2022-2023 CA Here to Help Guide

Colorado Academy’s

to Help Guide

A Quick Guide to Your CA Community

We call this our Here to Help Guide. It’s designed to help you quickly find answers to questions and to connect you with important contacts throughout campus.

You can always find detailed answers to all of your questions in the Student/Parent Handbook found on CA’s website. This “at-a-glance” guide will help you reach the people who are key to your family’s experience at CA.

Creating curious, kind, courageous, and adventurous learners and leaders.

Things come up. It’s vital that CA has your current contact information. If you change your address, phone number, email, or any other contact information, please let us know at directory.update@coloradoacademy.org. You can access the school’s online digital directory when you log in to coloradoacademy.org.

school day

The School Day at CA

Lower School and Middle School classes start at 8:10 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m. Upper School classes start at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m.

CA follows a six-day rotational schedule. Letter day calendars, class rotations, event calendars, arts and athletic calendars, and divisional calendars are all on the CA website. Every family receives a printed wall calendar at the start of the school year with letter days and key events noted.

attendance

Attendance at CA

In the event of illness or when emergencies arise, please keep children home. In those situations, notify administrative assistants in the Lower, Middle, and Upper School divisions by 8:30 a.m. CA expects children to be present when school is in session. Excessive absences slow your child’s progress, and they place an added burden on both the child and teachers to make up missed class time. Please read the section of the Student/Parent Handbook on CA’s website for more information.

For Lower and Middle School records requests, please contact the Administrative Assistant for that division.

Attendance

LOWER SCHOOL: Ivanna Oligny

Administrative Assistant 303-914-2555 ivanna.oligny@coloradoacademy.org

UPPER SCHOOL: Christina Garza

Administrative Assistant 303-914-2519

MIDDLE SCHOOL: Helen Romero Administrative Assistant 303-914-2567 helen.romero@coloradoacademy.org christina.garza@coloradoacademy.org

Reporting an absence?

Please call or email your child’s division.

Lower School: 303-914-2555 lsattendance@coloradoacademy.org

Middle School: 303-914-2567 msattendance@coloradoacademy.org Upper School: 303-914-2598 usattendance@coloradoacademy.org

safety & security

Getting On and Off Campus: Safety & Security at CA

CA’s experienced safety and security team is friendly and vigilant. They ask all parents to help keep CA safe for everyone.

n The team asks all drivers to obey the 10-mph on-campus speed limit. Thanks for driving slowly.

n The team asks that you do not text or talk on the phone while driving on campus.

n The team asks parents to wear your parent ID badge while on campus, as well as post a campus permit on your vehicle windshield. Parent badges and vehicle permits are available in the CA Store.

n Please use visitor parking. Numbered parking spots are reserved for faculty and staff.

Safe2Tell hotline: 877-542-7233

Julia Shoun Director of Campus Safety and Security 303-587-8435

Andrew Kirshbaum Campus Safety Officer 720-309-6231

Miriah Medina Campus Safety Officer 720-296-0555

Dave Ollila

Campus Safety Officer 720-810-6919 Welcome Center 303-914-2581 security@coloradoacademy.org

operations & transportation

CA’s Operations & Transportation

Forty employees work year-round ensuring that every CA bus route is served. In addition, the Operations team makes sure that chairs, tables, buildings, and outdoor spaces are ready for CA’s many annual events.

For these staff members, the numbers say it all:

n They serve students, faculty, staff, and parents of CA—a community base of more than 2,000 people on any given day.

n They run CA’s 10 bus routes, which cover some 900 square miles three times per day.

n CA’s grounds crew has four year-round employees. Depending on the season, they mow 35 acres of grass every week and plant an average of 50 new trees every year— some years as many as 100 trees. (Just think of the impact for years to come!)

n Four operations technicians and 17 custodians maintain all the buildings on CA’s 94-acre campus.

n Operations manages CA’s recycling program through which the school’s recycling volume exceeds its landfill waste volume by a ratio of 4:1.

dining hall

The CA Dining Hall

Colorado Academy’s Dining Hall offers something for everyone, with multiple food stations and new and fresh options daily.

Students can find gluten-free and vegan options on the daily menu; our chefs also prepare food with attention to students with specific food allergies.

health office

The CA Health Office

CA’s Registered Nurse Kisa Owens and Health Assistant Holly Clapp provide help to children and families with anything from health plans and medication administration to wellness alerts. Kisa Owens serves the Lower and Upper School from the administrative office in the Lower School. Holly Clapp serves the Middle School from the administrative office in the Middle School. Please be sure to submit all medical, health, emergency, and release forms via the Magnus Portal on the Parent Resource Board. Also, please provide any medication that your child may need during the school day prior to the first day of school. As guidelines to the latest available COVID-19 information change, CA will adjust accordingly. Also advising CA’s Health Office is a Nurse Consultant contracted through Children’s Hospital Colorado.

extended day at CA

Extended Day at CA

CA offers Extended Day, which provides care for students in Kindergarten through Grade 8 before and after school. The Extended Day house is located along CA’s North Road, just west of the Operations Building.

