Herald Highlands Ranch 6-20-13
Highlands Ranch
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 26, Issue 31
June 20, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourhighlandsranchnews.com
Proposed projects stirring emotion
Wendy’s must fit theme; storage facility draws ire By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com
This parachute game was a popular attraction at Kidfest in Highlands Ranch’s Civic Green Park, where fun and entertainment drew visitors on a pleasantly warm day.
Kick-starting summer Photos by Chris rotar Civic Green Park in Highlands Ranch was packed with children the morning of June 15. Kidfest offered a variety of games, entertainment, food and vendors, as summer unofficially kicked off nearly a week early with the annual event. Isaiah Glaspie, 6, executes a kick while Bill Ward holds the board. Isaiah, a first-degree black belt, and Ward were among the many students from ATA Karate Denver who showed their skills at Kidfest in Highlands Ranch.
Teacher re-evaluations don’t ease concerns Do-over by district follows high rankings at Trailblazer By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com Trailblazer Elementary School teacher Cheryl Murphy recently learned her original “highly effective” instructional rating dropped a notch to “effective,” taking with it part of her anticipated raise and more of her faith in the Douglas County School District. “The change isn’t what really bothers me,” Murphy said. “The whole evaluation process is flawed. It’s up to interpretation. It’s one more thing that shows this district’s not headed in a great direction for the majority of kids. It’s one more reason to go.” Because of the drop in her rating and her relatively high placement on DCSD’s new market-based pay scale, Murphy said she’ll get a 2 percent pay increase instead of the 5 percent she’d anticipated. Murphy and other Trailblazer teachers underwent a second evaluation of their teaching ability after DCSD labeled Principal Linda Schneider’s first assessments — in which she ranked 70 percent of her teachers “highly effective” — a statistical anomaly. Though Murphy chose to share her new ranking, the district isn’t releasing its results.
Districtwide, about 15 percent of teachers are rated “highly effective,” according to DCSD, and most — 71 percent — are rated “effective.” Schneider, retiring after eight years at Trailblazer, stands by her findings. Murphy stands by her principal. And DCSD stands by its self-designed process. “There are always unforeseen circumstances when implementing any sort of program,” said Christian Cutter, assistant superintendent of elementary education. “We had many, many schools around the district — the vast majority — where it worked very well.” Cutter said the findings of “a couple” other evaluators also strayed far enough from the norm to warrant a second review. But Trailblazer’s was the farthest outside the standard deviations, he said. Under the evaluations, each teacher is assigned a rating ranging from “highly effective” to “ineffective” that is tied to pay increases. “The situation (at Trailblazer) is very unfortunate,” Cutter said. “I think it’s been hard on everybody.” Trailblazer parents and students protested outside the school May 23 after learning their teachers would be subject to a second evaluation. But this time, each teacher was reviewed by three principals or assistant principals from elsewhere in the district — not the principal who knows them best and
While the Highlands Ranch Developmental Review Committee sent two prospective businesses, Wendy’s and Town Center Self Storage, back to the drawing board at June’s DRC meeting, a few residents let it be known loud and clear they didn’t want either business in Highlands Ranch. Town Center Self Storage has designs on filling up a 2.8-acre lot in Town Center East, north of Freddy’s and west of the Ridgeline Technology Center off Sgt. Jon Stiles Drive. The business took its share of lumps from the DRC in terms of aesthetics and design, but it was the comments from the audience that stirred the biggest emotions. “As far as the architecture is concerned, we feel like we’ve done our best to essentially make it look like everything else around,” Cullen said Jon King, owner of the proposed facility. “Could I suggest we put some barbed wire and some Sing Sing on this structure too, because it looks like a penitentiary,” responded Highlands Ranch resident Brock Norris. “I’m just very disappointed in something coming in again that doesn’t enhance our Town Center and is not in conjunction with what we were all expecting. “I’m very disappointed in Shea again.” Former Highlands Ranch Metro District board member Philip Cullen also expressed concern about what he called “a very disturbing look that is unfavorable to the community.” Cullen said businesses such as the proposed 441-unit, three-building storage facility are hurting property values in that part of the community. In addition to the potential storage facility, Cullen also took issue with Wendy’s arrival adjacent to Corner Bakery in Town Center South. And despite talk by the fastfood chain of unveiling its new concept, which features relaxed seating and a fireplace, Cullen rebuffed, “You can put a tuxedo on a pig, but it’s still a pig.” Wendy’s, which debuted its new look before the committee, was told that it needs to find building materials that would allow it to fit in with the architectural theme of surrounding businesses. The project was approved on a conditional basis. The storage facility is yet to be approved by the DRC.
‘I’m very disappointed in Shea again.’ Principal Linda Schneider stands by her teachers’ ratings at Trailblazer Elementary. Photo by Jane Reuter describes her evaluation process as a thorough, year-long event. Murphy said the three evaluators all gave her different scores. “How is it possible if three people heard exactly the same information and came up Results continues on Page 31
Brock Norris, Highlands Ranch resident
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