Lone Tree Voice 0114

Page 1

January 14, 2016

Voluntary Contribution

VOLUME 14 | ISSUE 51

PROGRAM

See ad inside for details LoneTreeVoice.net D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O

A publication of

Conflicting views emerge of teen suspect Sienna Johnson’s webpage allows access to her artwork, poems and journal entries

By Alex DeWind adewind@coloradocommunitymedia. com Prosecutors have described Sienna Johnson’s Tumblr blog, which has been taken down from the Internet, as “extremely violent.” Her Weebly personal website, still active, displays childhood and

family photos in happy times, but also a journal of drawings and personal writings that reflect angst, sadness, and images and thoughts that have been construed by former friends as frightening and dark. Yet several good friends from her freshman year describe her as poetic, artistic and eccentric, a “sweet” girl whose behavior signif-

icantly changed in the past year. Portraits of Johnson, 16, who was charged as an adult Jan. 5 with conspiring to kill students and staff at Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch, vary depending on the source. Johnson wasn’t named until she was charged as an adult. A second 16-year-old girl also was arrested in connection with the case Dec. 12. Her name has not been released, and she has not been charged pending completion of a

Sienna Johnson, 16, has a photo of herself sporting a music band T-shirt on her personal webpage. “She had a pop-punk music interest and it showed through her personality,” said a student at Mountain Vista High School whose parents asked the student not be named because of her age.

Suspect continues on Page 6

RISING TO THE OCCASION

PARCC test suffers from mass opt-outs Less than one-fifth of juniors took test in Douglas County By Mike DiFerdinando mdiferdinando@coloradocommunitymedia.com In Douglas County, participation rates of students in the first PARCC tests given last March veered sharply between 18 percent among the school district’s juniors to nearly 95 percent for its third-graders. The widespread opt-outs by students and parents across the county and Colorado quesPARCC participation by tion the validity 11th-grade students in of the results area school districts: and the test, Douglas County: 18 school officials percent said. “We took Littleton: 29 percent it and we had Jefferson County: 60 pretty good parpercent ticipation in our

MORE INFORMATION

Highlands Ranch’s Symone Starks goes up for a layup as Broomfield’s Maddie Kern trails. The Falcons came out ahead 60-55 against the defending state champs. For more coverage, turn to Page 15. Photo by Paul DiSalvo

younger grades, Cherry Creek: 31 percent but in our upElizabeth: 4.3 percent per grades we Source: Colorado had very poor Department of Education participation,” Douglas County School District Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen said. “If you want to look at a picture that shows the whole district, you’re not going to see it in those upper grades because of the participation.” PARCC, which stands for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, replaced the standardized Transitional Colorado Assessment Program (TCAP). The tests were administered by computer in English language arts and math to students in third through 11th grades in 11 states plus the District of Columbia.

PARCC continues on Page 4

Concerning mole or spot? Let us give you peace of mind. 303-945-2080

See Page 3 for Dr. Kim Neyman’s Column on what to look for in skin lesions


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.