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December 26, 2014 VOLU M E 1 4 | I SS UE 5
CentennialCitizen.net A R A P A H O E C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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Preschool program a success, LPS says Children can attend at seven locations By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia. com
Children enjoy an arts and crafts table on the third night of Hanukkah Dec. 18 at the Streets at SouthGlenn in Centennial. Photos by Christy Steadman
Celebrating the Festival of Lights Rabbi Avraham Mintz, executive director of South Metro Denver Chabad Jewish Center, lights a giant menorah Dec. 18.
Staff report
T
he South Metro Denver Chabad Jewish Center made its way around different towns and cities to celebrate Hanukkah with community menorah lighting celebrations. Four lighting celebrations took place: Dec. 16 at O’Brien Park in Parker, Dec. 18 at the Streets at Southglenn in Centennial, Dec. 20 at the Eastridge Recreation Center in Highlands Ranch and Dec. 23 at the Southlands Shopping Center in Aurora. The purpose was to reach as many Jews as possible, said Rabbi Avraham Mintz. Some of the celebrations attracted a larger crowd than others, and some drew close to 500 people, he added. “Hanukkah reminds us that each of us is a walking menorah,” the rabbi said. The highlight of the celebrations was the lighting of the giant menorah. Attendees also enjoyed music and the festive treats of latkes, donuts, chocolate gelt and warm beverages. Children especially enjoyed the arts and crafts table where they got to make their own dreidels.
The expanded version of Littleton Public Schools’ The Village preschool program is so far a success, say administrators. LPS opened the program’s second location, The Village at Ames at 7300 S. Clermont Drive in Centennial, at the beginning of the school year. It’s already serving 156 little ones who live in the Franklin, Highland, Hopkins, Lenski, Peabody, Sandburg and Twain neighborhoods. The Village at North, 1907 W. Powers Ave. in Littleton, serves 299 kids in the Centennial, East, Field, Runyon and Wilder neighborhoods. “What was important was to maintain the culture of each building, but still have that common purpose,” said Melissa Cooper, director of special education and student support services. Ames closed as an elementary school in 2009. It currently houses several district programs, including the learning resources center, the teacher cadet program and the fashion design and health technology classes. It’s also home to the private nonprofit TLC Meals on Wheels. However, there’s still plenty of room to serve more kids in the future, and the goal is for every LPS child to be able to attend preschool either at The Village or one of the five elementary schools that have programs: Highland, Hopkins, Peabody, Moody and Wilder. “If kids don’t attend preschool, we’re really going to have to work to catch them up in kindergarten,” said Kathleen Ambron, director of elementary education. While some families pay tuition, LPS also has slots filled through the Colorado Preschool Program, which offers free preschool to children who are at risk of Program continues on Page 7
Cherry Creek district looks south for teachers Numbers show more Douglas County teachers hired in Cherry Creek, Littleton than from other districts By Jane Reuter
jreuter@colorado communitymedia.com A hiring report from the Cherry Creek School District released this fall shows 17 percent of its 2014-15 new licensed staff came from the Douglas County School District — far more than from any other district. Most of those 90 staff members are teachers. In Littleton Public Schools, 22 percent of the new teachers — 17 of 78 hired — are from Douglas
County. For LPS, that number also represents the most hired from any single district. It is the first year Cherry Creek has tracked such information. “We don’t have earlier data, so it’s hard to say” if the DCSD figure is higher than normal, said Cherry Creek schools spokeswoman Tustin Amole. But she added Douglas County represented “by far the most of those that came from a single district.” Cherry Creek hired 526 licensed staff members for the 2014-15 academic year; 172 were transfers. Of those, 90 came from Douglas County. The licensed staff includes teachers, nurses and mental health professionals. Cherry’s Creek’s teacher turnover for 2014 was 11.7 percent, Littleton’s was 9.5 percent, and
Douglas County’s 17.3 percent, according to the Colorado Department of Education. The state average was 16.7 percent. In Cherry Creek, the average starting teacher salary is $47,950. Douglas County School District uses salary bands that base compensation on market demand coupled with teacher ratings. The average starting salary for all bands is $40,500. DCSD — which has seen a series of reform measures implemented in the past few years — acknowledges turnover, but disputes the state’s number. In-district transfers and promotions along with a different staff count date put their 2014 calculation at 13.1 percent. Additionally, most of the district’s best teachers remain, they note.
Graphic courtesy of the Cherry Creek School District “While there has been and will be migration between districts, we are very pleased to be retaining 94 percent of our ‘highly effective’ teachers and over 90 percent of our ‘effective’ teachers,’ ” DCSD
chief human resources officer Brian Cesare wrote in an emailed statement. District continues on Page 7