January 7, 2016
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Suspect in school threat charged as adult The other 16-year-old student must complete a psychiatric evaluation before charges can be filed By Alex DeWind adewind@colorado communitymedia.com One of two 16-year-old female students accused of making a violent threat against Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch has been charged as an adult with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder with extreme indifference
and conspiracy to commit firstdegree murder after deliberation. The bond for Sienna Johnson, who appeared in Douglas County court Jan. 5 in a green jumpsuit with handcuffs around her wrists, has been set at $1 million. Flanked by her public defender, she alternately scanned the room and stared at the floor without expression. Colorado Community Media is identifying her because of the adult charges. The other suspect, who will be identified if charged as an adult, also appeared in court at an earlier hearing Jan. 5 and was ordered to complete a psychiatric evaluation
before charges can be filed. Prosecutors said Johnson admitted to faking progress while being held at Children’s Hospital for a psychiatric review and told detectives she was determined to carry out the threat if released. They said Johnson was a threat to herself and the community, in part, because of a detailed map she created in her journal with the letters “NBK,” which prosecutors said stands for “Natural Born Killers,” a violent 1990s movie that some say inspired the Columbine High School shooters in 1999. The map
District Attorney George Brauchler speaks at a court hearing on Jan. 5 for one of the 16-yearold female students accused of a threat against Mountain Vista High School. “This is not a case that we want to guess wrong on, either for the juvenile or for the community,” he said. Photo by Alex DeWind
Threat continues on Page 23
Progress reports confusing to some Reports incorporate new measurement tools, use new online portal By Mike DiFerdinando mdiferdinando@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Peter Hunziker and Jessica Leifheit visit Switzerland, where Hunziker is from. The couple was engaged seven months ago and has been house hunting in the south metro Denver area for more than a year. Courtesy photo
Young couple finally finds home
Competitive housing market makes search long and difficult
By Alex DeWind adewind@colorado communitymedia.com Jessica Leifheit and Peter Hunziker, a newly engaged couple living in an apartment near downtown Denver, started looking for a house more than a year ago. When they found the perfect one in Highlands Ranch, they were prepared to write a homebuyer’s letter to the seller. They’d done it many times before. “From the moment we stepped into your house, we felt that this was a home that has been well cared for, meticulously maintained, and a place where we could make a future for ourselves,” they wrote. “We appreciate the thoughtful details of your home …”
The letter, among other factors, helped the couple get their first home under contract, something not easily attained in south metro Denver’s booming real estate market. As of November, 1,912 singlefamily homes were listed in Highlands Ranch, according to Denver Metro Association of Realtors. And homes were selling after just 18 days on the market. Bryan Benham, a RE/MAX Alliance Realtor out of the Denver Tech Center, typically shows his buyers 10 to 20 homes before closing. Most clients send him a list of homes they find on websites, such as realtor.com. But many of those homes are already under contract, Benham said. “The market is moving fast,” he said. “And under $450,000 is the market that is really hot right now.” Leifheit, a high school teacher, and Hunziker, an information technology technician,
started working with Benham in October after a year of house hunting. Because she teaches in Castle Rock and he works in Golden, they wanted a place somewhere in the middle. “It was a difficult process,” Leifheit said. “We saw a lot of properties that went very quickly.” Hunziker checked the Internet two to three times a day for affordable homes in the South Metro Denver area. The couple toured about 40 properties. They made two offers last summer but were outranked by other buyers. And they made an offer on a two-bedroom home in Lakewood, but the seller backed out. “It’s not a normal market,” Hunziker said. “There’s a lot of demand and competition.” Hunziker looked to a real estate app called Redfin that lets buyers customize a profile and Home continues on Page 8
BY THE NUMBERS $431,654
— average sale price for homes in Douglas County
7, 635 — houses sold in Douglas County
21
— average number of days homes are on the market until sale
1,699
— houses under contract in Highlands Ranch Numbers are through end of November Source: www. dmarealtors.com
Parent Amy DeValk, who has a student at Arrowwood Elementary in Highlands Ranch, is frustrated: The new electronic report card leaves her more confused than clear about how her daughter is doing in school. “The descriptions of outcomes and content are vague and somewhat meaningless,” she said. “For example, under math, one of the outcomes is ‘use appropriate tools strategically.’ What tools? As they apply to what? Fractions, geometry, algebra? And what does strategically mean as it applies to math tools? Can she pick the right operation? There isn’t enough information provided. I should not need a cross-reference to understand how my child is doing in school or to interpret her progress report.” DeValk is among some parents and teachers concerned about the Douglas County School District’s new Elementary Progress Report, a revised electronic report card system for elementary students. The parents say it is difficult to understand and use. The teachers say the district gave little guidance for developing rubrics to evaulate student performance. But some principals and district administrators, while acknowledging the system needs refinement, say the new assessment tool — which has been in development for 2 1/2 years — needed to be updated. Unlike the previous report system, the new one measures students against the most recent standards and desired goals and provides a more accurate picture of what and how students are learning. Each school also has flexibility in adapting the report to its own values and principles. “We wanted to be able to report out on our Guaranteed Viable Curriculum — so,
Report continues on Page 8