April 17, 2015 VOLU M E 1 4 | I S SUE 21
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Donors give big for school district Spirit Dinner showcases students’ talents
LPS FOUNDATION SPIRIT SCHOLARS Elliana Streifer, Arapahoe High School • Taking AP and concurrent courses at Arapahoe Community College • Trains service dogs • Stage manager for school theater productions • LINK leader • Teaches sign language at Franklin Elementary School
By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com The Littleton Public Schools Foundation annual Spirit Celebration on April 11 was a resounding success, selling out 570 seats for the first time ever and raising well over $200,000 to support a wide variety of programs throughout the district. “That’s a true testament to a wonderful community full of caring and invested people,” said Beth Best, LPSF executive director. This year’s event was dedicated to outgoing Superintendent Scott Murphy, who is retiring in June. “Scott has made us better, has made us stronger, has made us more effective in our mission to serve Littleton Public Schools,” said Best. “He’s challenged us, made us laugh, made us cry and made us flourish.” Proving that LPS students are indeed flourishing was Innovation Alley, where kids from throughout the district showed off their techie skills. In keeping with the spirit of the evening, Goddard Middle School students Ellie Fajer and Dunham Perry created a Scott Murphy robot that keeps going and going until it’s turned off, but an ultrasonic sensor keeps it from running into anything. Other exhibits included kindergartners using iPads, award-winning student newspapers and yearbooks, artwork, design projects, Ted talks and more. Mom Andrea Myers Culhane, a Realtor and sponsor of the event, thanked the foundation for allowing her kids to have access to a wide range of experiences such as these. “My kids are thriving and turning into incredible young adults … in a large part because of the incredible schools they’ve attended,” she said. “The education, extracurricular activities and social experiences that they’ve received at Wilder, Goddard and now Heritage have been second to none.” The LPS Foundation will support many more such projects next year. A grant to Heritage High School will build a “quadcopter” drone that will allow quadriplegics to regain freedom of movement and commu-
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Jordan O’Brien, Heritage High School • LINK mentor • Student teacher • Will attend University of Kansas to attend special education and occupational therapy • Volunteers at Adams Camp, an adventure camp for kids with special needs • Teacher cadet at Euclid Middle School • Wrestles for HHS • Works part time at Moody Elementary School’s child-care program The Arapahoe Singers perform at the LIttleton Public Schools Foundation Spririt Dinner, held at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center on April 11. Photos by Jennifer Smith nication via brain waves; another to Moody Elementary School will support its Blessings in a Backpack program, which sends food home for the weekend with students who are in need. “As a community, we have all benefited from strong schools,” said Mary McGlone, LPSF president. “And as a foundation, we are proud to be an important part of that by providing over $3 million in direct support to LPS.” A highlight of the evening was the announcement of the creation of the Scott Murphy Legacy Fund, for which $43,000 was raised in a matter of minutes by people literally bidding on nothing. Murphy asked that the fund be dedicated to the social and mental well-being of all LPS students. “We have the ability to recognize when kids have needs,” said Jack Reutzel, LPS board president. “The most important thing in our lives is how we impact children, and how they become successful.”
Goddard Middle School students created a Superintendent Scott Murphy robot to display on Innovation Avenue, where students from throughout the district show off their techie achievements to attendees of the annual Spirit Dinner fundraiser for Littleton Public Schools.
Jolie Voss, Littleton High School • Plays woodwinds, percussion and piano • Has composed her own symphony • Works part time • Volunteers • Takes AP classes • Plans to attend the University of Northern Colorado for advanced master’s program in music education and music theory • Hopes to one day teach music at the university level Valeria Gonzalez, Options High School • Enrolled in the district’s health-sciences program to earn certification as a nurse’s aide • Peer leader • Volunteers with Zuma’s Ranch animal resuce • Volunteers with the elderly • Volunteers with 9Health Fair • Plans to pursue becoming a registered nurse
things to know about Brian Ewert
Superintendent signs pact New Littleton Public Schools leader commits for three years By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@colorado communitymedia.com Brian Ewert made it official on April 9 by signing a three-year contract with Littleton Public Schools, and will start his job as the district’s new superintendent on July 1. “This is quite an honor and very humbling,” he said, adding that he’s following some “fantastic” superintendents in a “diamond” of a school district. “We value Brian’s experience as a superintendent,” said Jack Reutzel, LPS board president. “It is fundamentally important and
gives him the ability to step in and continue the tradition of excellence in LPS. Brian shares our community’s values for choice, which includes charter schools, magnet schools, open enrollment and preferences within the district.” Ewert will make $220,000 a year. Scott Murphy, who is retiring after serving as LPS superintendent since 2006, has an annual salary of $239,051. “Brian brings a lot of the personal attributes that everyone has appreciated in Scott,” said board member Lucie Stanish. Murphy, too, placed his stamp of approval on his successor. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Brian as a superintendent of a neighboring district, and I am confident that he is a great fit for LPS,” said Murphy.
Brian Ewert will take over as superintendent July 1. File photo
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During his time as superintendent for Englewood Public Schools, beginning in 2010, Ewert raised that district’s state accreditation rating from “Turnaround” to “Accredited with Improvement,” and passed a $50 million bond and a $1.5 million mill levy to build a new middle/high school campus. Ewert is the current chair of the Denver Area School Superintendents Council, which represents 23 school districts and more than 70 percent of the students in Colorado.
Ewert is the 2015 Colorado Superintendent of the Year, designated by the Colorado Association of School Executives. He will represent Colorado in the 2015 American Association of School Administrators National Superintendent of the Year program
Ewert is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Northern Colorado, teaching education leadership classes.
He served in the Douglas County School District from 2000 to 2010 as a principal and then as the director of human resources. He was a principal in Academy 20 in Colorado Springs for five years before that.