Orange
& Black
Newsmagazine Volume 101 | Issue 3 | March 2019
Special edition
Built in 1955
6-7 |Digging Deeper
14-17 |Are we safe?
26-27 |The Future of GJHS
Records suggest GJHS building could last only five more years.
The layout of GJHS is not secure.
What could a new GJHS look like?
2 | Table of Contents
@gjhsoandb
@gjhsoandb
P. 4-5 Now vs. Then What GJHS’s appearance was like in the 1950s through 1960s versus 2019.
@gjhsoandb
P. 10 The building is in disrepair A photo collage of the worst parts of GJHS.
P. 9 Lack of windows, lack of learning
Learn the importance of natural light when in a classroom.
P. 17 Are we safe? The layout of GJHS is not secure.
P. 26 The future of GJHS
What a new Grand Junction High School could look like.
03/12/19
Before You Dive In:
The Orange & Black Staff Editors-in-Chief Luke Aubert Madi Martinez
A letter from your editors... MadiMartinez & LukeAubert Welcome to the Orange & Black Newsmagazines third print issue of the year! This semester, our newspaper has received eight new staffers, consisting of reporters and photographers. We are happy to have the new students aboard our team, and are excited to see what the rest of the year has in store for us all. For our third issue, we have solely focused on the building of Grand Junction High School, the good, the bad, and the ugly. This issue is one that you all have been waiting for; the past two months have been focused on strict research, broadening varieties of interviews, and handfuls of stories to fit the criteria of this issue. Though it has taken longer to hit the press than our previous issues, we as a staff believe this paper has been worth the wait. As rumors spark about the future of our school, the Orange and Black reporters, photographers, and editors have come together to answer many of your questions about what really goes on behind the walls of GJHS. Not only do we focus on the physical structure of our school, but we also touch base on the comments and concerns about Grand Junction High School from other high school principals, district leaders, school administrators, health and safety experts in the Grand Valley. The bottom line is, Grand Junction High School needs a face lift—in fact, an entire bone reconstruction to say at the least. In a world of ever-changing technology and culture, GJHS has paid its dues, fitting the needs for students enrolled over 30 years
Policy The Orange & Black, a legally recognized public forum for student expression, is published four to six times a year by the digital publishing and news magazine class for students of Grand Junction High School. Expression made by students in the exercise of the freedom of speech or freedom of press is not an expression of District 51 school board policy. The views expressed in The Orange & Black do not necessarily represent the views of the entire staff, adviser, GJHS administration or the School District 51 administration. Board policy regarding student publications (JICE, JICE-R) is available in the journalism room (Rooms 140-141) or in the principal’s office. Letters to the Editor The Orange & Black welcomes and encourages letters to the editors. This is a chance to express your viewpoint
ago. Through the numerous entrances to its branched buildings, crumbling sewer systems, failing walls and roof, we hope this special issue makes the true and classified colors of GJHS finally visible. It is an impossible goal to want a new school immediately, so what do we do in the meantime? In order to build a clean culture in this school everyone has a part they must fulfill. Everyone here needs to throw their trash away. When you eat in a classroom, make sure you do not leave your food out. If you see trash around campus take an extra five seconds out of your day to pick it up and dispose it. Once we reach a point where students have respect for our school, then we will make greater attempts to keep it polished. We need a new school, plain and simple. The teachers and faculty of GJHS have done a tremendous job of advocating for a new building, and for that, we as a staff commend them for their ongoing efforts. While the adults can only do so much, it is ultimately up to US as STUDENTS to break the silence. Through this issue, we as a staff show the Grand Valley WHY we need a new and improved Grand Junction High School. The Orange and Black staff wants you to understand from reading the following that students and administrators live most of our waking hours in this crumbling school. We promise you that it is worth your money to help build a new GJHS. You will be saving 1769 young adults’ educations. We also want our readers to see that we deserve a new and improved school, so please let us be heard.