Sign up for Extended Day on the CA website at coloradoacademy.org/ admission/affordability-tuition--financial-aid/extra-fee-services

n Before-school care for Lower School students includes breakfast and is offered from 7:15-8:00 a.m.

n After-school care is available until 6 p.m. for children in Kindergarten through Grade 8 students. Students receive a snack and have the opportunity to relax, play, or do homework.

After care is available for Pre-K students as part of our Early Childhood Education (ECE) Program.

Contact Jenny Armstrong, Director of the ECE Program for more information. The Pre-K After Care Program is located in the cottages and is available until 5 p.m.

Extended Day at CA

sports medicine

Sports Medicine at CA

Certified Athletic Trainers provide a broad scope of sports medicine services to our students and competitive student-athletes. Our athletic trainers create and monitor injury therapy programs and conduct acute head injury evaluation and treatment, following Colorado’s youth concussion statutes.

Students see Dr. Richard “Griz” Griswold on the sidelines of many athletic events. CA adheres to the Standards of Professional Practice of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) and credentialing statutes of the State of Colorado. CA athletic trainers are nationally certified by the Board of Certification (BOC) as Certified Athletic Trainers (ATC) and licensed in the State of Colorado.

CA’s Counselors

Colorado Academy has four school-based mental health professionals on staff, serving students in all three divisions. The counseling staff works directly with teachers and administrators to ensure that the academic and emotional needs of students are met.

Students and/or parents can schedule appointments with the school counselors to discuss any range of emotional, behavioral, social, or learning concerns. In cases where the child or family would benefit from the help of an outside professional (e.g., psychologist, psychiatrist, occupational therapist, speech and language therapist, tutor), we’ll make a referral. Don’t be bashful about reaching out.

libraries

CA’s Libraries

CA’s two on-campus libraries serve as a central part of a student’s experience by providing and promoting the very best of children’s and teen literature, by collaborating with classroom teachers to support curriculum, by teaching research skills at every grade level, by promoting Digital Citizenship, and by bringing authors, book clubs, book fairs, and other events to campus.

Please see the Student/Parent Handbook for information about library policies and operations.

Libraries

Allison Peters Jensen

college office

CA’s College Office

The CA College Office provides individual guidance and extensive resources to CA students as they explore options beyond high school. We believe that selecting a college should be a student-led process, designed to help children learn as much about themselves and their hopes for the future as they do about potential college choices.

CA college counselors travel extensively to visit colleges and universities, lead national professional organizations, and participate in the national dialog around college admission practices, trends, and philosophy.

technology

CA’s Technology Office

Colorado Academy’s Technology program is one of the most innovative and comprehensive in the state. We provide up-to-date equipment, training, and a friendly tech support team (including iPad assistance) to help students, staff, and parents succeed in the digital age. You can find information on CA’s iPad program on the CA website at coloradoacademy.myschoolapp. com/ftpimages/438/download/ download_3155165.pdf.

CA’s iPad program

the CA store

The CA Store

This hub for all things CA is right across from the Dining Hall in the Campus Center. CA Store Manager Janet Plant can help with CA spiritwear, parent ID badges, extra vehicle permits, last-minute school supplies, and questions about textbooks.

Beginning with Sixth Grade, students have access to the CA Store and may purchase items. These are charged to student accounts, and fees appear on monthly bills. Please speak with your child about your expectations regarding this responsibility. The CA Store is open from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. daily. Middle School students can visit the store during lunch.

Families of Middle and Upper School students are required to purchase all books (both textbooks and e-books) for class. Most required books are available for purchase through our online book vendor, MBS. Some books are available at the CA Store.

Janet Plant

CA Store Manager 303-914-2551

janet.plant@coloradoacademy.org

business office

registrar

Registrar

Does your Upper School student have questions about course requests, adding and dropping courses, and student academic records? The Registrar can help students with these questions. The Registrar also sends grade reports to parents, prepares transcripts for Upper School students, and responds to alumni requests for transcripts.

admission & financial aid

CA’s

office of inclusivity

Office of Inclusivity

Colorado Academy is a community that values and honors difference. We seek to be a place where students of all ages and families of all backgrounds are understood, represented, and highly regarded. Through special projects, curriculum, and community outreach, we emphasize that all students have the right to be acknowledged and feel included in the CA community.

CA ofrece servicios de interpretación a pedido. Para más información o hacer preguntas en español, llame a Abel Ramirez ’16, 303-9142573 o abel.ramirez@coloradoacademy.org.

