Commerce City Sentinel Express April 18, 2024

BRIEFS

Community invited to vote on new school name finalists 27J Schools is asking community members to share their top name choices for the district’s planned new high school and middle school.

County seeks Healthy Farmers Markets input

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Earlier this year, the district put out a call for name suggestions for both new schools. e community responded with over 400 responses and more than 200 unique name suggestions. e district’s Facility Planning Advisory Committee has narrowed these suggestions to a group of six nalists for each school and now community members can again provide their input.

Community members can vote at bit.ly/3U3QZrS online.

e 27J Schools Board of Education is expected to select names for both schools in June.

e design and construction of the district’s fourth comprehensive high school - in Commerce City - and the district’s sixth middle school - in ornton - are both being funded thanks to voter support of a 2021 Bond Program.

e new middle school is scheduled to open in Fall 2026 with the high school completed and opening in Fall 2027.

Adams County is looking for feedback and opinions regarding the series of farmers markets they helped o er in 2023. Information from an online survey, located at https://bit. ly/4879uzr, will help determine how the markets will operate in 2024.

In 2023, the Adams County Health Department and Human Services partnered to provide Healthy Farmers Markets for residents. e departments are planning to provide those again in 2024, and they’d like to hear from you.

e county helped schedule the markets on Tuesdays and ursdays at the Anythink Library Wright Farms and Huron Street branches. e survey asks about location preferences, dates and timing preferences and what kinds of o erings and other services should be offered.

Adams City ‘84 alums seeking missing classmates

Adam City’s class of 1984 is scheduled to host its 40th class reunion at 5 p.m. Aug. 30 at the 30/70 Sports Bar and Grill, 18856 W. 120th Ave. in Westminster.

Progress noted at Adams 14 District

Independent panel calls for continuing improvements in Adams 14

BY YESENIA ROBLES CHALKBEAT

Adams 14 schools need more time and stability to build on improvements that have begun, according to a panel of outside experts.

e State Review Panel, a group of external educators that visits lowperforming schools and reports to the state, noted “early indicators of

progress” in the school district, but said improvement e orts have “not yet become systematic or sustained.” e panel recommended that Adams 14, and its high school, Adams City High School, continue current improvement strategies, working with an outside group. Currently, the district works with the New Yorkbased nonpro t TNTP.

“Disruption of this current strategy would likely be detrimental to a fragile system,” read the latest recommendations from the group, which were shared by the district Friday.

is school year, Adams 14 s 2023 state rating improved from the low-

est category, called turnaround, to the second-lowest, called priority improvement. e number of points earned by the school district was still slightly below what it received in 2019 before the pandemic began.

In the previous rating, in 2022, Adams 14 earned the fewest points in the rating system in all Colorado.

Adams 14, a district north of Denver with about 5,400 students, has long had some of the lowest quality ratings in the state, and has faced many rsts with the state’s accountability system. In 2022, the district was ordered to reorganize, which could have meant closing schools or merging with other districts, but the

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community fought the orders and the state relieved Adams 14 from the order in September.

But since the district is no longer following that order to reorganize, and still hasn’t shown enough improvement to be free of state intervention, the district and high school face a new hearing with the State Board of Education in May.

e State Board hearing will consider the panel’s recommendations as well as feedback from the Department of Education sta , the district’s own proposal, and community input.

How Does the Idea of ‘For-Sale-By-Owner’ Change Under the NAR Settlement?

The number of sellers opting to sell without a listing agent was surprisingly low even before the NAR settlement, which will have the effect of cutting in half the commission charged by listing agents thanks to the removal of a co-op commission for buyers’ agents, .

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has reported that only 7% of homes sold during 2023 were sold without the services of a listing agent. Another 4% of sellers began without an agent but ultimately changed their minds and decided to hire a listing agent.

mission cannot include the offer of compensation to a buyer’s agent, so listing commissions will henceforth be 2.5% to 2.8%, seriously reducing the appeal of trying to sell one’s house without professional assistance.

The main argument for going FSBO (for-sale-by-owner) has been to avoid paying the typical 5 to 6 percent listing commission. But that commission included the 2.5 to 3 percent commission shared with the agent representing the buyer. Under the NAR settlement (if approved by the courts), the listing com-

CEFF Offers 2 Earth Day Films

The Colorado Environmental Film Festival is celebrating Earth Day with two films: The Engine Inside (about bicycling) tonight, April 18; and Deep Rising (about seabed mining) on April 21. Ticket info is at https://ceff.net/earth-day

In my real estate classes as a new agent at Coldwell Banker back in 2002, it was drummed into us that “listors last,” so we should focus on working with sellers instead of buyers. The NAR settlement has struck a serious blow to anyone who specializes in working with buyers.

In light of this, NAR is offering its Realtor members a free “Accredited Buyer’s Representative” (ABR) course, and, even though Golden Real Estate specializes in working with sellers, all of us have signed up for this course so we can receive the advice which it will offer when representing buyers in the changed landscape of real estate transactions.

Of course, I will share with you what I learn from that course, which I’m taking on June 17th. Hopefully, the court will have confirmed or rejected the NAR settlement by then, so we’ll know for sure what lies ahead.

As I wrote last week, the inevitable

Renovating? Consider Adding a ‘Back Kitchen’

I can’t take credit for this idea. Last year Pro Builder magazine had an article in its May/June issue about new ideas in kitchen design, and one in particular caught my attention: adding a “back/ messy” kitchen.

Nowadays, especially with open floor plans, the kitchen has become a center of entertaining. Guests gather around the host or hostess as they prepare and deliver various courses of food.

A back kitchen allows for dirty dishes to be out of sight immediately. This keeps the kitchen area clean and attractive — and quiet — throughout the evening. There could even be a second dishwasher in the back kitchen.

The back kitchen could also be where prepared courses are staged for bringing out during the party. Think of it as a “butler’s pantry” that is off the kitchen instead of between the kitchen and the dining room.

Most people nowadays have both a walk-in pantry and what’s being called a “Costco closet” for those bulk purchases so many of us are making these days. A larger pantry big enough to satisfy both needs could be attached to the back kitchen instead of the main kitchen, cleaning and simplifying the main kitchen design. Another feature which makes a lot of sense is to have seating on two sides

(adjoining, not opposite) of the kitchen island instead of just one. This facilitates guests talking to each other, while still including whoever is at work on the business side of the island.

Open floor plans typically show the kitchen open to the family room, but not the formal dining room. How about an Lshaped open floor plan in which the dining room is open to the kitchen on the side, with the family room open to it at a 90degree angle?

Here’s a floor plan from Pro Builder showing this concept, in which ‘A’ is the island with 2-sided seating, ‘B’ is the pantry/Costco closet, ‘C’ is the back kitchen, and ‘D’ is a barn door for closing off the back kitchen/pantry.

effect of the NAR settlement will be that many or even most buyers will call listing agents directly instead of hiring an agent to represent them as a buyer. Only time will tell how that process will shake out.