Page Editors Delaney Kidd Callie Shea Riley Lovato Online Editor Annika Sisac Social Media Editor Zach Shettler Reporters Jared Hanks Kobey LaDuke Sophie Middlemas McKenna Bryant Levi Prall Abi Brunson Mackenzie Younker Aspen Leman Photographers Breck Smith (Editor) Joseph Hirschbul Sheldon Petersen Orion Eide Colin Morrison Nick Rojas Kyla Dare Graphic Artist Mason Toth Advertising Kieran Thompson Hunter Tobiasson
on important issues. Letters should be limited to 250 words. They will be edited for space and legal considerations, but not for inaccuracies, grammar or spelling. Letters must contain information pertinent to the students of GJHS. The staff retains the right to not publish any letter not meeting these requirements. Unsigned letters will not be published. Please submit typed letters in person to Room 140-141 or via mail or to megan.fromm@d51schools.org Cost Single copies free. Where available, additional copies of this paper are available for purchase for 50 cents each. Contact The Orange & Black for more information. Taking more than one copy of this paper with the intent to prevent other individuals from reading this edition of the paper is prohibited (C.R.S. 18-4-419). Violators, subject to prosecution and penalty under C.R.S. 13-21-123, will be prosecuted.
Contact The Orange & Black, Grand Junction High School, 1400 N. Fifth St., Grand Junction, CO 81501. Phone: 970-254-6929. FAX: 970-254-6973. Website: OandBnews.com. Adviser e-mail: megan.fromm@d51schools.org Some material courtesy of American Society of Newspaper Editors/MCT Campus High School Newspaper Service. © 2017The Orange and Black Grand Junction High School. All rights reserved. Cover photo from 1962 GJHS Yearbook Back design by Madi Martinez Cover design by Delaney Kidd
4 | Funding
Photo from 2019| Photo by Kyla Dare
Photo from 1958 yearbook
Photo from 1958 yearbook
Photo from 2019| Photo by Kyla Dare
02/28/19
NOW
vs. THEN
How have we changed?
Photo from 1967 yearbook
Photo illustration by Kyla Dare
Photo from 1952 yearbook
Photo from 2019| Photo by Kyla Dare
6 | Funding
DIGGING DEEPER Roaches, rodents, asbestos, oh my!
CallieShea & MackenzieYounker Our halls are filled will all sorts of historical memories and may not realize is that the biggest issue at GJHS is one every student achievements. But what’s buried deep beneath the surface within our and faculty member can help solve. hallway walls are a few things that may disturb you. “The biggest concern and health risk that you have at Grand “I’ve seen nothing that surprises me for a building of this age,” said Junction is rodent infestation and control,” Pope said. “Two reasons: principal Meghan Roenicke. One, every time a mouse runs they leave urine, and they Tiger pride has always been a leave urine as a way to leave messages for other mice motto that Grand Junction High School that there’s food if you follow me. The other is mice feces. “The biggest carries close to heart since its doors As it dries, it decomposes, [then] it can become airborne.” concern and health first opened in 1956. However, 63 An Aug. 9, 2017 Baseline IPM Assessment Report years later the classrooms are not fit obtained by the Orange and Black showed significant mice risk that you have to what a modern classroom should activity and recommended an “aggressive mice trapping at Grand Junction be. There are classrooms with no campaign throughout the school.” windows, sagging floors, paper thin “The Main Office had a relatively high concentration of is rodent infestation walls, and the list carries on. GJHS has mouse droppings as well as active cockroach populations,” one main building with 6 additional the report stated. “The Athletic Directors Office also had and control.” buildings added to the campus over significant evidence of mice activity.” Petie Pope the years. One of the outbuildings, the The report said the trapping campaign should focus on 400 building, has a wall that is not rooms 114, 115, 117, 118 and monitor rooms 102, 104seamlessly connected to the floor, allowing students to slide numerous H, 107, 109, 205, 209, 210, 218, 221, 223, 224 and the main office. objects under, ranging from a piece of paper to a meter stick. According to the report, there were mouse droppings and Oriental “To hold classes in these buildings and to have it function as a school cockroaches found underneath one of the ovens at GJHS. On the is not sustainable at this point. You’ve got sagging floors, walls that report, the exact location was redacted, meaning that the droppings are not going all the way to the floor, [the 400] building is sinking, too, and roaches could be in the lunchroom, food science classrooms, or by the way. There is a gap where it has sunk about six inches,” said special education classrooms. After filing an open records request and Chelsea Miller, science teacher. receiving the unredacted version, the report showed that the mouse Petie Pope, the environmental health and safety manager for all droppings and cockroaches were found in the Food Science room at of District 51, sees and deals with every issue and work order. He Station 4. oversees every investigation of GJHS and its condition. What students Food sciences teacher Jen Campbell-Wilson said mice tend to come
1982: The
1969: The
1955: The original building, auditorium, upper and lower U, West gym, and 500 building are built.