Office of Inclusivity

communications

CA’s Office of Communications

Always working to keep you current on everything you need to know about CA, this office is command central for communications that advance the mission of Colorado Academy. Whenever you see a publication about CA, consult the printed CA calendar, read about CA in social or mainstream media, check out the CA website, watch a CA video, or read this CA publication with “Here to Help” information, you know that CA’s communications professionals have been busy keeping you informed. Archives of CA Today and On CAmpus can be found on the CA website at CA Now coloradoacademy.org/ca-now.

CA’S Office of Advancement

The Advancement Office is home to many CA school events and traditions, alumni relations, and fundraising.

Independent schools cover a portion of their operating costs each year through charitable contributions and endowment proceeds. Why? It helps keep tuition costs down and keeps a portion of your annual costs tax deductible!

CA’s annual giving program, The CA Fund, is the foundation of our fundraising efforts, allowing the school to fulfill our mission to create curious, kind, courageous, and adventurous learners and leaders. Every year, The CA Fund provides critical resources to the school’s most important priorities, including academic innovation, arts, athletics, financial aid, and more. Your participation, no matter the size of the gift, matters to every CA student.

*Please contact Chris with any changes to your address, phone number, or email.

How to Volunteer at CA

If you want to contribute to CA with your time and talent, there are lots of ways to become involved. Start with the Parent Association and the Get INvolved Fair on the first day of school. You can also sign up online, contact your class lead, your teacher, or an administrator with your ideas for how to help the CA community. You can reach the Parent Association at capacommunications@gmail.com.

severe weather

Severe Weather at CA

CA is committed to being open every scheduled school day. In the event of severe weather, parents/guardians are responsible for deciding whether to send students to school. It is the parent’s/guardian’s responsibility to notify the school if the student will not be attending.

Information about school closings will be broadcast on local television stations and sent to families via voicemail, text, email, and social media, including Twitter and Facebook. In addition, school closing information will be posted on CA’s website, and there will be a recorded message on the school’s main telephone number: 303-986-1501.

On days when there is lightning in the area of the CA campus, students will be kept inside buildings, and dismissal may be delayed. Parents are asked to remain in their cars until students are released.

CA will text families with severe weather updates. A test message will be sent at the beginning of the year. Please respond yes. If you do not receive a text, please text YES to 87569.

We are HERE to HELP!

To check whether school is closed due to weather, call 303-986-1501 or go to coloradoacademy.org.

Gus, the mascot

CA’s Mascot

CA’s mascot is a Mustang. Several years ago, in a contest to name the mascot, the winning choice was “Magnus,” which means “great” in Latin.

Magnus goes by Gus for short, and you’ll see Gus at sporting activities and school events. You may even remember Gus from the welcome video in your acceptance letter during the admission process.

Gus is not frightening, because we don’t want to scare younger children. Sometimes, Gus will show up as a special treat when classrooms or grade levels of parents have achieved a special fundraising goal. Gus is a beloved member of the CA community.

Gus, the Mascot

solving problems

CA’s Problem-Solving Pathway

When problems arise for your child, we have a standard and straightforward path to help solve them. We focus on helping students advocate for themselves. When parents and students need help with a problem, we ask that they work together— no matter the age of the student—as they follow this problem-solving pathway.

Have a problem? Start Here...

Teachers: Please go to a teacher first to work things out as quickly as possible. This helps teach children and young adults that there are always bumps in life, and they can choose a straightforward approach to resolve those bumps.

We are HERE to HELP!

Advisors: In the Middle and Upper schools, your child will have an Advisor. Advisors are good “go-to” people who can help when issues arise. Advisors are especially helpful for academic issues, and they can involve additional resources, if needed.

Deans and/or Counselors: These are additional resources who can help, depending on the issue. In the Upper School, there are grade-level Deans who help guide students on a variety of social, emotional, and academic issues.

Solving Problems

Principals

or Department Directors: Principals oversee each of CA’s three divisions. Additionally, the Directors of Athletics and Visual & Performing Arts can assist you.

Principals Department Directors

Angie Crabtree

Lower School Principal angie.crabtree@coloradoacademy.org

Bill Wolf-Tinsman

Middle School Principal bill.wolf-tinsman@coloradoacademy.org

Max Delgado

Upper School Principal max.delgado@coloradoacademy.org

Head of School: Dr. Mike Davis has an open door policy. If you’ve exhausted all other resources, contact him by email or make an appointment to meet with him.

Bill Hall

Director of Athletics bill.hall@coloradoacademy.org

Katy Hills

Director of Visual & Performing Arts katy.hills@coloradoacademy.org

Dr. Mike Davis Head of School mike.davis@coloradoacademy.org