If I worked solely as a buyer’s agent, I would be very nervous about what the future holds for me.

Buyer agents will still be able to earn a commission by selling new homes. Because the new home market is so competitive, builders are unlikely to reduce the commissions they currently offer to agents. Most builders, I have found, offer a 3% commission to agents who bring them a buyer, although that commission is applied to the base price,

not to the price after adding upgrades of flooring, appliances, counters, etc.

The challenge for real estate agents has always been getting buyers to call them before registering at a builder’s sales office, because most builders will not pay agents who did not register along with their buyer. We tell buyers to visit as many new home communities as they wish but not give their names until they are serious and want us to represent them. Then we can go with them on a return visit where they and we register together. That way, the buyer has the advantage of professional representation, and we are compensated for being their agent.

This column and the ’Back Kitchen’ article appeared in last Thursday’s Denver Post.

Real Estate Activity Has Surged Since Jan. 1st

For most of 2023, the number of closed transactions fell while the number of active listings surged until some of them either expired or were taken off the market for the holidays. Starting in January there was a marked increase in sales, combined with more sellers putting their homes on the market.

The charts at right are from Denver’s MLS and cover the 15-month period from January 2023 through March 2024 for REcolorado listings only, limited to a 20mile radius of downtown Denver.

The second chart shows how sharply the median days a listing was active on the MLS rose through most of last year, peaking at over 30 days in January but plummeting, just like last year, in February and March. Meanwhile, the median sold price, which had been slumping slightly during the last half of 2023, turned sharply upward in January, February and March.

From studying current MLS data, this trend is continuing in April.

Of course, the real estate market varies greatly from city to city and from neighborhood to neighborhood. If you’d like to monitor the market in your city or your specific subdivision, any of our broker associates or I could create what we call a “Neighborhood Alert” for you. You define the area you want to monitor, and we pro-

gram the MLS to send you an email notification every time a home in that area is listed, goes under contract, sells or expires. With our help, you’ll be the neighborhood expert where you live — or perhaps in a neighborhood where you want to buy. Call us; our phone numbers are below.

A Latino perspective on navigating taxes

BY ROSSANA LONGO BETTER ROSSANA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

According to the 2020 United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce annual report, Colorado ranks among the top 10 states in the United States in terms of business growth owned by Latinos, with an estimated number exceeding 100,000.

As the tax deadline approaches, La Ciudad took an opportunity to talk with two experts who can support businesses with their needs.

First, we spoke with Carlos Alegria, a Latino entrepreneur from El Salvador and owner of the business development company 3Corp in Commerce City, about the di erence between nonpro t organizations and for-pro t companies. He also highlighted challenges such as language barriers and the need for validation of experiences and empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs.

We also chatted with seasoned tax professional Jaime Moreno Núñez, elected treasurer of the Latino Chamber of Commerce and owner of the independent insurance agency Frontera. He o ered valuable perspectives on tax obligations, business growth in Colorado’s Latino community, and essential advice for navigating tax matters. ese interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Colorado Community Media: Carlos, explain the di erence rst between a nonpro t organization and a for-pro t company.

Carlos Alegria: Basically, the formal di erence is that nonpro t organizations, as the name suggests, do not directly bene t the members or

associates within the organization, while a for-pro t company seeks pro t. However, beyond the tacit de nition, there is a part that has to do with purpose. I think an organization, if it’s nonpro t, has the purpose of making an impact and creating conditions, speaking in business terms, to generate opportunities and bring opportunities closer to those who are part of it.

Basically what a company does is generate opportunities, bene ts, and employment, which is good. But it creates wealth for the owners.

So, to put it in context, that’s the fundamental di erence, and those of us in the business realm can go the pro t route, but we can also approach organizations that facilitate access to di erent opportunities and resources.

Before entering any training or consulting, I validate the person’s purpose. When you have a purpose that goes beyond the business, you can coexist with both concepts.

Everything comes from the famous “American Dream” we all came here with, and everything that is sold to us, to some extent, is business-oriented. at’s ne, but as one gets established in this country and sees that behind oneself or alongside others, there are people in the same condition. I think validating the purpose when you begin to see the need to help is when nonpro t structures become an option.

I’ve seen cases where someone sets up their company, manages to grow, and has some capital, but the next step is to set up a nonpro t so we can give back to the community the support that perhaps one had or had very little of, but in this way,

CUMMINGS

Raymond T. Cummings

October 17, 1941 - April 1, 2024

Osage City, KS - Raymond Terry

Cummings, 82, passed away on Monday, April 1, 2024, at the Brookside Retirement Community in Overbrook, Kansas. He was born on October 17, 1941, in Topeka, Kansas, the son of Francis and Lucile (Rich) Cummings.

Ray grew up near Lyndon and graduated from Lyndon High School. He had lived in the Ft. Lupton, Colorado area for 35 years and then moved back to Osage City, where he has lived since.

Ray was a truck driver most of his career, driving for several companies and then owned his own trucking business. He also served as a sheri ’s deputy in Osage County, Kansas. Ray served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1964 to 1970. He was a member of the Eagles and the American Legion. Growing up on a farm, Ray kept his passion and love for tractors.

Ray was united in marriage to Nancy Williamson on August 15, 1968, in Osage City.

Ray was preceded in death by his wife, Nancy on December 14, 2020; by his parents, Francis and Lucile; by a stepson, Mark Smothers in June of 2011; and a

grandson, Daniel Lira.

Ray is survived by his son, Steven Cummings of Osage City; his two stepdaughters, Sally Smothers and Brenda Smothers, both of Osage City; his three brothers, Randy (Sharon) Cummings of Olathe, Roger Cummings of Olympia, Washington and Rex (Brenda) Cummings of Gardner; his ve grandchildren, Danea (David) Dedig, Tara (Paul) Peters, Jesse Grimmett, Luke (Shanon) Grimmett and Hayley Smothers; his ten greatgrandchildren, Daniel Jones, Brycen Peters, Corbin Peters, Dorothy Dedig, Natalie Grimmett, Lincoln Grimmett, Penelope Grimmett, Dade Dedig, Hannah Densing and Abigail Densing; and Ray’s closest companion, his dog, Charlie.

A double graveside memorial service and inurnment for Ray and Nancy will be held at 2:00pm on Saturday, April 13 at the Alpine Cemetery on the north side of Melvern Lake. Memorial contributions in memory of Ray may be made to the American Diabetes Association, sent in care of Feltner Funeral Home, 818 Topeka Avenue, Lyndon, KS 66451. Online condolences for Ray may be left at feltnerfuneralhome.com.

more wealth can be created for everyone.

When one understands how nonpro ts function and what should be the ultimate goal, which is to create a legacy.

