School: ROCKY MOUNTAIN SCHOOL of EXPEDITIONARY LEARNING (a.k.a. RMSEL “rem-zul”)

Website: http://www.rmsel.org/

Type: RMSEL-Public School of Choice (BOCES-Board of Cooperative Educational Services)

Open Houses/Tours: Tours are on the first Thursday of every month (except April) September through May at 8:30 AM.

Admission Process: Please visit the enrollment page of the RMSEL Website for full details.

Main Phone: 303-759-2076

Hours: 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM

Executive Director: Kerry Lord

Operations Director (and Enrollment): Leann Asgari

Location: 1700 South Holly Street, Denver, CO 80222 (Hampden / Virginia Vale Neighborhood)

Ages/Grades: K-12

Average Class Size: 24 – never to exceed 25

Before/After Care: Afterschool programs are run by the YMCA as well as various enrichment programs run by parents, staff and community members.

Facilities and Playground: RMSEL is located in the former Ash Grove Elementary school in southeast Denver. The building is old and certainly nothing special to look at.  The playground, though I didn’t get much of a tour of the outside, looks aged and in need of a serious upgrade too.  This is one of those cases where you simply can’t judge a book by its cover.  There is a lot more to RMSEL than meets the eye. 

Special & Core Programs: The RMSEL philosophy is based on the principles of Outward Bound and organizes its curriculum around multidisciplinary learning expeditions. They place a high value on interdisciplinary learning, collaborative learning, active engagement in real issues, content and skills, development and demonstrations of deep knowledge, higher-order thinking skills and effective communication, service and character.  The have the usual PE, art and technology specials and once students reach the high school grades they have Spanish.  Due to budgetary issues, the music and Spanish programs have been limited.

Impressions: If there is any indication of how great a school is by how crowded the open houses are, then the Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary learning must be something very special.  It was a snowy and freezing morning yet there must have been 80-100 brave and interested souls crowding the auditorium.  I was greeted by just about the cutest and friendliest students (one 5^th grader and one 6^th grader). At the door they directed me into the room and over to a table where the Director of Operations, Leann Asgari, stood answering questions and explaining the nuances of the student portfolios on display.  The wall was painted with the school motto: “We Are Crew Not Passengers.” Now how about that!  A school that encourages students to be leaders and not followers that requires being involved and not going along for the ride, and one that develops and nourishes each student’s talents by allowing the study of personal interests.  Education at RMSEL is about taking a journey; not simply a ride through mandatory subject matter.

RMSEL has been accredited as a “School of Distinction” which includes high graduation rates (last year it was 100%), student satisfaction and rigorous academic standards. What makes this particularly interesting is just as the students are continually learning, so too are the staff.  The teachers at RMSEL spend at least two hours a week (after or before school hours) on continuing education – they are expected to do so or they will not last long at the school.

As I sat there and listened to the Executive Director, Kerry Lord, and the Administrative Director, Keri Melmed, speak passionately about their school, I felt inspired by their enthusiasm and dedication to a community of thinkers and doers.  What I keep trying to remember is that as we look at schools, we cannot forget that it is our children that will be spending their days in this environment.  Is it the right place for them – not us?  Do we like or dislike this school because of our own mores and values or do our little ones need a school like this to help them blossom into the person they are already beginning to be?

Of all of the school tours and open houses I’ve been to, I felt the most informative and helpful to be those that included the students in the mix.  There really is no excuse for leaving out the exact people that your children will be exposed to as peers.  At RMSEL, those that greeted me were 5^th graders and 6^th graders.  Every DPS, private, faith-based, charter, etc. goes up to at least 5^th grade.  There couldn’t be a better way to teach leadership, social skills and self-confidence than having them greet or speak to adults.  At RMSEL, a panel full of students, 5^th through 12^th grade spoke about their experiences at the school.  They were articulate and exuded confidence and pride in their school.  Their little hearts may have been beating with fear– but we never would have known it.  How many of you can get up in front of a crowd of 100 people and speak without notes or serious medication?!

While visiting the classrooms, once again, they were nothing special too look at but what was within those walls did seem special.  The students were engaged, friendly and by the sheer number of wool hats being worn, sure didn’t mind that it was freezing cold in the building!  I witnessed two way communications between students and teachers.  Groups of students in a classroom are called a “crew” – which is their motto. The kids encourage fellow classmates in their crew.

