolled in a private preschool.

Lowry is a mixed bag; I am just so torn by this school. I want to love it and for it to do well because it has a ton of potential and all the right ingredients for success. But it’s just not there yet.

I absolutely cannot get over the fact that there are no formal, even informal, school tours. How can Lowry possibly present itself as a competitive and sought after school if they do not attract families, including those in their own neighborhood, to come and see all the wonderful things it has to offer?

My friend and I walked in through the front doors and went straight to the office. They informed us, just as I was told on the phone when I called to set up a tour, that we are welcome to walk around on our own and see for ourselves. All we did was sign in and put on a nametag. Now, I am not a parent of this school, but I wouldn’t exactly like random parents (or people) wandering around my child’s school unattended on a daily basis. There may be a reason for this self-guided tour method but I am baffled that the supposedly strong PTO does not have something more formalized in place. Moving on.

The school has wonderful facilities and nice grounds. They have two gardens (one is a vegetable garden) that the children take part in tending to – though I don’t know how much.

Our first stop was the library where several children were engaged in reading books. I say ‘engaged’ but really they were just sitting at the various tables with books in front of them like it was detention. It is a very nice library but the shelves seemed quite sparse. There was a paraprofessional in another section of the library with several students who were working on computer-based learning programs.

We passed a speech and language specialist lab that was empty, but clearly utilized, on our way to the computer lab which is situated right next to the library. Now this was an impressive place! We spoke with the teacher in this class who informed us there were 33 brand new iMac computers that were gorgeous. This was made possible by the DPS Technology Bond funds. All of the children were fully engaged in more computer-based learning. The teacher told us the students use iLive, iMovie, iPhoto and iTunes and publishing software amongst many other programs to collaborate with class curriculum. They also have a goal of getting iPads into all of their 25 classrooms as well and hope to get a grant to do this. Currently, there are iPads in one classroom for the teachers and students to use. I am thrilled that technology plays such a huge part at this school.

Principal Riedlin has a program where she picks a book of the month for the children to read. She also assigns a “word of the week” which the children use and learn though the school year. I get the sense that literacy and writing is of great importance at Lowry. I clicked on the link on the Lowry Elementary website where they post information about this program in order to learn more. Sadly, there were two glaring typos front and center. Though it was surely a mistake, I feel that more care should be taken in the materials that represent the school – and especially the book and word-of-the-week page. This might just be my own hang-up but I have a real problem with publishing anything in an educational environment with obvious mistakes.

Continuing along through the hallways of this school, which are quite large, we moseyed along and peeked in the classrooms seeing different arrangements of desks and learning materials. I thought the students work posted on the walls were quite interesting. I saw published letters and a myriad of unique projects. There were geography projects, written letters, tessellations (yeah, I had to Wiki it too!) and tangrams (at least I knew what these were) and even current events boards. There are resource specialists (special educators) for both the upper school and the lower school. It was great to know that the students who needed special attention with any kind of learning differences could utilize these special educators as often as needed.

There is also a “Challenge Program” that includes a Gifted and Talented and High Achieving Math Challenge as well as professional development for teachers to recognize and support students who need to be challenged based on their advanced learning. I wish I knew more about this program but I am only getting this information from the Student and Parent Handbook that was handed to me in the office before my tour.

We visited the art room where one class was being shuffled in and another class was being shuffled out. One student was seeing-impaired which enlightened me to the fact that students with handicaps were welcome in this school. The art teacher told us that he is bound to follow the curriculum standards dictated by DPS, the district and the State, however, he has a good amount of leeway when it comes to the type of projects he develops for the students. The room was very well stocked, neat and inviting. There was also a nice music room down the hall but it was not being utilized by any students or teacher at the time so I know nothing about the music program.

All in all I am feeling a bit empty about Lowry Elementary. The students looked happy, the teachers seemed dedicated and I hear that the parent community is strong. I just didn’t see much else. Where were the parent volunteers? Where were the posters for student council? Where were the service-learning projects? I have a million questions that are left unanswered that would be the ones that would make me say, “wow, I could see sending my kids here”. There is so much potential for it to be one of those highly coveted schools with a ton of support and recognition, yet somehow from what I saw, it fell short.

Because I could not get a full sense of the spirit of this school, I asked Principal Riedlin, as well as my friend to give me their perspective. I just didn’t feel right about posting this profile without a perspective other than my own. Read on…

Parent Perspective:

Inside and out, Lowry is a beautiful facility – a new building with a number of great facilities including a dedicated music and art room. As a neighbor of Lowry Elementary, my family has enjoyed the schools two playgrounds many times and I have recently been impressed with parental involvement in creating the gardens and maintaining the landscaping around the school.