CCM: What have you done to help Latino businesses grow in Commerce City?

Alegria: Our company in Commerce City strategically started with what everyone does, which is taxes. What I did was set up a tax o ce, and people began to come, and we started talking with them. e way we’ve helped these people is through their taxes, by doing a regression of their businesses. at is, you declare your income or what you did with it.

So, when people are willing to listen and have these conversations, we start to bring up elements that they hadn’t considered, like depreciation and buying equipment instead of other things.

CCM: How many companies have you supported?

Alegria: It’s been perhaps more than 20, some larger, some smaller. But I can guarantee you that with all those companies, we’ve approached each one individually, touching the heartstrings of the entrepreneurs. Whether they’re gaining or losing, we address it. Out of those 20 or more companies we’ve supported, I can say that maybe half have started working with us more consistently because what they want is to express themselves in time. In my particular case, what I do with them is not only tell them what’s wrong, but I also accompany them in the decisions they make.

CCM: How can people contact you or the Central America Chamber of

Commerce so they can get the help they need to pay their taxes accordingly?

Alegría: My phone numbers are available to everybody, one is 720706-9670 and the other is 720-8154006. ese numbers are managed by a person who receives the calls and directs them to the di erent services we o er, both in taxes and in business consulting.

Jamie Moreno Núñez

Núñez, a seasoned tax professional in Boulder with over two decades of experience and a background in commercial auto and home insurance education, came to the United States from Mexico as a teenager. is interview has been edited for length and clarity.

CCM: Jaime, how has your experience been as the treasurer of the Latino Chamber of Commerce?

Jaime Moreno Núñez: It’s been a very positive experience, quite beautiful, because as immigrants, we come to a country that adopts us, and we can be a part of supporting the community with what we have been given in life. When I immigrated to the United States at the age of 15, my parents went through a lot to get me to the academic level where I am today, and I continue to study. But the truth is that I communicate with and see myself in the faces of the Latino community because they, like us, are equals. I remember working in restaurants, three jobs, to pay for my studies and continue the dream that we have been able to achieve and now share those principles that are very foreign to other people.

We relate more to people like us and understand exactly their needs, so that’s one of the things I like about my role in the Latino Chamber of Commerce because there are other businesses we can help.

CCM: In your experience over all these years working as an accountant, have you seen growth in our Latino businesses here in Colorado?

Moreno: Yes! Let me tell you a brief story: you had to go far to nd a place to eat good Mexican food, you had to go to La Federal in Denver. To nd that avor, you had to search for it, but nowadays, you can nd a decent place for typical Mexican food very close.

Latino food, whether it’s Mexican, Salvadoran, or from di erent parts of Latin America, is more accessible. You hear more Spanish, you see more businesses opening their doors. So, that’s where the need for the Chamber of Commerce arises, almost not knowing or not having a reputation as respected as it is today. More businesses are approaching us, and now, that’s the reality.

CCM: Latino businesses are growing in all areas, not just in the service sector. What are the myths that you see are just myths when it comes to Latino businesses?

Moreno: Well, one of the misinterpretations is that people think we don’t pay taxes. But also, people think they don’t have an obligation to pay taxes because they don’t have documents, and the reality is that I tell them in the classes we provide at the Latino Chamber of Commerce, is that paying taxes is not optional. It’s an obligation of every person who breathes here in the United States. Yes, a student once told me: “Even when you cross the border from Mexico, the air smells better.”

And I tell him, jokingly, what happens is that you’re paying more taxes even for the air. Here, the government, regardless of your legal status, obliges you to contribute, and it’s a responsibility to pay your taxes.

Many people are motivated because, they receive a refund and they come happily to do their taxes and want to take something home. And that’s the beauty of one’s work, because I can help them so that a refund is for something they need. ey have a planned expense, a purchase, a trip, whatever, but at the same time, they have already paid taxes.

CCM: What are those barriers you identify to be able to do a good job when paying our taxes, and where can people go for free advice?

Moreno: e truth is, there are many centers where they o er, let’s say, free guidance. But professionally speaking, when someone brings a problem, they have to go to someone who can help them.

I’ll explain it to you with the same example I gave you earlier as a doctor. When you go to a doctor, you go to the family doctor, the general one who checks everything, that your whole body is ne, and suddenly they nd that you have a spot on your bones or something, then they’ll send you to a specialist, right?

So, that’s how things start, because sometimes people, for not having the correct information, make mistakes unknowingly. And from there, it already has a negative result. So, if you go to someone and they say, “Oh, don’t worry, everything’s ne,” or “Don’t worry,

let’s counteract it with another lie or with something that isn’t true,” really because of the lack of ethics and professionalism of that person.

You’re going to feel it’s kind of weird for that person to say something, so your responsibility is to consult with another doctor or another specialist to get to the bottom of it, who will give you that condence and who will tell you the truth.

I often have clients or when I go to classes, they tell me they felt very good with the information received, and it’s not always favorable. I tell them, this is the situation you’re in, and this is what you have to be, not as a scolding, but so you have a better understanding.

I’ll answer it this way from an IRS class we had. ey say, how nice the government’s website looks nowadays, we have a translation, and you can go to IRS.gov and it’s translated into almost all languages, like 30-something. It’s actually in Spanish, in Chinese, in Mandarin, I don’t know how many languages it is, and they say this, we did it so that if you have a question, don’t tell us you

didn’t know in your language. CCM: e Latino Chamber of Commerce says on its website that it serves the entire state of Colorado, what are the areas you focus on to provide service and information?

Moreno: We are at the state level. We are called the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Boulder County, and we want to make a small amendment. We attract people who call us from all over the state of Colorado, even outside the state of Colorado. So, yes, we want to make it clear that regardless of the person’s location, we are more focused on the state of Colorado. We have a menu of available services that can help people with questions about their businesses. We are at your service for whatever you need. So, I’m going to give you the phone number of my o ce at

Carlos Alegría, a Latino businessman from El Salvador and owner of business development company 3Corp in Commerce City on the left and on the right, experienced tax professional Jaime Moreno Núñez, treasurer-elect of the Latino Chamber of Commerce and owner of the insurance agency Frontera. COURTESY PHOTOS

Lawmakers address pollution in low income areas

BY ERIC GALATAS PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE

In 2021, Colorado lawmakers took a rst step toward addressing decades of toxic pollution disproportionately impacting low-income neighborhoods and communities of color by creating an Environmental Justice Action Task Force. ey must now decide whether to act on that task force’s recommen-

dations in House Bill 24-1338.

Ean Tafoya, Environmental Justice Action Task Force co-chair, said with a projected state budget shortfall of at least $170 million, the future of the measure is uncertain.

“With the looming budget cuts from our economic forecast, we are very concerned that environmental justice legislation like this is going to be on the chopping block,” Ta-

foya said. “And so, we really need people to raise their voices and say that these issues are incredibly important.”

