During its regular meeting on Thursday, Dec. 7, the District 14 Board of Education ushered in the end of the year by swearing in three new board members, followed by a performance from the Ute Pass Elementary School Honor Choir and a presentation from Principal Jackie Powell.
The Manitou Springs High School media center was flooded with friends and family supporting new board members and UPES students.
Secretary Erika Warren swore in new members Connie Brachtenbach, Magdalena (Maggie) Santos and Jill Bishop.
By the end of the night, Superintendent Sean Dorsey commented, “I’ve never been to a board meeting with this much clapping.”
President Natalie Johnson and Dorsey expressed their gratitude to the three departing board members: Vice President Jack Sharon and Directors Gustav Moen and Christi-Marie Butler.
“I want to thank you for the opportunity to work with you,” said Dorsey. “You’re serving the community, you’re serving students, you’re serving staff, and I just appreciate all the hard work.”
We let them get a little messy – Jackie Powell
Sharon and Moen plan to remain active working with the community in different roles, while Butler wants to focus on raising her family.
After nominations, the board voted Tina Vidovich new board president, replacing Natalie Johnson, who was voted new vice president. Brachtenbach was voted treasurer.
Santos and Bishop agreed to fill the two BOSCI (board members who act as special education liaisons) positions.
Powell then gave the annual Ute Pass Elementary School update. Outgoing and enamored with education, Powell explained, “What we do at Ute Pass is we let kids struggle; we let them get a little messy.”
Powell started by outlining the school’s mission “to provide unique learning experiences that challenge all students to be their best selves.”
She explained that across the country, schools are generally seeing a drop in enrollment, but UPES reached 200 enrolled students this year compared to 159 students the previous year. Post-COVID, Powell’s goals for UPES are centered around growth, major milestones and plenty of change.
She excitedly announced a change to the school’s mascot: coming in the 2024-2025 school year, UPES will officially be represented as the Mustangs instead of the Ponies.
“So I no longer get to tell the kids, I’m sorry, you’re just a smaller, weaker version of the rest of the district,” Powell said, laughing.
The school has added two new hashtags to its initiatives this 2023-2024 school year: #wegoupslides and #littleschoolbigdifference. The entire front office was renovated and a secure vestibule was installed at the front entrance. They also hired two new teachers, as well as a student teacher.
“When you start things,” Powell continued, “you don’t just do them for a year, you roll out excellence and you continue to adjust it and monitor it.”
UPES continues to develop and honor traditions, including positive morning mantras, teacher-led front lawn concerts, “Furry Friend Friday Dismissal,” and partnerships with Green Box Arts in Green Mountain Falls. Other notable moments this past year ranged from outdoor family activities and the Mountain Academy program, which utilizes our local open spaces and promotes environmental sustainability, to community engagement and innovative new academic programs. The school is also offering a program called Pathways, which allows kids to explore extracurricular activities outside of standard subjects.
As if any of those achievements weren’t impressive enough, UPES sixth-grade teacher Miles Groth, earned his environmental educator certification through the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education.
The UPES Honor Choir, with students ranging from first to sixth grade, then took the “stage, led by UPES music teacher Ian Ferguson. The kids sang a tune from a popular children’s television show, “Bluey.”
Three sixth graders, Rue, Emmy and Josiah, then spoke about the school’s core values: relationships, deep learning and opportunity. All three students were impressively well-spoken and seemed to have a deep love for their school.
Powell closed out her presentation with updated statistics showing exponential student learning growth compared to last year’s numbers.
“I just want to finish by thanking the board and the new board. …We know what we do is very different. We couldn’t do it without the support of a board and a staff as phenomenal as the one that showed up tonight and shows up every single day for these students,” said Powell, and the crowd burst into another round of applause.
Suzi Thompson, MSSD chief finance officer, then gave a presentation on mill levy revenue. She explained that traditionally, the BOE would need to vote and certify the district’s mill levies by Dec. 15, but due to an extension put into place by Gov. Jared Polis, the certification deadline is pushed to Jan. 10. The board agreed to meet virtually Jan. 4 for a special session to vote and certify the levies.
Finally, Catherine Olimb, MSSD director of technology, gave a first reading detailing changes and updates to the district’s cybersecurity policy, which was previously nonexistent. With help from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado State University, Homeland Security and the FBI, Olimb has developed a thorough cybersecurity policy for the district, one that has garnered support and approval from Homeland Security itself.
Olimb is still working on the policy, with hopes of completion in early 2024.
The BOE’s next work session is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 11, in the MSHS media center.