April 7, 2016 VOLUME 92 | ISSUE 34
LakewoodSentinel.com J E F F E R S O N C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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A DAY FOR ENGINEERS TIME TO CELEBRATE The Seder dinner, which includes songs and stories, is an important part of Passover celebrations. PAGE 12
Teacher turnover figures see increase Jeffco has new board, new climate, after growing number of teachers leaving By Crystal Anderson Canderson@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Colorado School of Mines students proudly wave an American flag and their Mines Activities Council flag in Civic Center Park in downtown Denver. Thousands of students participated in the Ore Cart Pull, a 7.5-mile walk along Colfax which is part of the Colorado School of Mines’ Engineer’s Days, in the morning of April 1. Find more pictures from the event on PAGE 5. Photo courtesy of Colorado School of Mines
Lakewood nonprofit now a Medicaid provider
Chanda Plan Foundation Executive Director Chanda Hinton-Leichtle founded the nonprofit in 2005 after her own life was saved by integrated therapies. Hinton-Leichtle has been paralyzed below the chest since age 9, when an accidental shooting severed her spinal cord. The program is offered at provider locations throughout the nation and also free-of-charge at a small facility in Lakewood, but the group is working on a new 6,000-square-foot home to be finished by year’s end. Courtesy photo
Chanda clinic helps locals with injury and illness By Clarke Reader creader@coloradocommunitymedia.com Spinal cord injuries are some of the most life-changing events that can happen to a person. Chanda Hinton-Leichtle experienced this firsthand at 9 years old, when she was paralyzed below the chest as the result of an accidental shooting. “I had a lot of health complications, was eventually bed-bound and I weighed only 69 pounds at age 21,” Hinton-Leichtle said. “Eventually my doctors and I had to find a new way to address my health in a preventative and proactive way.” She said relief from near constant pain came from integrative therapies — activities like acupuncture, massage and adaptive yoga. “I learned this story wasn’t just mine alone,” Hinton-Leichtle said. “There were so many similar stories from people who found healing in these therapies.” The results of the integrated approach are reduced pain and need for pain medication, lessened time spent at medical visits, and increased hours engaged in community or work, she added.
Along with her sister Crystal Hinton, Hinton-Leitchtle started the Chanda Plan Foundation in 2005 to provide direct access to integrative therapies for treatment of spinal cord injuries muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spina bifida and brain injury. And after more than 10 years, the Chanda Plan is seeing significant growth in the services it provides the patients it can reach. Currently, Chanda Plan programs are offered at provider locations throughout the nation and also free-of-charge at a small facility in Lakewood, 8725 W.14th Ave., Suite 170. But that facility isn’t going to be small for long. The Plan is working on a new 6,000-square-foot Patient Centered Medical Home, which will house all services under one roof, as well as primary care options from the Metro Community Provider Network. “We reached out to the people we serve and asked what needs of theirs aren’t being addressed,” Hinton-Leitchtle said. “We heard that they wanted primary care that has a deeper understanding of the disabilities they are facing.” The facility will be finished around December, and the Chanda Plan is working on a capital campaign to Chanda continues on Page 9
At the end of 2015, the Jefferson County School district welcomed in a completely new board of education, and a culture shift. But recent stats from the Colorado Department of Education shows, while change might be in the air, the number of teachers leaving the district is still on an upwards trend, with 789 teachers leaving the district in 2015. “Jefferson County School District reported a 16.3 percent teacher turnover rate in 2015-16,” said Jeremy Meyer, the assistant director of communications for the department, reporting on the 2015 numbers. “While that percentage is still below the state average of 17.05 percent, Jeffco — over the past three years — has seen that gap narrow each year.” In 2014, Jeffco had 710 teachers or 14.7 percent leave their positions, and in 2013 — prior to the former board majority’s election — that number was 10.71 percent. Those numbers include teachers that took jobs with other districts, left teaching, obtained administrative promotions, or retire. Turnover continues on Page 6
CHAMPS ARE BACK It may be a longshot, but the Rams baseball team aspires to stay on top of 4A with a little help from the mound. PAGE 19