HB 24-1338 calls for new research and documentation, known as environmental equity and cumulative impact analyses, in the state’s most polluted ZIP codes. Tafoya said the data can help lawmakers make better policy decisions on whether new industries can be located near at-risk communities, and enforce rules for polluters already operating in those neighborhoods.

Tafoya believes all Coloradans have a human right to breathe clean air, drink clean water and

plant their gardens in clean soil. But he said decades of policies that prioritized polluters over people have led to a host of negative health outcomes, including cancers and premature death.

As Tafoya described it, “Moms waking in the middle of the night with their children gasping for air from asthma attacks. is also happens with elders who have COPD.

ese are the realities for the people who live closest to toxins, and we have a duty and a responsibility to protect them.”

is is story via e Associated Press’ Storyshare, of which Colorado Community Media is a member.

How Columbine changed us

25 years later, the tragedy is a study of recovery, resilience and triumph

BY MICHAEL DE YOANNA EDITOR IN CHIEF

Twenty- ve years have passed since that April day that etched sorrow into the hearts of Columbine High School. Two armed students took the lives of 12 of their peers and a cherished teacher and then their own lives. e reverberations of that tragic day have rippled through the years, leaving a sad narrative of killers and victims often repeated in the mainstream media.

But what that narrative misses is Columbine’s story of recovery, resilience and triumph.

It is in the school’s very fabric, where the emphasis is that every individual, from the principal to the rst-day freshman, matters.

As Columbine sophomore Madison Price told us, “It’s just the kind of thing that you can feel.”

It’s kind of a soft nding for a

newsroom that spent months parsing through stories of grief and perseverance in our interviews with survivors, past and present school o cials, teachers, security experts and even media critics.

Our newsroom sought the answer to a simple question: How has the 1999 Columbine shooting changed the school over the years — and everything else?

On one hand, nothing has changed. Gun violence is rampant in the United States. Take, for instance, the stunning tally of deaths and injuries provided by the Atlas of American Gun Violence, tracking incidents across the country down to the neighborhood level. Such an atlas is only necessary because of the almost-daily barrage of headlines chronicling shootings. Yet some are so large and horri c that everyone knows them by name, like Sandy Hook, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and Robb Elementary in

Uvalde, Texas.

e specter of violence is woven into the lives of children in schools at an early age.

And schools across the country have increased security measures in the years since the Columbine shooting, which took the lives of students Cassie Bernall, Steven Curnow, Corey DePooter, Kelly Fleming, Matthew Kechter, Daniel Mauser, Daniel Rohrbough,Rachel Scott, Isaiah Shoels, John Tomlin, Lauren Townsend and Kyle Velasquez, and teacher William “Dave” Sanders.

e Je erson County School District, which oversees the high school, points to classroom doors that lock from the inside. ere are single-point entry systems at schools that ensure students, sta and visitors pass through controlled checkpoints. Add to that security cameras, once a rarity, metal detectors and scanners.

Much of the changes are meant

to ferret out people carrying guns. Yet our reporting did not take us to the raging debates over guns, like whether background checks are enough or if teachers should be armed.

Instead, we explored how chaos among rescuers during the Columbine incident led to improved coordination today, working to bridge gaps to make all schools safer. And we looked at the media’s role during and after the shooting. One harsh takeaway from University of Colorado Boulder professor Elizabeth Skewes was that news coverage of shootings can desensitize Americans and even be harmful to survivors. Knowing that helps explain the goals of Je erson County schools at the district’s recent media day for press organizations looking to report on the 25th anniversary of the tragedy.

Frank DeAngelis, a rehabilitation advocate and past principal of Columbine High School, stands in Clement Park at the Columbine Memorial near Littleton on April 8, 2024. PHOTO BY BEAR GUTIERREZ

Frank DeAngelis’ shoelaces and support

A principal’s journey of healing and leadership

BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In the days following the shooting at Columbine High School, its principal, Frank DeAngelis, started leaving his shoes untied. e loss of his students and a teacher, who was also a friend, left him feeling he had no control over his life.

“People would say, ‘Tie your shoe!’ and I said, ‘ at’s the only thing I have control over,’” he said. But piece by piece, and with the help of his community, DeAngelis started his journey toward healing. It was just like tying his shoes, one lace over the other.

He still thinks of the tragedy every day — reciting the names of the victims who were killed before he gets out of bed. But his journey to heal hasn’t been lonely. In the years following the tragedy, he has leaned on his community and channeled his energy to help others — and still does, even in retirement.

DeAngelis started working at Columbine in 1979, right after he graduated from college. Before he became the principal, DeAngelis had been a history teacher, football coach and baseball coach there. He worked closely with students, and enjoyed that his role gave him the chance to get to know so many of them — in the cafeteria, on their sports teams and on the stage.

On the day of the shooting, like so many others, he said, his life changed forever.

After the tragedy, he led the school until every student in the area who was in class on April 20, 1999 — down to the preschoolers — graduated. “Because they were impacted by it,” he said. “Even though they were not there, they saw everything.” His leadership in those years is a common theme among students and sta connected to the school. ey say DeAngelis helped the community to heal, and they call his leadership a model for how to live. ey consider him a bedrock for the community and say he brought people together in the wake of tragedy.

the shooting, in the school’s Day of Service, now in its eighth year.

Reporters who went to that event heard many of the same things we learned in our reporting, which often involved initially-reluctant sources opening up to trust our reporters and editors with their stories. ey wanted us, and our readers, to know that the shooting doesn’t de ne Columbine. Instead, what de nes it is a kind of indomitable spirit that emerged and evolved with intentionality since 1999. It plays out for many every April 20, the anniversary of

“We have turned that day into something so positive,” teacher Mandy Cooke told us. “And that is what I am most proud of — is making sure that our current students know how to be better humans in the world, instead of this awful, tragic thing that happened to us.”

And Cooke knows. She was a student at the school in 1999 and is among three survivors we interviewed who returned to the school to help it turn the page of the adversity to a brighter chapter.

We found a community guided by those who became united in shared pain with a erce determi-

nation to heal.

In that regard, no name came up more often than former Principal Frank DeAngelis, who led the school, its sta and generations of students out of the shadows of tragedy.

“People said that Columbine really needed me — I needed them,” he said.

For many, he is a beacon of hope, even in his retirement, as he aids others a ected by similar hardships.

Now, as it has been for decades, Columbine is just another high school. People look forward to football games. ey’re studying for tests. Students are discovering

One Je erson County School District sta member said the community would not have recovered without DeAngelis — and that his impact goes far beyond Columbine.

who they are and who they might be when they become adults.

To Cris Welsh, a student at the time of the shooting who is now a teacher at Columbine, it’s all very ordinary, except for one thing.

