JOB FAIR
May 20, 2016 VO LUM E 1 5 | IS S U E 26 | FREE
Are you looking for new talent? Join us for the Highlands Ranch Chamber’s Job & Career Fair! See Inside for Details!
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MEET THE CLASS OF 2016 Local graduates highlighted on PAGE 15.
DRIVE THROUGH Longtime family dealership moves to Highlands Ranch area on PAGE 2.
Foster parents STEM centers spur skills fill need Lilli Bills, right, and Natalia Wolanska demonstrate how to use a self-contained game that can be used to help physical therapy patients regain motor skills. The two were part of a team that designed and built the game in STEM class at Newton Middle School. Photo by Kyle Harding
LPS middle-schoolers design, build projects By Kyle Harding kharding@colorado communitymedia.com For Littleton Public Schools, science, technology, engineering and
mathematics education isn’t just for kids who want to pursue careers in those fields — it’s about learning to work together and developing handson skills. Four years ago, the district and Littleton Public Schools Foundation embarked on a plan to turn the school’s outdated technology labs
into STEM centers, where the students not only design projects, but build them as well. “Whether or not any of these kids actually go into a STEM field, I don’t really care,” Superintendent Brian Ewert said. “These kids are so well-versed STEM continues on Page 8
Titles can lift spirits, last a lifetime The meaning of a state championship can be found inside the hearts and minds of those involved By Jim Benton jbenton@coloradocommunitymedia.com Spring high school sports playoffs have started, and dozens of teams and hundreds of athletes in Colorado are pursuing state titles. But what does winning a championship really mean? At the high school level, MVPs don’t get invited to Disney World. Athletes generally don’t appear on talk shows. There are few national awards. In fact, a title brings little in the way of tangible Titles continues on Page 31
The Cherry Creek girls tennis team has more championships than you can shake a racket at. Photo by Jim Benton
Collaborative program matches homes with kids By Alex DeWind adewind@coloradocommunitymedia.com Kelly Mayr has five birth children, three adopted children and one foster child. So the month of May, which is National Foster Care month, resonates with her. She’s been a foster parent for about five years and, in that time, some 15 children have passed through her home. “Once you know there’s a need, it’s hard not to foster,” the Highlands Ranch resident said. “And there is a need all over.” Mayr fosters through the Collaborative Foster Care Program, a joint effort to help children in the departments of human services of Arapahoe, Douglas and Jefferson counties. On average, 1,100 children in the three counties are in out-of-home care on any given day, according to the program. Forty percent are teenagers. All have experienced trauma and almost all have special needs, including emotional, behavioral, medical or developmental. The Collaborative Foster Care Program started with Arapahoe and Jefferson counties in 2008 to maximize staff and Foster continues on Page 11
Can’t get your acne under control?
We can help! 303-945-2080 Dr. Kimberly Neyman
See page 5 for Dr. Kim Neyman’s column on acne.