Parker Chronicle 053113

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Chronicle Parker

Parker 5-31-13

Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 11, Issue 31

CLASS OF 2013

Eighteen-yearold Kinsey Smith, a member of Legend High School’s second graduating class, flashes a thumbs up to her dad, Jay, at Sports Authority Stadium in Parker. Photo by Chris Michlewicz

May 31, 2013

A Colorado Community Media Publication

ourparkernews.com

School district: Schedule working Some statistics on block format based only on freshmen By Jane Reuter

jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com

The Ponderosa High School Class of 2013 celebrated the completion of its graduation ceremony with the traditional toss of the mortarboards. Photo by Rhonda Moore

Parker’s high schools held their commencement ceremonies last week, as thousands of young men and women took a big step in their lives. Here, we give you glimpses of the graduation events. Ponderosa led the way with an early-morning graduation on May 21, Legend honored its second graduating class on May 22, and Chaparral celebrated amid a brisk wind on May 23. Find more images inside on pages 7, 8 and 9.

Chaparral High School graduate Eric Andalon raises his diploma and a flower during the commencement ceremony at Sports Authority Stadium in Parker. Photo by Chris Michlewicz

Douglas County School District leaders say they have statistics to prove that the new high-school block schedule — often criticized for early dismissals and 90-minute off-periods — is working. However, much of the data used to support that conclusion is based only on freshmen — who are not allowed to leave school during the day and do not have off-periods. Dan McMinimee, assistant superintendent of secondary education, said during a May 21 presentation to the Douglas County School Board that district-wide studies show the change to a block schedule succeeded in driving down class sizes with minimal impact to teachers’ planning time and student load — all while student achievement stayed high. Surveys show most students like the new schedule, which expanded most classes to 90 minutes each, as well as offperiods common to juniors and seniors. Those whose day ends with an off-period leave school at 12:30 instead of 2:50 p.m. The only survey of teachers, conducted at Chaparral High School, showed only 31 percent like the block format; 47 percent don’t; and 25 percent were undecided. To accommodate student demands while decreasing class sizes, all high school teachers taught an extra class under the new 6-of-8 schedule. District-wide, class sizes dropped an average of nearly 3½ students, from just under 29 to a little over 25, according to McMinimee. Despite the additional class each Schedule continues on Page 12

In Parker, garden brings community together Plots have thrived near Parker North since 1987 By Chris Michlewicz

cmichlewicz@ourcoloradonews.com If Ed Shaw has his way, he’ll be gardening until he “kicks the bucket.” Shaw is one of the many characters to put their roots down in the Parker Community Garden, a 42-plot spread at Longs Way and Brownstone Drive. After downsizing eight years ago from acreage property in the Oklahoma panhandle to an apartment in Parker, Shaw discovered the community garden and realized he had an opportunity to again put his green thumb to work. The 73-year-old oversaw a flourishing 60-by-20-foot garden back in Oklahoma, and because of the climate and soil in Colo-

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rado, he is able to grow just as many vegetables in a 20-by-20-foot garden bed. He has a mental laundry list of techniques to help his plants thrive, including methods that separately utilize Clorox, banana peels and plastic wrap. Even Valerie Holden, the self-described Parker Community Garden guardian, has picked up some pointers from the Oklahoma transplant and his wife, Bonnie, over the six years they have rented a plot. There is a cast of dedicated gardeners ranging in age from 12 to 82, Holden says. Each year, there is a waiting list to get into the low-cost community garden, and she begins soliciting requests as early as November. Some spend the summer tending to their crops and harvest vegetables like carrots throughout the winter. Shaw grows tomatoes, different varieties of zucchini, squash, bell peppers, cucumbers and pole beans. Of course, he and Bonnie can’t eat a summer’s yield by themselves, so they give much of it to charitable organizations or friends or even passing seniors who happen to take a rest at a picnic table during a stroll through the Garden continues on Page 12

Ed Shaw talks about the best way to plant and care for tomatoes in Colorado’s arid climate. Shaw is among the green thumbs at the Parker Community Garden at Longs Way and Brownstone Drive. Photo by Chris Michlewicz


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