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August 28, 2014 VOLU M E 1 3 | I S SUE 32
LoneTreeVoice.net D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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District adds staff, programs for parents
THIS ONE’S FOR THE Q-MAN
Adult classes, choice fairs to debut this fall By Jane Reuter
jreuter @coloradocommunitymedia.com
The 5th annual Q-Man Classic, a 5K memorial run/walk in honor of former Highlands Ranch High School student Quinton Sanford, was held Aug. 23 at the school. The event raises money for Autism Speaks and the Q-Man cross country scholarship. Sanford was a member of the Highlands Ranch cross country team and was running along the Highline Canal during a high school event when he collapsed and died at age 15 in September 2009. The thensophomore, who had autism, was known for his kind-heartedness, perseverance and dedication. Photo by Charley Ebersole
Lone Tree joins healthy living campaign Colorado HEAL program dedicated to preventing, reducing obesity By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com Lone Tree is skilled at forging partnerships that make life better for its residents. To that end, it recently joined the HEAL Cities and Towns Campaign of Colorado, a partnership between the Colorado Municipal League and the nonprofit obesityprevention group LiveWell Colorado. The Healthy Eating and Active Living campaign provides grant suggestions and other resources to communities to encourage policies aimed at active lifestyles and healthier diets. Twentyeight communities, including Littleton and Denver, already are members. Campaign director Julie George praised Lone Tree’s efforts to-date. “I think they’re already doing some great things,” she said. “They seem real committed to try to make Lone Tree as happy an environment for the residents as they can.” Lone Tree’s leaders said the campaign’s ideology already aligns with its own objectives and projects in place. Work continues on
The six-court Tennis Center at Lone Tree Golf Club, a project created through a partnership of Lone Tree and South Suburban Parks and Recreation, is among the examples of the city’s healthy amenities. Photo by Jane Reuter a potential partnership with the Douglas County School District to create a 20-plot community garden at Lone Tree Elementary School. A July 2013 survey showed 77 percent of respondents likely would use a community garden. Plans call for opening the gates to the garden in spring 2015. Lone Tree is working toward a lease between the district and Denver Urban Gardens, an organization dedicated to helping start and operate gardens. “The school district views this as possibly a pilot program that could be used in schools else-
where in the district, so they want to get it right,” Lone Tree senior planner Jennifer Drybread said. “Once we get the lease agreement, we can move to design, then fundraising, and construction.” Other examples include the city’s partnership with South Suburban Parks and Recreation District to build the Tennis Center at Lone Tree Golf Club and reconstruct Cook Creek Pool. Lone Tree almost is ready to launch a free Lincoln light rail station shuttle for the employees of major companies along Park Meadows Drive, a collaborative effort be-
tween the city and those companies. The Walk and Wheel plan the city is creating will map out a design for better pedestrian and trail connections. Cabela’s recently partnered with the city and Douglas County when it adopted three miles of the East-West Regional Trail behind its Lone Tree store. The Colorado HEAL initiative is modeled after the HEAL Cities Campaign created in California. While Colorado is often touted as the fittest state, nearly 58 percent of its adults and a quarter of the state’s children are overweight or obese.
The Douglas County School District wants to make stronger connections with its parents and help them guide their children’s education. The district now has a parent liaison on staff, and in September it will launch Parent University — classes specifically designed for adults. The district also plans to offer more information on its educational programs, and host school choice fairs in October to highlight those options. Registration for Parent University classes will start in mid-September, with classes starting soon after. Details will be released soon, school officials said. The classes are coordinated by School-Community Partnership coordinator Katherine Brown with help from a steering committee of five parents. Brown was hired in April in keeping with the requirements of Senate Bill 13-193, a state law calling for greater parent en- Brown gagement in education. Parent University is intended to not only offer adult education, but is built around the premise that greater parent involvement translates into increased academic success for students. Classes will cover a broad range of subjects, likely including cyber security, academic success, navigating the school system, leadership skills, CPR and healthy cooking. “We have a broad and diverse list of requests,” DCSD community relations officer Cinamon Watson said during an Aug. 19 school board presentation. “We’re going to try and meet them all.” Brown also hopes to help parents understand the many educational options available within the district’s schools to try to “match parents and their child with schools that foster their learning style.” “This is a large district,” Brown said. “There are so many school choices, so many things going on that as a parent you can get a little bit overwhelmed.” An updated online school selector tool also will allow parents to review schools on their own. Staff members are recording video clips at each school that will be uploaded onto the district site, offering descriptions of what makes each building unique. “We are helping to communicate all the unique qualities of each of our schools,” said DCSD director of choice programming Tom McMillan. “It will allow parents to drill deeply into all the matches that will work for that child’s interests.” Similarly, choice fairs planned in late October will let parents get an even closer look at the variety of schools. Specific dates for the choice fairs have not yet been released. “In essence, this is an opportunity for parents to come — whether their students are elementary, middle or high school age — shake the hand of the principal, look at the course offerings, get to know the DNA of the schools,” McMillan said. District schools include traditional neighborhood schools, charter schools, online and homeschooling, as well as alternative and night high schools. Some schools offer instruction based around a specific concept, such as artful, expeditionary and environmental learning. “What I envision for this office is … to not only get them engaged but help them make very informed decisions about every aspect of their child’s education,” Brown said. “I see myself as a resource, being able to be that middle person that gets them answers quickly instead of having to go through different phone and email contacts.”