1985: The
library and common area are added.
300/400 buildings are added.
1972: The 800 building is added.
400 building is added.
1983: The weight room next to the West gym is added.
2006: The 700/art building and East gym are added.
1998: The 600/math building is added.
in during the summer, despite proper food storage. “Every quarter we do a deep clean,” Campbell-Wilson said. “The students also clean every time they cook. I think we all know there is a mice problem in the building.” Oriental cockroach activity was also found in the school. According to the report, some were trapped through a sticky trap near drains, which can provide easy entry from outside. The mice can cause a bacterial disease called Leptospirosis that is brought on by touching or smelling the mice’s urine trails, the report stated. According to the report, “Leptospirosis can lead to kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death.” The trails of urine are invisible to the naked eye and require a black light to see. The mice are attracted to food and water sources, which is why Pope said teachers and students need to close any of their food in airtight containers. Some classrooms listed in the report were said to have significant mice activity because there was incorrectly sealed food. One of Pope’s main concerns with the rodent infestation is that it is leading to other problems our school faces. “It’s frustrating because the problem is easy fixed, and it’s been pretty directed. So when you say ‘oh well there might be a dead mouse behind this wall’ I’m like, ‘well I hope not because if we have to crack that wall open there’s asbestos that we now have to deal with’,” Pope said. There are many rumors circulating amongst teachers and students about the presence of asbestos in GJHS, but teachers and students do not know which are pure rumors and which are the truth. Pope confirmed there is asbestos on campus. “Asbestos is only a problem when you disturb it and it becomes airborne. When the fibers are inhaled it then becomes an harmful health risk,” Pope said. There are two types of asbestos, friable and nonfriable. Friable asbestos is something you can hold and crumble in your hand, but non-friable cannot be broken with pressure. Pope confirmed that all of the friable asbestos has been taken out and does not prove an immediate danger to any person. However, having this material in our school keeps the school from making any major renovations. The non friable asbestos that cannot be reached lies under floor tiles and within walls. Director of maintenance, Eric Nilsen, said this year so far there have been 647 work orders for maintenance at GJHS. “In general, it would be more cost effective to replace the school than fix everything that is worn out or failing. Buildings and building systems have a ‘life span’, and many parts of GJHS are at or near the end of the systems life,” Nilsen said.
03/12/19
Graphic illustration by Mason Toth
FAST FACTS How much longer can GJHS survive?
“The structual systems of the existing GJHS facility are compromised.”
“The GJHS exterior wall systems appear to be failing.”
“GJHS has a projected remaining life expectancy of 0-5 years.”
“GJHS has been operating for over 63 years”
*Information courtesy of BEST Grant Application obtained by the Orange and Black News Magazine
8 |Condition
What Is the Grossest Thing You’ve Seen at GJHS? Reporting by JaredHanks
“The weight room because it’s stinky. The floor is disgusting and there’s clothes everywhere.” - Josh Suplizio, 10
“Black mold in the teachers’ classroom. Mice throughout the school, plus the bathrooms are gross.” - Shiloh Verna, 11
“The locker room when the urinals overflowed and there was water everywhere.” - Grant Shafer, 10
“The parking lot because there is trash everywhere, and there’s always crows eating trash.” - Corynn Simon, 11 Photos by Breck Smith
What
O2 is
Safe for You? GJHS has no air quality problems despite long list of other concerns AbiBrunson Grand Junction High School has no issues that relate to air quality or mold. The importance of knowing the air quality in the school is knowing what students are exposed to. Germs and air borne diseases can be carried within the air, which can then cause sickness and absences among the students. Environmental Health and Safety Manager, Petie Pope and Principal Meghan Roenicke addressed the air quality within our school. “When you’re checking for air quality, you are checking for certain contaminants. You would check for carbon dioxide. You would check for mold. Radon is one other thing. As far as indoor air quality, we are in good shape,” Pope said. Roenicke said that if there were any issues within our air quality, it would be noticeable. “You know most of this stuff if it becomes an issue, or something happens that makes us question it, like if a teacher says ‘Hey, all of a sudden in my class room, 23 kids are sneezing, what’s going on?’ We’ll go in, pull the class and put them in the library, or something and then call Petie,” Roenicke said. “The really cool thing about our district is that we have Petie to call as for other districts, if they are small they can’t employ a full time [Environmental Health and Safety Manager]. They have to call
the health department for their county.” Pope said that most of the air quality issues can range from sickness spreading to a perfume fragrance. However, this is all avoidable. The air filters in the cooling and heating systems are changed on a regular basis to ensure that the air coming in is fresh. The air systems are inspected every two months to make sure they are clean. Pope and Roenicke said they had found no records or reports of mold within our school. When Pope gets individual complaints or concerns and he checks them out, but has never found any immediate dangers from the air quality. Pope said it is very difficult to grow mold in the Western Slope. Mold is typically not going to grow without a source of moisture. The issue begins if someone is mold sensitive. He said he has not seen any mold in our high school. Roenicke said that there was a mold scare but there were no traces of mold found. Pope says that we have a healthy building, air quality wise. He believes that air quality can affect the ways students learn. However, Pope said “We are in good shape”.
