August 6, 2015 VO LUM E 1 1 | IS S UE 1 0
ArvadaPress.com A publication of
J E F F E R S O N C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
Teachers, parents, district debate teacher turnover Reasons for departures range from basic life decisions to district culture By Crystal Anderson
canderson@colorado communitymedia.com The end of the 2013-2014 school year saw 710 of Jefferson County Schools’ 4,830 teachers leave their jobs — the highest teacher turnover rate in an eight-year period and a 5.4 percentage-point increase since the 2010-2011 school year. The 14.7 percent turnover rate, based on reports from the Colorado Department of Education and the school district, is lower than 2013-2014 TEACHER the state teacher TURNOVER RATES turnover average of 17.1 percent. Littleton — 8.3 % Although individual Boulder — 9.4% district numbers Cherry Creek — 9.3% for the 2014-2015 Jeffco — 14.7% school year won’t be Douglas County — 16.7% delivered to the CDE State average — 17.1 % until December, Denver Public Schools — 21.7% the state’s teacher Source: Colorado Department of Education turnover rate for that year is estimated to be 16.6 percent, according to the department’s data specialist. “While Jefferson County historically has had a teacher turnover rate lower than the state average, the gap is the lowest it has been within the past five years,” said Megan McDermott, the CDE’s assistant director of communications. That shrinking gap has many parents and teachers worried about what they say is an increasing exodus of teachers. They blame the school board for changes in teacher pay and evaluations, the hiring of Superintendent Dan McMinimee, a controversial proposed review of the district’s Advanced Placement U.S. History course and a lack of respect and transparency by the conservative board majority elected in 2013.
“From an insider’s perspective, there are hundreds of people looking,” said Barb Aswege, a Jeffco teacher who will be an assistant principal in Boulder County this fall. “It’s just a matter of whether they get that position or not.”
Although several district staff said the turnover rate is not abnormal, McMinimee said he is concerned.
FRESH APPEAL FOR GROCERY STORE
Turnover continues on Page 5
Drones fly above raceway, show up in police work By Christy Steadman csteadman@colorado communitymedia.com
Arvada resident Sharon Holstine strolls through the newly remodeled Arvada Natural Grocers, which celebrated its reopening on Aug. 1. “I’ve been coming here for years,” she said. Holstine smiles as she asks an employee where some of her groceries are now located. “I like it,” she said of the newer version. “It’s different, but it needed to be.” The store, at 7745 Wadsworth Blvd.—the fifth to open in Colorado since the company’s inception—also will host a birthday party on Aug. 13 for its 60th anniversary. Photo by Crystal Anderson
Whether for investigations conducted by law enforcement agencies or for media purposes at large-event venues, organizations consistently say drones can be a valuable tool. “It’s going places where photographers aren’t allowed—including above the racetrack,” said Jeff Sipes, media relations with Bandimere Speedway in Morrison. “We’re able to capture angles that we couldn’t before.” By the end of the year, the Golden Police Department expects to buy its first drone, which Police Chief Bill Kilpatrick prefers to refer to as an unmanned aerial vehicle. “There are a lot of positive uses for it,” he said. “It adds a tool that we haven’t had before.” Use of drones is an expanding trend throughout the country, state and Front Range as public services, event venues, the military, the agriculture and farming industry, construction job sites and hobbyists begin to find uses for them. In Jefferson County, law enforcement and first responders are excited about the potential to help investigations — from photographing accident Drones continues on Page 10