I was disappointed in the fact that we were unable to meet with a representative of the school during our visit. As a prospective parent, I am on the fence about moving my daughter from a private school into a public school and was looking for a certain level of reassurance from this visit. In addition, I had a number of questions about the school for which I was unable to obtain any answers. In the seven years I have been a resident of Lowry, I have found mixed feelings about the school within the community. Therefore, I believe the school would benefit from making parent association or school representatives available for campus tours.

I was particularly impressed with the computer lab at Lowry. With 33 new Apple computers and a dedicated instructor, computer learning is offered to all students from ECE through 5^th Grade. A focus on technology was reflected in the work of students displayed along the schools hallways and outside of classrooms.

The literature that was given to us by the school office outlined a Challenge program for gifted and talented students. I would have been interested in finding out more about this program.

While the library was again a beautiful facility, it appeared to be somewhat underutilized. Quite a bit of empty space was apparent on the bookshelves. In addition, several empty shelves near the entry to the library were being used for storage of science materials from a system that the school is no longer using. There were a series of work tables being used by students on the day of our visit, but I did not notice any cozy reading areas which would invite children to just read.

Principal Riedlin’s Perspective:

1. How long have you been the Principal or Executive Director of your school?

Principal for 7 years at Lowry (36 years in DPS)

2. How is the school different from when you started to now?

Enrollment has doubled to 550 students, only 4 teachers are remaining since my arrival, and we have added a full-time computer technology teacher, full-time Gifted and Talented teacher and a full-time intervention teacher.

3. What makes your school truly unique and special?

A commitment from the entire community (teachers, staff, parents, and community members) to create a school where all students’ needs are met. The teachers and staff demonstrate this through their involvement in their professional growth, guided by student data. The parents demonstrate this through their fund-raising and volunteer efforts. Our PTO and Eagle Fund contribute $200,000 to support enrichment activities and additional teachers and paraprofessionals.

4. What are you doing to make your school as progressive and successful as possible?

By using student work and assessment data, we have developed our Unified Improvement plan. This plan includes the root causes, improvement strategies, and action steps that will improve achievement. Not only do the teachers meet weekly in teams to discuss data, I meet every 6 weeks with each individual teacher in Compelling Conversations to discuss student progress and strategies.

5. Is there anything that you’d like to change about the school if given the opportunity?

More space!!!

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So, here is what I ask: If you are a parent at this school, or had a former student who went to Lowry, PLEASE, tell us about your experience how and how it has affected you and your children. We are looking for substance, meat, inspiration and we want to hear it from those that have experienced it for themselves. Your comments are more than welcome.

A Shout Out to all the Teachers in the House!

JM — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 01:11:14 +0000

*Kerri does not know I am writing this post, but she will soon enough…

So, amidst school applications and decisions about where to send your children to school, I’d like to give a shout out to all of the teachers out there – public, private, parochial – who have been an inspiration in one way or another.

Sometimes we lose sight of the things that matter when we focus on test scores or reputation of a school when really we need to be focusing on the heart of a school – the leadership. We are given an opportunity to choose a school here in Denver – though we are not always successful in our choices. But regardless of where we end up, let us not forget to appreciate our teachers, to support them and encourage them, to inspire and lead our own kids to be independent and successful thinkers.

Kerri, my co-writer on this blog, was an inspiration once herself. This got me to thinking that sometimes it only takes one person to make a difference in a child’s life. I had some interesting teachers in my life, but none that have compelled me to find them so many years later. See below what one of Kerri’s former 1st Grade students just wrote about her (I have taken out her name and the name of the school):

A Thank You Letter From a Former Student

Hi Mrs. Barclay,

I stumbled across your blog ScoopToo, and could not believe that one of the writers of this awesome blog was in fact my first grade teacher. I was a student in your first grade classroom at _______ Elementary School in 1996-1997, and I was so excited that there was an email address to be able to contact you! I’m not quite sure if you remember me, Lindsay M., but I’m now an Elementary Education major, a junior at Gordon College in MA, and it was because of the experience in your classroom that I have chosen to pursue education. I have wanted to thank you for being the incredible teacher that you are for years. In fact, you inspired me to become a first grade teacher and to give kids the quality education they so deserve. Countless times have I thought back to the sign that read over the chalkboard, “Mistakes are Opportunities for Learning” and I am so thankful to have had a teacher that truly made me love school. In my studies at college, I constantly find myself referring to the fun, structure, and incredible teaching that took place in your classroom. I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful experience that I had as your student, and to let you know how much of an impact you had on me, even in first grade! Hopefully I will be able to do the same for my future students.

With Greatest Thanks,

Lindsay M.

Keep it up teachers! Don’t let all this fuss about complacency in schools discourage you from challenging, mentoring and positively impacting our kids lives! We need you. Thank YOU!