Lack of Windows, Lack of Learning
03/12/19
JosephHirschbuhl & ColinMorrison
Number of rooms with windows:
78
Number of rooms without windows:
19
In a healthy school environment, it is important to have a safe, efficient, and productive campus. New and modern schools tend to have more windows compared to GJHS, where several classrooms are left with no natural light. Having windows can be beneficial to not only the students and teachers, but the district as well. A study by Heschong Mahone Group revealed that 25 percent increase occurred in naturally lit environment. Improvements with mental health, vision, and mood are correlated with natural light. The same study shows that natural light helps productivity. Schools that are ranked in the top 10 in Colorado based on test results tend to have more natural light due to the amount of windows. “I feel like I’m in a prison when there are no windows in a room,” Cal Hegstrom, senior, said.
The next issue that arises with the lack of windows at GJHS is the cost of electricity. In the big picture GJHS should take advantage of any financial saving opportunity, because it is no secret the school is lacking financial stability. After the installation of windows, natural light is free of charge. The money that is saved over time could be used in other areas of improving our school. Natural light is free of charge; instead of having a higher utility bill, we can decrease that cost immensely. A recent study at MIT, UC Berkeley and Northwestern University, the energy bill decreases by 3 percent on average. Having poor ventilated classrooms could lead to a higher ratio of ill students which means less time spent at school. Less time at school contributes to poor grades. “We could use a more safe and nicer building. It is a long time coming,” Stacey Keever, counselor, said.
10 | Condition
1
2 3
03/12/19
4
5
6
(1) Broken window in the women’s restroom by the West Gym. (2) Water from room 302. Photo sent in by Chelsea Miller, science teacher. (3) Broken flooring in the commons. (4) Heater in room 502. (5) Pipe in the school. (6) Crumbling step in the north end of the main building. Photos by Sheldon Petersen & Colin Morrison
12 | Condition
Photo by Sheldon Petersen
LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD
The BEST Grant Application reveals the problems with the GJHS fields KieranThompson It’s no secret that the practice fields at GJHS need some work. Some of the practice fields have been trampled on, have holes in the field and patches of grass dug out of it. Fields in this condition can cause an increase of injuries since the fields are not very well taken care of. This then leads to athletes being unable to play sports because of the constant injuries. Justin Little, college counselor and baseball coach had a lot to say about the fields and how much maintenance he does on the field himself. Little said field maintenance is up to players and coaches. “We clean it up every day after practice. Coaches usually get it ready before practice,” Little said. He said many people underestimate how much work goes into maintaining the field. “[It’s] more than you would think. We spend at least 30 minutes a day during season for field clean up,” Little said. “But, that doesn’t account for the hours and hours we spend during off season cleaning lines, rebuilding batters boxes and mounds.” Not only is it up to the coaches to maintain fields, equipment also poses an issue.