“We exist to extend the notion that one can recover,” he said. “ at the awful things that happened to us are outside of our control, but how we respond to those awful things is totally within our control.”

Columbine is a symbol of hope, he said, not only to itself but well beyond.

“If you are determined to overcome the things that happen to you, you can do it,” he said.

ON THE COVER: Photos taken by Colorado Community Media sta and Bear Gutierrez show former Columbine High School Principal Frank DeAngelis, current teacher Mandy Cooke, crosses honoring 13 shooting victims at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, and Columbine keepsakes. Historical photos from the 1999 Columbine High School attack were taken by Rocky Mountain News sta , courtesy of Denver Public Library.

Crosses at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Centennial honor the 12 Columbine High School students and teacher who were slain. PHOTO BY HALEY LENA

Just like any other high school

Three Columbine employees and survivors reflect

BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

On a mild Monday afternoon, Mandy Cooke was walking on a path near the high school where she teaches social studies. Nearby, a few students were warming up for track and eld practice. e team’s coach spotted his colleague and shouted, “ ere’s Mrs. Cooke!” and the students waved.

It was like any high school in America. e school’s colors — navy and white — accented the track as teens ran, stretched and laughed. Behind them, the word “Rebels” was painted on a shed near the eld. A coach blew a whistle and the kids came into a huddle, as others walked through the nearby parking lot with backpacks on.

But unlike other high schools in America, this scene happened close to a memorial with the names of 12 students and a teacher who were killed in a mass shooting on April 20, 1999.

Cooke sometimes gets concerned reactions when she tells people she works at Columbine High School.

“I still have teacher friends who are like, ‘I don’t know how you

walk into that building,’” Cooke said.

She probably gets asked this question more than some other teachers, as Cooke is a survivor of the shooting. She was a sophomore at Columbine in 1999.

Twenty- ve years later, she works alongside several other survivors, hoping to support and care for students in the same way teachers and sta supported and cared for them in the wake of the tragedy.

Cooke works with friends she grew up with, including fellow teacher Cris Welsh and Noel Sudano, a school counselor.

Cooke and Welsh went to preschool together, and Cooke took piano lessons from Sudano’s mom. ey all attended Dutch Creek Elementary School and then graduated together from Columbine in 2001. All three now live in the same neighborhood, where they are raising their own kids.

A similar call led them all back to their high school.

For Welsh, who teaches social studies, there was no other choice.

“I wanted to be there for my students in the same way that teachers had been there for me — I wanted to kind of pay that for-

ward,” Welsh said.

In a time of “total, complete chaos,” he said, the teachers at Columbine represented stability. He drew a lot of strength from his relationships with his teachers in the months and years that followed the tragedy. “ ey had gone through exactly what we had gone through,” he said. “ ey showed us kindness, and consideration and compassion at a moment where so much of that seemed to be lacking in the world … I think, in each of us, there was a desire to extend that to another generation in what, regrettably, seems like an increasingly unstable world.”

Sudano said the adults at school were willing to show students their humanity, which was healing for her. One teacher, who was usually rather intimidating, gave her a hug a few days after the shooting.

“I just remember thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, this helps me understand the magnitude of what we went through,’” she said. “And, it also helped me feel that safety of like — even this authority gure, we’re all in the same situation, and we can all depend on each other.”

ese connections, the trio said,

were a critical part of the healing journey for not just them, but many of the Columbine survivors.

“Our generation grew up where we could only process through genuine communication with each other,” Welsh said. “And I think it made a big di erence.”

He said he wonders if social media — with its inherent social pressures and opportunities for criticism and damaging words — has prevented some victims of school shootings from processing their experiences e ectively.

“I would not want to have posted my opinions and ideas and emotions online for the world to see” after the shooting, he said. “I wanted friends, not the world.”

Because of the closeness and familiarity of being among people who understood what she had gone through, Cooke said she remembers never wanting to leave the Littleton area after she graduated.

“I was so comfortable because we bonded and came together, and I knew I was protected there,” she said. “And then, I knew going to school in Fort Collins, I wasn’t.”

From left, Columbine High School employees Noel Sudano, Cris Welsh and Mandy Cooke stand in Clement Park, adjacent to the school. All three of them were sophomores at the school when the shooting happened in 1999. PHOTO BY ELISABETH SLAY

HIGH SCHOOL

Cooke started college at Colorado State University. She said the rst page of her psychology textbook was about the Columbine shooting.

“Going out of that bubble was very di cult for me,” she said.

Sudano had a similar experience as an undergraduate student at DePauw University in Indiana, where she learned “very quickly how just saying the word ‘Columbine’ triggered all sorts of reactions.”

Cooke, Welsh and Sudano said the students who attend Columbine are generally aware of the history, but mostly don’t think about it unless adults mention it. For them, Columbine is just their school. Going there is “not something that seems abnormal to them until people around them tell them that it is abnormal,” Sudano said.

“I think their rst thought is not the shooting,” Welsh said. “ eir rst thought is, you know, the history test that I just made them take.”

So, for all three, working at Columbine is not strange. In the decades since the tragedy, they have come to know it as a tight-knit, service-oriented — and otherwise completely regular — high school.

“It was a high school, it always has been,” Welsh said. “If there is any special nature to Columbine, it has been the family or community atmosphere that we have created. It’s been the desire to aid and support and service others. If there is a di erence between us and other high schools, that’s it.”

Welsh said Columbine has been portrayed in many negative ways by the media. He, Cooke and Sudano said they want people to see Columbine as a wonderful place

“It is such a hub in our community for everybody, kids and adults,” Cooke said. “( ey) go to basketball games, go to football games. It’s just such a rallying point for me, that I don’t think of the shooting every single day.”

“We have a job to do,” Welsh added. “I can’t be thinking about my students and getting ready for the AP test or whatever it is we’re focused on at the moment if I’m constantly obsessing about the past. I’m not saying it’s not there, to a certain extent, but you don’t walk in and immediately have ashbacks to April 20.”

Cooke said the employees are in a place where they are ready to never forget, but still move on with their lives. She is a mother and wants to spend her time and energy focusing on her kids.

“I’m in a really good place in my life,” she said. “I don’t want to be sad.”

instead of the site of a national tragedy.

e Columbine community remembers and honors the victims, but they do it in a way that is forward-thinking and hopeful, they said.

Her kids — who are in fth and seventh grade — look forward to going to Columbine someday.

It’s a place where students study for history tests and do chemistry experiments. ey laugh in the hallways and are late to class. Students change in the locker rooms for practice after school and look forward to things like football games and prom.

Columbine is like any high school in America, only it is stronger than it was before 1999. To Welsh, the school is a symbol of hope.

Sudano said she wants people to know that Columbine is “a school that’s thriving.” e employees say they don’t let the shooting de ne their experience there.

