I am a community member, parent and employee of District 14 and have taught at Manitou Elementary for 18 years. Our two sons graduated from Manitou, as well.
I was on the committee to support the passing of the 4C bond issue. I love this place!
I feel I am a quality teacher. I’m staying. My team is amazing, as are all of the teachers in my building.
I know personally that Mr. Bethke, Mr. Batson, Shaunda McQueeney, Mrs. Kirkendall, and on and on are educators whom I have seen make huge differences in kids’ worlds. Wendy Harms is unparalleled in her work with our kids. And soooo many more stories like this!
I did attend the April 18 Board of Education meeting, and here is what I had to say on the side of some things that have gone very right during COVID:
Hello, Manitou Springs School District 14 Board of Education,
Robotics here began in 2009 when Todd Reavis, who works for Boeing, got a corporate sponsorship for the highest level team, FRC: Team No. 2945, and the Steel Mustangs were born!
Today, we have 27 teams from kindergartners to high school seniors. Nearly 15 percent of our students participate competitively! Our high school teams run free summer camps!
This year we had:
• Fifty-one participants in the fall fourth and fifth grade FLL level with EV3 robots;
• Twenty participants in the fall sixth through eighth grades at the same level;
• Seven participants all the way through at the FTC JV level seventh through 12th with the metal robot on a 12×12 field. And they won a Judge’s Choice Award at a competition AND went to state;
• Seventy-two participants this spring for our K-3 level with fourth- through sixth-grade mentors and some JV team mentors! These guys work with WeDo 2.0 robots;
• Twenty-four participants in the spring with FRC varsity level ninth through 12th. They raised money for a California tournament and the district supports them for attending the Denver Tournament. They got second place with their alliance team of three teams in San Diego;
• You have six elementary robotics coaches through Connect 14;
• You have two plus one coaches at the middle school level: myself and the amazing Marcus and Keera Jordan; and
• Mentors at the varsity level include myself, John Clune Jr. John Clune III (a 2019 graduate!), Ian Gutierrez (a parent) and Keera Jordan.
Parents have supported funding our FTC team to an overnight event before state: special thanks to Dr. Follari, the formidable Lachowicz-Vogt family, the Walls, Mr. Jespersen, Sunday who helped us with both custodial needs as well as mentoring on her own time, Mrs. Leskee, who shares her room. … And so much more.
Parents at the elementary level sponsored and paid for teams that could no longer be granted by Boeing.
Thank you to countless community members and families: the Linsters who support at every turn and have for seven years, again Dr. Follari, Kiwanis Club, Tayco Screen Printing, Chip Spangler and friends, Amergint, Alex Grab, Pink Realty, the O’Malley family, the Wagle family, teacher Maria Woytko-Morris and soo soo many more!
And last, I am here to thank you, the board, for your support and our administration and admin building staff. Thank you!
Thank you for supporting fabulous kids doing fabulous things. Angie, Patti, Melissa, Kat, Mat, Suzi, Gayle, Marsha, Suzi, Lynda, Jenn, and more; high school media and tech, thank you for reaching down to the itty-bitty K-3 spring season and letting their 13 teams borrow iPads to program their WeDo 2.0 bots!
(Manitou hosts the Southern Colorado Expo on Saturday, May 7, at MSES — come and see!)
Thank you to building and grounds and to transportation for supporting all 13 years of this, but no time more powerfully than through COVID.
Lastly, thank you to administrators: Cameron, Elizabeth, Jesse, Dustin, Maria, Chris, Danny and more for all you do to promote and celebrate and provide spaces in which kids can soar.
From all 213 of us participants, coaches, and mentors: thank you!
In addition to this reading, I would like to say that I was also on the YES to Education in support of the bond. The bond was so big because it took care of now and prepared for the next 25 years.
Rather than “misguided,” it was very carefully thought through with multiple committees and hundreds of minds put together.
It was not right for Manitou right now — that’s why we had a vote! One thousand yes to 1,200 no is not a landslide, but it is what we wanted to know: Was it right for us right now?
The answer was no. Good job on us for using the Democratic Manitou Process!