“Most of the time the head coaches and assistant coaches purchase the stuff with the money out of our athletic accounts,” Little said. “I use the baseball fund for the equipment for the baseball field.” Carol Sams, the GJHS athletic director said the extent of use takes its toll on the practice fields. “Sometimes the practice fields get used an awful lot more than they probably should, so it’s hard to keep them maintained,” Sams said. “I think the district grounds people do the best that they can.” Clearly, there are some changes that could be made to the fields. “If we had some artificial turf it would really be nice,” Sams said. Baseball is not the only sport that endures the poor field conditions. Programs like girls lacrosse, football, and track all share the same fields throughout the year. According to the GJHS BEST grant application, “the fields do not meet the program needs because there are not enough fields to support all of the athletic programs at this facility.” This application reveals that the fields are being used so heavily, that there is no time for the fields to receive the necessary maintenance.
03/12/19
Photo by Sheldon Petersen
Grand Junction High School is the oldest high school in the valley, and the furniture is visible proof of the age. There isn’t a single consistent type of chair or desk, and a lot of the chairs are broken or left over from the 1960’s and the desks are also uneven or broken. When a high school student is stuck in a small, plastic chair for 8 hours a day, it hinders more than helps. A big focus for modern schools should be flexibility and the ability to easily move and accommodate the classroom, according to Victoria Bergsagel. She is the founder and president of Architects of Achievement, a program whose focus is building schools that work for all students. Bergsagel has also found that comfort really does impact students, as well as having furniture with multiple uses. Many GJHS teachers agree. “When you have supplies and furniture that are falling apart, cracked, not sufficient for the student population you have, students are not going to feel valued,” Megan Read, language arts teacher said. “Students are not going to want to be at school and will have a hard time learning. That is why having furniture that is conducive to a good learning environment for students is crucial.” Read said that movable furniture and various seating options would be ideal. “When you are looking at furniture that is beneficial to a very diverse student population, the furniture needs to be just as flexible and diverse. So, having furniture on wheels that can move around,” Read said. “Having a variety of seating options, such as single desks, group tables, study areas where students are allowed privacy through screens, and different study rooms where furniture can be configured to what you need. Having flexibility with the furniture and how it looks is really important in serving a diverse student population.” Quality of furniture is also important. “The biggest complaint that I get is how the desks are cracked, the
STUDENTS SUFFER FROM INSUFFICIENT RESOURCES SophieMiddlemas chairs are cracked. The desks are uneven, even if you adjust them,” Read said. “Students are grossed out at the years and years of scum that is on the desks that is hard to clean.” English teacher David Sleeper said poor furniture can impact focus. “When hair gets stuck in chairs, when skin gets pinched in chairs, when chairs or tables have things carved into them, it really does impact learning,” Sleeper said. “If there weren’t carvings or sharp bits on the furniture then it would help students focus on the task at hand instead of the chair pulling their hair, or a rocking desk poking their leg.” When a teacher can’t get a chair or desk replaced they are left with either not enough furniture or dangerous furniture. “First semester, I had a class with 36 people and 3 mentors. If everyone showed up on the same day, there wasn’t enough chairs. I had a few kids move away and the class shrunk to the point where we had enough chairs,” said Jodee Cronk, french teacher at GJHS. Cronk said a chair with one missing foot buckled when a student sat down, and the student fell over backwards. “Luckily the student didn’t get injured,” Cronk said. “But when I went looking for a replacement chair there weren’t any, until a custodian found one that no one else wanted. The chair is covered in ink, it’s dry ink, but it’s disgusting looking and the best and only choice if we wanted a chair for someone to sit in.” Multiple attempts were made to contact the purchasing and warehouse staff for this story.
14 | Security
are we safe?