“We exist to extend the notion that one can recover,” he said. “ at the awful things that happened to us are outside of our control, but how we respond to those awful things is totally within our control … If you are determined to overcome the things that happen to you, you can do it. ere are people out there who have done it, and you need to look to them.”

Columbine High School teacher Mandy Cooke reflects in the Columbine Memorial in Clement Park.

PHOTO BY NINA JOSS

Noel Sudano, a Columbine survivor and counselor at the high school, smiles in Robert F. Clement Park near the school.

PHOTO BY ELISABETH SLAY

Cris Welsh, a Columbine survivor and teacher at the high school, smiles in Robert F. Clement Park near the school. PHOTO BY ELISABETH SLAY

Columbine and columbines

Mother, daughter reflect on impact of April 20, 1999

BY ELISABETH SLAY ESLAY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In her home in Parker, Cindy Woodman gazed at trinkets that people sent to her daughter, Crystal Woodman Miller, following the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School. On the walls and a large wooden bookshelf — surrounding the ornaments, small sculptures and decorative boxes — paintings showcase columbine owers.

When Cindy looks at the knick knacks in her “Columbine Room,” named for both her favorite ora and the high school, they sometimes remind her of the day that would change their lives forever.

“Just to walk through there every single day is just a quick reminder, but it’s not that it puts me in pain or agony — it’s a happy reminder that I still have Crystal,” Cindy said.

Although the interview with Columbine survivor Crystal was conducted through FaceTime, her emotion was felt as she nodded in agreement with her mother and delved into the intricacies of how her life was in uenced after she went to school on April 20, 1999.

“I am so much of who I am today because of what I went through,” Crystal said. “ ough I am not de ned by Columbine, I am more of the woman, the mom, the wife, the friend, the philanthropist, the speaker, the author that I am today because of what happened that day.”

Crystal’s perspective

After the tragedy, Crystal had a decision to make: Fall apart or forge ahead. She chose the latter, and embarked on a journey that has spanned decades, where she helps the “survivors community.”

At the beginning of her journey, following the shooting, Crystal started sharing her story and eventually found her voice.

“As school shootings and mass shootings became more commonplace, I saw myself really starting to respond and just be there for others and to just be a resource for others,” Crystal said. “My work has been toward that e ort for almost 25 years, and so I want to continue to walk with this community and link arms with them and let them know that they’re not alone.”

Over the last several years, she’s been a speaker at schools and communities impacted by shootings. In addition, she’s assisted in opening a therapy retreat for survivors of mass shootings.

Additionally, Crystal has written three books: “Marked for Life,” which is about her journey, and two children’s books: “A Kids Book About School Shootings”

we’re giving them the language and the space to do so,” Crystal said. “We want to give them tools when they face their little fears and anxiety and we want to empower them to use their voice.”

Crystal said she has shared pieces of her story with her children and will continue to do so until they’re ready to hear it completely.

Cindy’s perspective

Cindy said the weeks and months following the shooting were hard for Crystal and their family, but over time, she saw Crystal overcome.

“I went through my tough times after that, but Crystal was always strong. She would amaze me,” Cindy said.

Crystal listened to Cindy’s words through Facetime during the interview happening at her home.

“I thank God that we still have her,” Cindy said while looking at her daughter, on the other side of the screen, with tears in her eyes.

Like Crystal, Cindy said the Columbine shooting in uenced a lot of elements in her life.

“I am a di erent person today than I would’ve been had I not gone through that, and I think overall I am a better person because of that,” Cindy said. “I think one of the biggest things I mostly just learned is that I need to give myself grace.”

More to know

As a survivor of the Columbine shooting, Crystal said she has been “asked every question under the sun” about that day.

and “A Kids Book About School Shootings: For Survivors.”  Her children’s books o er tools and advice for both students who survived a shooting or other trauma and parents and other adults to help them talk with children.

Crystal said among other things in her life, her experience at Columbine has impacted her perspective as a mother.

“Because of my perspective on life and how I view each day as a gift, I love being a mom and I love that I am given the opportunity in life to be able to raise and shape these young people to go far beyond anywhere I’ve been,” Crystal said.

As a mother, Crystal said she takes on the joy and responsibility to teach her children “what it looks like to live courageously in a crazy world.”

“I know what it’s like to have fear so rip your life that you can become paralyzed, and I want my kids to not have to walk through that,” Crystal said.

Crystal was thinking of her children and her perspective as a teenager in 1999 when writing her books. She wanted to re ect how she would address things with her children and how issues were addressed when she was younger.

“We want to make sure kids are talking about the hard things and

“I think the thing that I like to tell of (is) the hope and the goodness,” Crystal said. “I like to tell of the stories of resilience and the stories who’ve gone on to be impacted greatly, but have gone on to make an impact greatly.”

For Crystal, it’s hard to visit communities and see that these tragedies keep happening.

“It’s so heartbreaking that this continues to be an epidemic that has swept the world,” Crystal said. “ at there’s countless … people who’ve had to now experience this — people who know the pain, who know the heartache.”

Crystal believes various elements have led to this point including families, culture, the media, guns and mental health.

“Just talking about one facet isn’t the end date of a much deeper, much greater conversation,” she said. “So, we really need to come to the table not screaming and yelling at each other because I think we’re closer on the issues than we are apart.”

Crystal Woodman-Miller is a survivor of April 20, 1999, and has dedicated her life to helping the “survivors’ community.” Woodman-Miller is a mother of three and currently lives in Edmond, Oklahoma.

COURTESY PHOTO

In a room of her home in Parker, dubbed the “Columbine room,” Cindy Woodman admires one of many paintings of her favorite flower the columbine. Also in the room are various trinkets and knick knacks sent to her daughter Crystal Woodman-Miller, who survived April 20, 1999.

COLUMBINE

‘We are Columbine’

During her senior year, following the shooting, Crystal said she felt the community really come together.

Crystal now lives in Edmond, Oklahoma and she explained that the teachers, administrators and faculty of Columbine High School created a camaraderie and close-

DEANGELIS

“He’s the reason today that schools all over this country are able to move forward after tragedy,” said John McDonald, who was the executive director of school safety for Je co Public Schools from 2008 to 2022.

DeAngelis recognizes that his community leaned on him for hope and survival, but said this relationship went two ways.

“People said that Columbine really needed me — I needed them,” he said. “If I would have gone somewhere else, I would always be concerned about them.”

Since retiring in 2014, DeAngelis has dedicated his life and career to helping others face tragedy in their own lives. He is a member of the Principal Recovery Network, a group of “current and former school leaders who have experi-

ness that continues to reign in the hallways of the school today.

“Our kids were on trajectory to go there,” Crystal said. “ ey were in the Columbine school district and there was a lot of pride even in my kids, sporting their Columbine sweatshirts and T-shirts, going to the football games and still showing up at Columbine because we love Columbine. ‘We are Columbine’ echoes in the halls of our school and in our hearts forever.”

