On the evening of Dec. 6, I pulled onto Independence Street, heading to Peak Expeditionary School’s Festivus Celebration. Midway up the road, cars were lining the sidewalks, and as I turned into the school’s driveway, the parking lot was completely full. Having gone to Pennington Elementary (now Peak) myself and having kiddos there since 2015,
The Jeffco Schools consolidation process has been, simply put, tough. The merged school populations are working hard to make the best of a challenging situation but the loss of culture and community is draining for students, families and staff. The school district branded the closure process “Regional Opportunities for Thriving Schools” but I have talked
It’s been years since our kids attended school, and yet we are so happy when we run into parents we met at pick up and drop off, PTA activities and more, all those years ago. Recently Brenda Reitz had organized a meet up for parents whose children attended Prospect Valley. It was great to reunite
As my eldest son Hudson and his lifelong friends embark on their senior year of high school this year, I cannot help but reflect on their journey. How have the remarkable amount of changes around what all of our students and educators went through in a COVID-19 world impacted them? Fast forward to today, going
More and more, people young and old are looking for a different career path than one needing a college degree and the debt that comes with it. At the Construction Industry Training Council of Colorado (CTIC), now located in Wheat Ridge, the incentives and options available to those interested in trades are nearly too good
Each phase of my education has provided several building blocks to the foundation of the person that I am today. As a college student, I often reflect and refer to these building blocks to better assess academic and personal matters. While I learned many useful lessons that I will continue to carry with me, I
Healing our inner child is a concept that most of us are familiar with, unique to each person’s perspective. For me, this looked like running to Prospect Valley Elementary School, followed by sitting under the big cottonwood tree that overlooked the playground and field. I caught myself several times engulfed with nostalgia, recovering lost memories
Back in the 1960s, the British Prime Minister was asked what the greatest challenge is for a statesman. His famous reply has been repeated many times: “Events, dear boy, events.” In my remarks to this year’s graduates, I’ve said that In August 2019, they started high school with the same hopes, dreams and fears as
The invitation read “Reimagining High School.” The description was too enticing to refuse. We’ve spent years complaining about our public education and here was an opportunity to be part of the conversation. It’s really the only way you’re granted an official permission to complain. It’s a snowy Saturday morning and I’m headed to the Jeffco
The Neighborhood Gazette, in an attempt to do a meaningful story about the bond project at Wheat Ridge High School, has stumbled upon some questions that remain yet to be answered. A Feb. 13 tour of “The Farm” revealed some troubling issues within the walls of a building that should be considered one of the
Let me introduce myself. I’m Susan Miller, and I represent District Four on the Jefferson County Board of Education. So why am I here writing about Wheat Ridge? Because I’m a fiercely proud mom of four Farmer graduates. We choiced our first child into Wheat Ridge High School back in 2010, when Griff Wirth and
The long-overdue facelift of Wheat Ridge High School is finally about to happen. The heart of the community since it was built in 1957, its face is largely unchanged since that time. The bond money voted in years ago is being put to use at last, with the final project expected to be completed by
When it comes to our children and the immunizations they are required to have when enrolling in school, Colorado ranks last in the United States with low rates of immunization. We’re not talking about the COVID shots but the ones that keep you from getting the measles, mumps, polio, chicken pox and pertussis. The kind
In its usual thoughtful way, Wheat Ridge High School organized a two-day event where professionals in the community were invited to speak to high school students about their careers, occupations and jobs. All in hopes that it would answer questions, clear the way and help form a path as they studied toward graduating with a
Wheat Ridge high school is proud to welcome Brandon Wilkes to the Physical Education team and coaching staff for the Farmers Football team. The Wilkes family rolled into Wheat Ridge on July 30 of this year. At the time the family consisted of Brandon, his wife Jessica, Bennett (who is currently a sophomore at Wheat
Jane Johnson, coordinator of the Career Explore program at Wheat Ridge High School, is particularly proud of her high school graduates who nearly dropped out before enrolling in Career Explore. “Many were not on track to graduate. We keep them in school by addressing their interests and helping them gain career readiness before they graduate.”
The Denver school board had a list of schools to be shut down due to not meeting the minimum criteria set in their closure study. It started with 19 schools, down to 10 and then five. After further community pressure, that list was further reduced to two schools, only to be reduced to zero the
I’m the proud father of four WRHS Farmers. I served as the Chair and CoChair of the WRHS School Accountability Committee for five years, and have watched the interaction between Jeffco Public Schools and Wheat Ridge for a decade. Like many, I’m outraged by the proposal to close three WR elementary schools after millions in
Dear Editor, From the moment you are greeted by Ms. Siddoway you are embraced with warmth, kindness, love and passion. After 18 years of being a teacher at Kullerstrand Elementary, her passion for teaching continues to grow. My son had Ms. Siddoway for first grade, he started her class as a remote student in August
“I don’t teach fake anything,” says Bill Gold, social studies teacher at Everitt Middle School. While at Everitt, he’s taught all eighth-graders U. S. history almost every year. This year, Gold is teaching three eighth-grade classes with 30 students each and, due to declining enrollment in the Everitt school neighborhood, two sixth-grade classes. Books stuffed
Kullerstrand, Vivian and Wilmore Davis are among 16 Jefferson County elementary schools that are recommended for closure next year, according to a report from the Jeffco Public Schools Superintendent Tracy Dorland at a special meeting of the Board of Education, Aug. 25. The board will vote on the proposed recommendation on Nov. 10, following a
There was a time where you moved to a neighborhood and your parents would look for the nearest school and that’s where you would go. Schools were about pure education. Teaching you to write, to read and various levels of math. When families started tuning in closer to what motivated their children, they began shopping
“I love teaching because every day there’s something new,” said Janelle Jerman, a music teacher at Prospect Valley Elementary in Wheat Ridge since 2002. “Teaching the younger kids is great because they love you no matter what,” she said. “And they’re not as self-conscious as older kids. So we can do things like dance and
“Wheat Ridge High School is a special place.” These are the words I heard over and over again during my first month as principal on The Farm. Students, parents, staff, alumni and community members all said the same thing. To be honest, I was hesitant to believe a place could be so special. I mean,