From layout to the number of entries, it seems GJHS has numerous safety issues RileyLovato & McKennaBryant
“If
somebody is really hell-bent on causing harm, then they’re going to figure out a way,” Tim Leon, safety and security director, said. “I wake up and worry, is today the day?” According to vox.com, school gun violence reached an all time high in 2018. It was reported that 55 people were killed due to school gun violence last year. Some schools have implemented certain precautions like panic buttons, metal detectors, and more cameras to increase security. However, according to multiple sources that spoke to the Orange & Black, the current layout of GJHS poses security risks that are beyond repair. This was one of the many reasons GJHS applied for the BEST grant, a type of state funding to improve schools. “It would take millions of dollars to get this school to a point where we could consider it safe,” Leon said. “It doesn’t make sense to retrofit an old building to accommodate safety and security needs.” There are at least 25 entry points into the 123,562 sq ft main building of GJHS. Of those entrances, four are unlocked. Although a limited number of doors are unlocked to the outside, there is the possibility anyone, student or stranger, could walk into the building at anytime. Tom LeFebre, dean of students, described the number of entry points on campus as “concerning, because it’s too easy for students to come and go, and too easy for people to come onto our campus without checking in at the main office.” Grand Junction High School was built 63 years ago, when they didn’t have the same problems that we do today. With the present layout of the school, there’s nothing that can be done to fix the amount of entry points as of now. Along with the main entry points, there are 6 outbuildings, a gym, and auditorium with entrances as well. “With Junction, the biggest issue is the multiple exterior buildings,” Leon said. The BEST grant would cover a portion of the cost of the new
school, and the city would have to pass a bond that would pay for the rest. According to the GJHS Best Grant application, rebuilding GJHS would mean “the school can achieve its goal of having one main entry point that can be controlled by the administration and the opportunity for a closed campus. This would significantly improve the current campus conditions, which is lacking in safety and site security.” Since 2014, there have been six lockdowns at GJHS with five of those occurring since 2016. In the most recent lockdown, it took police about four minutes to arrive on campus, according to Leon. “That’s actually well under the national average,” Leon said. “Nationally, it takes anywhere from four to eight minutes for an officer to arrive on scene.” While there are obvious safety issues at GJHS, they cannot be pinned on the police forces, but rather the layout of the school itself. At GJHS, we have two full-time resource officers on campus. From the excessive number of entries to the overall layout, GJHS needs to see a change. “This school is very difficult to secure,” Tim Latzau, school resource officer said. “With the current culture that we live in, of people wanting to hurt kids in schools, it’s hard to keep it safe.” Though there are many issues with the layout of GJHS, there are also some advantages of the current state of the main building. “It has solid block walls, all solid doors, and if you had an active shooter in the building, bullets will not go through the walls or doors,” Leon said. “I always think worst case scenario.” The right precautions need to be taken in order to ensure the safety of students. So far, we have had success with protecting each school in the district. D51 security and safety protocols have even been nationally recognized, according to Leon. Still, this school is outdated and dangerous in today’s world. “A lot of the mechanical stuff is failing,” Leon said.
“This school is very hard to secure.”
Tim Latzau, school resource officer
Leon said GJHS is experiencing many of the problems that Orchard Mesa Middle School was, which is exactly why a new school was built. “The problem is that we’re looking at $80 million [to rebuild OMMS] versus $140 million [to rebuild GJHS],” Leon said. According to documents from the Colorado Department of Public Safety, many schools in D51 are receiving money to make security renovations. In this last year, almost every school in the district got a security update. FMHS and the Career Center received funding for substantial changes like an enclosed main entry or a security vestibule. In the last year, GJHS received no funding for security improvements, despite the obvious need. According to the GJHS BEST grant application, the current GJHS building is extremely unsafe. The application outlines the many problems we face, for example, “the security and safety of the facility is compromised because of the outdated interior doors, door hardware, and lack of site security risking GJHS students and staff safety in the event of an emergency or lockdown.” Additional reporting by Kyla Dare
Graphic Design by Mason Toth
03/12/19
PROS OF AN OPEN CAMPUS The location of Grand Junction High School is relatively close to several eating establishments. The quick access to fast-food like McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Zoup! allow convenience to students who have an “open campus” lunch, but high school students are not the only ones attending these places, which means GJHS students are risking their personal safety to eat. Students who stay on campus for lunch and do not have seating in the cafeteria have options of bringing their lunch to other parts of the building, to sit on the floor or in classrooms. “If kids were responsible with open campus, then its fine,” LeFebre said. “But that goes back to structure, because we also don’t have a cafeteria that can feed 1,700 kids. So, right now we don’t have a way to keep everyone on campus [for lunch]”.
These are the main entry points at GJHS. Not every entry is included.