Cindy said to this day, people will ask her how she and Crystal

enced gun violence tragedies in their buildings” across the country.

“You can’t determine what happens to you, but you can determine your response,” DeAngelis said. “No one would ever wish that a Columbine (would) happen, but it did. And, so, how can I go out and help others?”

In the 25 years since the shooting at Columbine, mass shootings at schools have become tragically common.

DeAngelis has reached out to other school leaders in the wake of some of those tragedies, sharing advice on things that helped him — like going to counseling, nding a support system and taking care of one’s family and spouse.

He is also part of the Je Co/ DeAngelis Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting school and community safety. DeAngelis travels around the country, sharing wisdom with rst responders,

are doing and she’s grateful for the thoughtfulness of the community.

“ at just says how wonderful the community is,” Cindy said. “ at they still remember and they still have a heart for it all and still feel the pain and joy of it.”

Crystal said it’s important to remember that not all stories are “bright and cheery and happy.”  “ ere’s a lot of pain and people are still hurting deeply so we can’t forget those who are still thinking about it every single day,” Crystal said.

administrators and students.

“I just talk about my journey and taking care of yourself,” he said. “(I talk) about where we were and lessons learned, but then also the recovery piece.”

DeAngelis lives by his own advice. He still goes to counseling to take care of his well-being. Getting help and leaning on others are the main pieces of advice he gives to people recovering after tragedies.

“You’re not in the journey alone,” he said.

Part of the foundation, the Frank DeAngelis Center for Community Safety, trains law enforcement and school safety o cials to respond to emergencies in a real school environment. e center conducts about 200 training sessions a year, he said.

DeAngelis said his Catholic faith is a large part of what drives his work. He said there is no clear reason why his life was spared, but he believes God has a plan for it.

Crystal encourages people, especially in the Columbine community, to continue to reach out and support each other.

“Don’t do it alone, and know there are still people ghting on their behalf, love them and are here for them,” Crystal said. “We don’t forget the 13 beautiful lives that were lost. We don’t forget their families. We don’t forget to remember them because we carry them with us every single day. We carry their stories. We carry their legacies.”

at’s what drove him to stay at the school for so many years, and what still drives his work in supporting and educating others today.

He said his remembrance of the 13 victims each morning helps drive him forward.

“ ey give me a reason to do what I’m doing,” he said.

He laments the world’s obsession with returning to the topic of the shooting at the school. DeAngelis said Columbine and the community that surrounds it, including its alumni, are focused on helping others, moving forward and working to make the world better.

Although he is not the principal anymore, DeAngelis is still intimately involved with the school and its community.

“I can assure you, 25 years later, our community is stronger than what it was,” he said. “Because that’s what happens when families go through troubled times or tragedy — they come together.”

Cindy Woodman, mother of Columbine survivor Crystal Woodman-Miller, stands in front of a well-known painting that honors the lives lost on April 20, 1999. The painting hangs in her “Columbine room,” which serves as a constant reminder that she still has her daughter.

PHOTOS BY ELISABETH SLAY

Parents may qualify for grocery money

Summer EBT program to o er up $120 per child

BY ANN SCHIMKE CHALKBEAT COLORADO

Starting in June, hundreds of thousands of low-income Colorado families will get $120 per child to pay for groceries during summer break.

e program, called Summer EBT, aims to help parents of children who attend preschool through 12th grade in public schools pay for food when free school meals are unavailable or harder to access. State o cials expect families of more than

300,000 children to bene t.

A Colorado law passed during a special legislative session in November enabled the state to join the new program, which is mostly funded by the federal government with a small contribution from the state. Nearly three dozen states are o ering the program this year.

In recent years, Colorado has taken several steps to reduce the number of children who go hungry in the state. Starting this school year, the vast majority of Colorado students can get free school meals regardless of family income because of a universal meal program approved by voters in 2022.

CultivatingCommunityHeath&Wellness

SaturdaySep.21statDCSDLegacyCampus10035SPeoriaSt,LoneTree and

SaturdayOct.5thatTheArvadaCenter6901WadsworthBlvd,Arvada

VAS E THEDATES

The Summer EBT program will provide thousands of low-income Colorado families with grocery cards preloaded with $120 per schoolage child. COURTESY OF EYECRAVE PRODUCTIONS/GETTY IMAGES

A program similar to Summer EBT was in place during the pandemic, but it expired last summer.

Colorado families are eligible for Summer EBT cards if they receive public benefits such as SNAP, Medicaid, or Colorado Works, or if their children qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. Most families will automatically receive a letter in May for each child eligible for Summer EBT, with preloaded cards arriving in

the mail shortly after. To access the money on the card, families must set up a personal identification number. They can do this by calling 888-328-2656, entering the card number, and following the prompts.

Families who believe their child is eligible for Summer EBT, but who didn’t receive an eligibility letter can contact the Summer EBT Support Center at 800-5365298 (text 720-741-0550) or email cdhs_sebt_supportcenter@state. co.us.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

BRIEFS

Organizers are trying to contact a few remaining missing graduates. If you attended ACHS with the class of 1984 or have a family member who did, please get in touch with Susan Zale Vanness (303) 513-1333 or vannessrealty@comcast.net or Tracey Snyder (303) 921-2114 tjsnyder07. ts@gmail.com

Alliance Business Assistance Center grants available

e Alliance Business Assistance Center is excited to announce that 2024 business grants are now available to sup-

port your business endeavors.

Sta at the center can assist residents by helping to identify grants that align with their business goals and industry, providing guidance through the application process, ensuring that they have the best chance of success and providing other valuable resources for local business.

To get started, visit our website at https://businessinthornton.com/ local-business/small-business-support-programs/business- nancialassistance.

Commerce City seeking Snow Guardians

Commerce City Code Enforcement is introducing the new Snow Guardians program to help residents be good neighbors by o ering

free snow removal services to residents who qualify.

Snow Guardians assist residents who are not able to clear their sidewalks of snow and ice to comply with the municipal code due to age, disability, or some other condition.

Commerce City municipal code requires property owners are responsible for clearing public sidewalks adjacent to their property of snow and ice within 24 hours of the last snowfall.

Contact Code Enforcement to apply to keep you in compliance with the code and help keep our sidewalks safe!

To qualify, you must be a resident with limited nancial resources and be unable to shovel due to age, disability, or other conditions. Learn

more about the program and apply at c3gov.com/CodeEnforcement.

CCPD Introduces Online Crime Reporting Form

e Commerce City Police Department has a new online reporting tool allowing the public to report some non-emergency crimes and receive a police report immediately without speaking to a police o cer. Community members can now conveniently report incidents that do not require immediate o cer intervention, such as fraud, identity theft, lost property, theft/shoplifting (less than $2,000), and vandalism.

e new form is online now in English and Spanish at c3gov.com/ ReportACrime. Residents should always call 911 for emergencies.

