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November 21, 2014 VOLU M E 1 3 | I SS UE 3
ParkerChronicle.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’s ranking moves up Board president proud, but community member says academic progress remains flat By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com The Douglas County School District made a successful bid to elevate its state performance rating. For the first time since the 2009-10 academic year, DCSD ranks as “Accredited with Distinction” — the highest of the Colorado Department of Education’s five tiers. DCSD was among several districts that requested the state reconsider its ranking. By excluding the performance of the district’s highest-risk students and factoring in improved ACT scores and graduation rates, the CDE agreed Douglas County merited its top rating. District leaders are delighted. Those critical of its education reforms say the ranking is misleading. “Certainly to move up into that top echelon speaks wonderful volumes about our teachers, our district and our students,” school board president Kevin Larsen said. “I and the rest of the board have been confident all along this time would come, and here we are. It means we’re doing good things for kids. So let’s celebrate it, but keep pushing all of our schools to help our kids learn at an even higher level.” Strong Schools Coalition president Laura Mutton noted that while the district’s ACT composite score increased slightly from 2013 to 2014 — from 21.8 to 22.1 — scores on the last Transitional Colorado Assessment Program were flat. “I think it would be unfortunate if the DCSD continues on Page 14
Dressed in a sumo suit, Cimarron Middle School Assistant Principal Chris Zimmerman, right, gets a running start at health teacher Beau Davies Nov. 14 during a physics demonstration. In the middle is John James, with “FMA Live!” Photos by Chris Michlewicz
Sumo-sized science
Assembly meant to engage middle school students By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz @coloradocommunitymedia.com What does it take to get middle school students interested in physics? Staging a clash between teachers in sumo suits is a good start. Cimarron Middle School in Parker got a visit from “FMA Live!” during its “Forces in Motion” tour, a series of performances meant to inspire teens to pursue a career in science, technology and math. Sponsored by NASA and Honeywell, the Nov. 14 assembly combined hip-hop music about concepts like inertia, video clips of an Isaac Newton impersonator interviewing people on a public street, and student participation to convey the basic principles of physics. Science continues on Page 14
Cimarron Middle School student Wyatt Bevill hangs from a velcro wall during a presentation by Forces in Motion Nov. 14. John James with “FMA Live!” holds the microphone.
Broken hip doesn’t stop area seniors from vows Parker couple ties knot in hospital room By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz @coloradocommunitymedia.com
Wilfred Stallan and Shirley Golden-Stallan hold hands during their wedding ceremony Nov. 2 at Parker Adventist Hospital. The groom fell one day before the nuptials, injuring his hip, but he didn’t allow it to stop the wedding. Courtesy photo
If wild horses couldn’t drag him away, a broken hip surely wouldn’t stop Wilfred Stallan. His whirlwind romance with Parker resident Shirley Golden was capped with a kiss during the couple’s Nov. 2 wedding ceremony, which took place in a room at Parker Adventist Hospital. It was an entirely different location than originally planned, but that was OK with the beautiful bride. Like many relationships these days, Golden and Stallan’s courtship began online. What makes them unusual, however, is that Stallan is 83 years old and Golden is 76. They got in touch last April on OurTime, a website that connects older adults who share similar interests. Golden was initially looking for a friend, but she and Stallan quickly fell in love. Six weeks ago, he proposed over the phone because “he couldn’t wait,” Golden said. “He was telling me how much he loved me and just said `I want to get married,’” she said. “Well I said, `you haven’t asked me yet.’ And so he asked and I said, `of course!’” It wasn’t exactly the old-fashioned way of doing things, but as Golden explains it, their age doesn’t allow them time to wait on these kinds of decisions. Stallan moved from Westminster and
in with Golden, who lives with her adult daughter and her family. The couple, both widowed, decided to get married at the Parker Senior Center, but one day before the wedding, Stallan lost his balance in the yard and fell. He was transported to Parker Adventist, where an X-ray showed that his hip was broken. Golden assumed the ceremony would be postponed, but Stallan wouldn’t hear of it. “He was bound and determined that he was going to get married before surgery,” the bride said. The hospital gave the green light on having the wedding there and she called the minster to inform him of the change of plans. Golden’s son gave her away, and her best friend of 66 years was her matron of honor. The groom’s longtime buddy stood as his best man while Stallan lay in the hospital bed, holding hands with Golden. “It was really very nice. We had the cake brought over here and we had my family and his family there,” said Golden, who told the story over the phone during a short break from staying at her husband’s bedside. She never pictured herself marrying again, let alone in a hospital, but as the online love connection and sudden accident proved, things don’t always go as planned. Stallan’s surgery was scheduled for 3 p.m. Nov. 2, just after the ceremony, but a “tiny piece of cake” postponed it until 7 that night. He will spend three weeks at a rehabilitation center before moving into an apartment in Parker with his wife.