16 | Security
Graphic by Riley Lovato Source: Tim Leon
Photos by Kyla Dare & McKenna Bryant
An Outlook On The
18 | Security
Palisade Dan Bollinger, principal
“In our new gym we have new restrooms, locker rooms, a referee changing room, a new training room, and of course, the new gymnasium.” “We have one main building and the west building. Grand Junction is not quite as confusing, but there are still a lot of outbuildings which I don’t think is safe. It costs us extra money to connect the new gym to the rest of the school but it was a priority of ours because of safety.” “When you walk into Palisade, it seems new and clean; almost shiny still. Our building is almost 30 years old but it doesn’t seem that way.” “I consider Palisade High School a safe school. If anyone were to come onto our campus, they would have to come in through the front.” “I truly worry about Grand Junction High School because there is 360 degree access to the building.”
Fruita Todd McClaskey, principal
Why are you guys deciding to rebuild your school entrance and how will it affect student safety? “The entrance will be open for the morning and during first hour, but after it will be locked. Visitors will have to check in through the main entry after being buzzed in.” “Seven years ago our administrative offices were relocated to the front of the school. That is the only renovating we have had.” “Our school is clean, but we do have parts of our school that are very ugly.”
Reporting by Madi Martinez & LukeAubert
Central Lanc Sellden, principal
What are some new things being added to the school this year both structurally and technologically? “We’ve got our tech ed department, we’ve got another 3D printer, that will put us at five. We’re getting a lot of roof issues, and ceiling issues taken care of. We’re getting a new parking lot, new bleachers in the old gym, and new seats in our auditorium also new floor tiles and carpets.” What makes your school safe? “When people come in as visitors, any adult that comes into the building they have to check in through the office. When you walk in to our main doors you’re right there at the office. For adults you have to scan your driver’s license. Really what it (license plate scanner) does is check for sex offenders, so any adult that comes through if they’re on any criminal list or the sex offender list they will be escorted.”
Schools In Our Valley
03/12/19
What do other schools think of us? AspenLeman
Students at GJHS spend most of their waking hours at this school. Everyday we live through the unpleasant smells, unappealing walls, floors, ceilings and more. As events are held at our school the parents and students of other educational centers come to GJHS. What do these people think when they see the collapsing buildings?
Grand Junction Meghan Roenicke, principal
What are some new things that have been added to the school this year both technologically and structurally? “A tech person who is here to support us and some of our feeder schools. We are also redoing the bathrooms by the gyms. As far as structural changes the difficult part of our building is we have a lot of immovable fixtures.” What is your vision for the building of Grand Junction High School in the future? “My dream is that this school gets imploded and we get a replacement. Our community really sees the need to rebuild GJHS. The hard part to explain is that in order to replace GJHS with the requirements that we have and the cost per square foot that it takes to build, you can’t replace this building for less than 100 million.” How would you consider the condition of the building structure? “Its awful. For a building that is as old as this building, it is not terrible.”
Palisade
R-5 Donald Trujillo, principal
“The new R-5 has been around for three years.” “Since it is a learner-center environment, we do not have traditional school desks in any of our classrooms. Learners are allowed the freedom to move about, get up when they want, and have a more real-world environment.” “We have RESPECT agreements in every room. They have four quadrants that revolve around picking up after yourself, mopping the floors, or cleaning your stuff. They tend to mostly fit most of the learning styles through their flexibilities and freedom in the school.” “You cannot enter our school without swiping a keycard, and we have more of a contained space and there’s not lots of exists like there are at Junction. You cannot keep track of all the exits at Junction. Our system is a lot more modern where you have to electronically enter the building with a keycard.”
“Grand Junction High School looks like a prison from the outside and smells like mold on the inside. I think learning there can’t be compared to the other schools in the valley” a Palisade student said.
Fruita
“I think it (GJHS) is pretty gross. I’ve only been in a few parts of it, but it’s pretty unsanitary, especially the bathrooms” an anonymous, Fruita student, said.
Central
“There’s a lot of tradition in that building. Both my parents taught there and my sister went there. The building isn’t in great shape and (GJHS) could definitely use a new one,” said Max Marsh, a Central student.
R-5
“GJHS is not most ideal building to put 2,000 kids in, and as much as everyone complains on how bad it is and how they need a new one they all have a small sense of pride knowing that there’s a history behind the place,” said Talen Valerio, an R5 junior. Ultimately, the students in our valley strongly believe that GJHS is not in the most ideal condition for the century we are currently in.
