Herald
Englewood 11-22-2013
Englewood
November 22, 2013
75 cents
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourenglewoodnews.com
Arapahoe County, Colorado • Volume 93, Issue 40
Schools see drop in students Administrators surprised that count declined by 146 By Tom Munds
tmunds@ourcoloradonews.com
Tom O’Connor, left, checks out the jersey Galen Kauffman located during the Nov. 16 Englewood High School 100th Anniversary Celebration. The jersey is the same one that Kauffman, a 1985 graduate, wore when he played basketball for the Pirates. Photos by Tom Munds
Pirates celebrate century mark Past and present EHS faculty, students take part in festivities
The final 2013 count shows there are 2,835 students attending Englewood schools — a drop of 146 students from 2012, or a 5 percent decline. “I am surprised our enrollment is down this year,” Brian Ewert, school superintendent, said on Nov. 15. “Our enrollment was up by 30 students last year, but this year, we saw a drop.” The 2012 count showed 2,981 students in Englewood schools. He said the biggest decline was enrollment at Colorado’s Finest Alternative High School, which had about 80 students fewer than expected. “The alternative high school is a very transit population,” he said. “Unfortunately, this year’s count day came when our enrollment was down. Right now it is quite a bit higher than it was on Oct. 1. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help us because state funding is based on the student count on Oct. 1.” After the official count is made on Oct. 1, school districts work with the state to correct possible errors because the state funding is based on the full-time equivalent of the official count.
By Tom Munds
Count continues on Page 9
tmunds@ourcoloradonews.com “It is so good to see you again” was heard a lot as current students and faculty joined those from years past on Nov. 16 for Englewood High School’s celebration of its 100th anniversary. For example, 1978 graduate Diane Seymour said that during the celebration she saw and talked to classmates and teachers she hasn’t seen in 35 years. “This is such a great event and, although it’s been a long time since I went to school here, I am still a Pirate,” she said with a smile. “I still have and wear Pirate T-shirts and marching band items. Touring the school was great and I even got to see (retired band director) Dr. (Jess) Gerardi. It was great to see him and brought back memories of when I marched in his band.” The school had a lot of memorabilia on display, some of it, like outdated Pirate uniforms, for sale. “I read they were selling some of the old uniforms and I really didn’t expect to find the one I wore back in the early ’80s,” said Galen Kauffman, a 1985 graduate. “But I came tonight, started digging through the old basketball uniforms and I found it, I found the No. 21 jersey I wore when I played basketball here for four seasons. Coming here tonight was a lot of fun. It brought a ton of memories and I got to connect with a lot of old friends I haven’t seen in years.” Bob Karlson, a 1958 graduate, sat on a bench looking through the yearbook
District rating makes jump The commons was crowded with attendees at the Nov. 16 festivities as Englewood High School celebrated its 100th anniversary. There was a sale of old uniforms and yearbooks, plus a dance.
‘Accredited with improvement’ ranking stops ticking clock By Tom Munds
tmunds@ourcoloradonews.com
Century continues on Page 9 POSTAL ADDRESS
Printed on recycled newsprint. Please recycle this copy.
Bob Schlageter and Gretchen Sombarr, 1960 EHS graduates, demonstrate how to dance the jitterbug at the dance that was part of the Nov. 16 Englewood High School 100th anniversary celebration. The activities included a tour of the new wing, a tour of the old school and the dance. The “Dance of the Decades” featured songs dating from 1914 — the year of the school’s first graduating class — up to music of today.
The Englewood Schools achieved a threeyear goal when the Colorado Department of Education approved an appeal elevating the district to a rating of accredited with improvement, a rating based on issues such as student achievement and growth, academic gaps, and postsecondary and workforce readiness. “The process to reach this point began three years ago when Englewood was designated a turnaround district,” said Brian Ewert, school superintendent. “At that time, we developed a plan to raise our rating. In the last three years, a lot of hard work by teachers and staff has resulted in the higher rating.” He added that the plan is to use the leverage of the improvement to continue the trend. In 2010, Englewood’s performance rating from CDE was “turnaround,” which meant the district was under state scrutiny. It also meant Englewood had five years to improve to an acceptable level or face state sanctions. Efforts of staff and teachers resulted in the district being elevated to the rating of priority improvement the next year. The rating didn’t change the next year, but now, Englewood is rated accredited with improvement, which is an acceptable rating to the state education department. Ewert said the new accreditation means the district is no longer under the education department microscope, and the deadline clock to make improvements is no longer ticking. Karen Brofft, deputy school superintendent, Rating continues on Page 9