It may be too early to tell, but if your child is showing signs of interest in exploration or design or oceanography or physical fitness – perhaps botany or paleontology or photography or sustainability, this might be the school for them.  Though the students are encouraged to explore any subject which is of great interest to them, more often than not, it seemed to be something in the area of the sciences.  No matter what the interest, it was clear that each student, throughout their years, is strongly encouraged by crewmates and staff and become heavily invested in succeeding.   

Next Wednesday, January 20th, 9News along with Get Smart Schools will co-host a free event for parents interested in learning more about public school choice in Colorado (K-12). The event will take place at Manual High School in Denver from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Please read the invite below, tell your friends, and be sure to RSVP as soon as possible.

Did you know that when it comes to finding the right school for your child, you do have a choice? How do you find information about the choices that are available to you? How do you evaluate the quality of a school? How will you know if a certain school will meet the needs of your child? What are your rights as a parent? How do you apply to schools of choice? Come get the answers to these questions and more!

On January 20, 9News and Get Smart Schools will co-host a parent information evening from 6:00 to 8:00pm at Manual High School, 1700 East 28th Avenue. Speakers will answer all of your questions about public school choice in Colorado.

Food and child care will be provided and we will have representatives from many schools available before and after the event to tell you about the programs they offer. The event is free to attend and open to the first 200 respondents. RSVP today by emailing smartpeople@getsmartschools.org or calling us at 303-825-6246 x337 (Sari)

About the event

Nelson Garcia, 9News’ Education Reporter, will be moderating a lively panel discussion. Nelson came to 9News for WCCO-TV in Minneapolis where he spent five years. He worked the last three as their Education Reporter. Prior to his time in the “Great White North,” Nelson worked at WIS-TV in Columbia, South Carolina. Nelson also worked in Terre Haute, Indiana and at KOMU-TV in another Columbia — this time in Missouri. Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, Nelson attended CU for two years before getting his degree in

journalism at the University of Missouri.

Panelists will include:

Colorado State Senator Mike Johnston

After graduating from college, Johnston taught at a rural high school in Greenville, Mississippi for two years as part of the Teach for America program; he wrote the book In the Deep Heart’ s Core about his experiences. He then earned a master’s degree in education policy from Harvard University. While at Harvard, Johnston worked with Al Goreeducation advisor John Schnur; with Schnur and others, he helped found New Leaders for New Schools, an organization dedicated to training and recruiting leaders for urban schools. After graduating from Harvard, Johnston went on to earn a law degree from Yale, and began advising political candidates on education policy. After founding and leading the Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts, Johnston joined the campaign of U.S. Senator Barack Obama as an advisory on education issues. In 2009, Johnston won a seat in the Colorado State Legislature. Johnston, his wife, Courtney, and their two children live in the Stapleton neighborhood of Denver.

Denver School Board President Nate Easley

Easley, Ph.D., is a 1983 graduate of Montbello High School. After graduating from Montbello, Dr. Easley obtained his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Colorado State University in history and student affairs, respectively, and his doctorate from American University in education. His graduate research focuses on issues related to college access and retention of disadvantaged, ethnically diverse students. Dr. Easley began his professional career working directly with at-risk high school students—including a group at Montbello— and has gone on to work at state, national and international levels to strengthen educational opportunities for low-income and first-generation students.

Manual High School Principal Rob Stein

graduate of Middlebury College, Stanford University, and Harvard University, Stein has taught in the US and in Columbia, and has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver and the University of Colorado. Stein is the former Head of School at Graland Country Day School, and was Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain School for Expeditionary Learning from 1996 to 2001. Stein founded the Boettcher Teachers Program and is actively involved in the community. A Denver native, Stein now lives here with his wife Mariah Dickson and two children.

Piton Foundation Program Officer Van Schoales

Van Schoales is the education program officer at the Piton Foundation where he oversees a portfolio of investments on state policy, district reform and new school development. He has previously been a high school science teacher, principal and school non-profit leader working as an education reform advocate. Van has launched or help start a number of non-profits including the Odyssey Charter School, Bay Area Coalition of Equitable (formerly Essential) Schools, Denver School of Science and Technology, A + Denver,

EdNewsColorado and Get Smart Schools.

Address: Piton Foundation | 370 17th St. | Suite 5300 | Denver, CO 80202 smartpeople@getsmartschools.org | 303.825.6246 x 312 www.getsmartschools.org