Full-time. This position manages the leadership and day-to-day operations of the human resources department. This is a hands-on position requiring data entry as well as coordination of a comprehensive human resources program for the college in coordination with the Colorado Community College System (CCCS). For additional quali cations, full announcement & Employment Application, https://morgancc. applicantpro.com/jobs/3306662.html. EOE

Academic Technology Specialist

Full-time. This position is primarily responsible for e cient delivery of distance and online courses and materials. This includes troubleshooting, installation, maintenance, and inventory of classroom and instructional distance delivery resources and equipment. For additional quali cations, full announcement & Employment Application, https://morgancc. applicantpro.com/jobs/3138458.html. EOE

For full announcement, requirements & employment application, please visit https://morgancc.applicantpro. com/jobs/ or call 970-542-3130. EOE.

Bids will be received on a unit price basis. Bid Security in the amount of 5% of the total Bid must accompany each Bid.

It is anticipated that the Contract Agreement will be signed and the Notice to Proceed will be issued in late May 2024.

The Bid and Bid Security will remain subject to acceptance for 61 calendar days after the Bid opening, or for such longer period of time that Bidder may agree to in writing upon request of Owner.

The District reserves the right to reject any or all Bids, including without limitation, nonconforming, nonresponsive, unbalanced, or conditional Bids. The District reserves the right to act in its best interest and may terminate, modify or suspend the process, modify the terms and conditions of this bidding and selection process, and/ or waive informalities of any submission.

PROGRESS

e district celebrated the state review panel’s recent recommendations.

“I am astounded at what a di erence two years can make,” Superintendent Karla Loría, said in a news release. “In 2022, the SRP created this narrative of a failing school district, failing leadership, and it made the most heinous recommendations to shut down our school district. eir past report resulted in litigation that reached the Colorado Supreme Court. We defeated every recommendation made by the SRP at that time. Now, two years later, the amount of work and the real progress made is nally being recognized.”

In 2022, the last time the state convened a State Review Panel to provide recommendations about Adams 14, the panel suggested closing Adams City High School and reorganizing the school district, citing ine ective management of the district.

At the time the panel visited in spring of 2022, the district had just spent months ghting to cut ties with the formal external manager, MGT Consulting. And although Loría had already been in the district for about a year, she argued she had not had the authority to lead. e State Review Panel at that time found that the district did not have a clear plan for moving forward and they doubted that there was enough leadership for the district to improve.

Since then, the district has created a new strategic plan and overhauled

the district’s administrative team, and the school board has received new training to focus on policy governance.

Although some in the district have questioned the new administration, the State Review Panel this year found that school leaders and other educators they talked to in the district were all clear about the district’s priorities.

While the district was able to avoid reorganization, they have for the most part continued working with the external partner, TNTP, which was another requirement of the State Board’s order in 2022.

is year, the panel found that work bene cial and recommended that it continues.

“Multiple indications point to this partnership being the likely driving factor for the indicators of progress

the district is beginning to experience,” the panel’s report stated.

e panel stated that it did not recommend closing schools this time because the district has closed schools itself. is year, the district closed one elementary school, and it has drafted plans to continue consolidating schools in the coming years to respond to declining enrollment.

e panel also stated that it wouldn’t recommend reorganizing the district in part because that had already been attempted, and the state found it was not in the best interest of the community.

is story is from Chalkbeat Colorado, a nonpro t news site covering educational change in public schools. Used by permission. For more, and to support Chalkbeat, visit co.chalkbeat.org.

Improve Air Quality For Your Family and Community With A Mostly Free Electric Mower

By Regional Air Quality Council

The Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) is the Front Range’s lead air quality planning agency. We create plans for the state to improve air quality and meet goals set by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The RAQC also runs programs that work to reduce air pollution and improve public health in the greater Denver metro.

Sometimes, when an industrial facility faces fines, we receive those monies to put back into the community. As a result, this summer is your chance to upgrade your gas-powered lawn mower to a clean, quiet, electric option — and help improve the health of your family and community.

Gas-powered mowers have an oversized negative impact on our air quality. They contribute especially to the formation of ground-level ozone, which you cannot see or smell, but is bad for you to breathe. In fact, operating a gas-powered mower for just an hour contributes the equivalent air pollution of driving a car from Denver to Utah. When you use a gas mower, you also breathe in high levels of harmful air pollutants that are released right next to you. But you can improve the air quality in your backyard this year, almost for free.

Utilizing industrial fines, the RAQC is hosting events for residents of targeted communities to trade in old gas-powered equipment for a new electric mower. By also using a new Colorado state discount, you can receive an electric mower that

retails for over $400 mostly free –you will only need to pay the tax. This is usually less than $40 for a $400 mower.

There will be multiple models of electric mowers available at these events available for just the tax. If you prefer to purchase a higher end model mower, you just pay the difference after the discounts provided.

This program is open to residents of the following zip codes: 80022, 80024, 80221, 80640, 80229, 80260, 80216, 80205, 80211, 80207, 80238, 80239, 80249.

Commerce City Sentinel readers: check out the zip codes above because if you’re reading this paper, you likely qualify!

You don’t need to sign up in advance. Simply show up at one of the events we’re hosting with locally owned Ace Hardware stores with your old gas mower, with the ability to bring home a mower. Electric models are about the same size and weight as your old gas equipment. While you must live in one of the zip codes listed, you do not need to live in the specific community of the event. Please bring an ID, utility bill, or other proof of your residency in one of the specified zip codes.

Please also note you do need to bring a gas-powered mower for us to recycle to participate. All events are 9am – 1pm, while supplies last!

•April 13, 2024: Commerce City

Ace Hardware, 6900 Eudora Dr, Commerce City, CO 80022

•April 20, 2024: Mile High Ace Hardware & Garden, 2700 W 104th Ave, Federal Heights, CO 80234

•April 27, 2024 – Chambers Place Ace Hardware, 4830 Chambers Road Denver CO 80239

•May 4, 2024 – IF NEEDED: Location TBD near Globeville or Sunnyside neighborhoods in Denver*

*Please visit mowdownpollution. org for updates on times and locations. This program utilizes one-time funding, and this offer is only available as funding permit. If funds are exhausted in the first

in half! Plus, electric mowers are much quieter, require less maintenance, and you will no longer have to buy or handle gas. Upgrading your personal lawn mower from gas to electric can make a really big difference for air quality in your community, as well as for the health of you and your family.

Please visit mowdownpollution.org and select “residential program” or email mowdownpollution@raqc. org for more information.

Paid Advertisement by the Regional Air Quality Council. This project was undertaken in connection with the settlement of an enforcement action taken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

gas-powered mowers and cars, can help cut the ozone causing pollution on the Front Range