Photos by BreckSmith
S PAC E D O U T 20 | Success
The school buildings layout keeps administrators from solving problems and making room for teachers and students. ZachShettler With 197,252 square feet of space, one would think there would be plenty of room for students and storage. “Our facility limits us more than anything,” Meghan Roenicke, GJHS principal, said. “We don’t have enough room.” This opinion is not uncommon among the staff and students at GJHS. The school building is in an obvious state of disrepair. Not only is the school falling apart, but there is not adequate space within the crumbling halls of the school. The east gym girls locker room being used as a textbook “Our textbook room is the girl’s locker room. When we storage room instead of its true purpose. |Photo by Nick Rojas. got our technology person this year, [in order] to find a place where he could set up that had the ventilation and Foster thinks that having her own room is better than when storage space required for all the technology, we had to uproot she was a traveling teacher who occupied the office in the math three teachers. Storage is an issue pretty much constantly,” Roenicke building. said. “[Having a classroom] makes things a lot easier to keep track of Storage isn’t an issue that most students think of when asked everything and students can always find me,” Foster said. about the condition of the school. However, it still presents a Roenicke believes that there are a lot of things that can be problem for the administration as well as unforeseen issues for done better to solve the space issues of the school, but is met with the students. According to Roenicke, the 500 building is not up to many obstacles especially with the presence of asbestos in the main electrical and ventilation codes. Around $75,000 is required for building halting any movement of the walls around the school. the updates to be made. Space is also “It’s hard to modify this building to meet the a concern. Teachers such as Couch are needs that we have because one year it might be “When you have staff and crammed into small classrooms. a storage issue the next year it might be a need While there are about 97 teachable you put them in classrooms that for offices for people,” Roenicke said. classrooms at GJHS for the 98 teachers, are super small, is that really The school has also had to place teachers the question remains: are the classrooms across the street at the 800 building. In order better than having them be adequately sized? for students to get to the building they have to traveling teachers?” During the 2018 summer break, a wall cross 5th Street and walk all the way to the very was added in Toovey’s room in the 600 Meghan Roenicke, principal southwest corner of campus. (math) building to create a brand new “You can’t fix the fact that kids have to cross classroom for Foster. the street to take classes. You could by telling the “I am very grateful to have my own room,” Foster said. five teachers that use [the 800 building] that they need to move over The new classrooms, as a result of the wall, are smaller in to main campus and that we can assign teachers to rooms, but we comparison to other rooms across campus or in the math building. don’t have a place for them to call their own,” Roenicke said. Foster stated that sometimes it is a little tight, but she makes do with Teachers and students have to make due with the 800 building what she has. if they want a proper space to work. There is no fix for the 800 “When you have staff and you put them in classrooms that are building other than a new school. In fact, a lot of the storage issues super small, is that really better than having them be traveling cannot be solved with the building that the school currently has. teachers?” Roenicke said.
Fast Facts
“The existing Special Education space is not large enough to adequately support any increase in special need students and their program will not be adequately supported.”
“The cafeteria has a capacity of 226 students, which is not large enough to support the current student population.”
“GJHS has critical deficiencies for an operating high school serving many students.”
Information from BEST grant
ENROLLMENT RATES
03/12/19
Students are the life source of a school. If there aren’t any students, then there can’t be a school. So why is GJHS enrollment dropping? According to the counseling office, the number of students on the first school day of school on August 5, 2015, was 1,769. On the first day of school for the 2018-2019 school year, there were 1,629 students. So, what is contributing to this down shift in students while enrollment at other high schools like Fruita is rising with additional students every year? Students dropping out of high school could be one reason. “I think a lot less of kids are enrolling or going into high school anymore, even in my freshman class last year a lot of kids dropped,” sophomore Bonnie Duffy said. “I can think of at least three students at the top of my head that I just know that either dropped out of school or went to online schooling because a lot of students are preferring online schooling or they just went to Central or Palisade.” Duffy also believes that security issues at GJHS could be a reason. “I think a lot might be the social situation here and two because we’ve literally had three lock downs in a month, which is sketchy,” she said. “I think Junction is losing its reputation as a better school, and schools like Palisade and Central are emerging with programs like IB and S.T.E.M. I think a lot of kids are thinking what’s the point.” Students and parents want to know the school their child attends has the best program for their education,
KobeyLaDuke
2017
2018
1579
1559
1536
1611
1054
1007
1780
1827
and with different programs arriving in the valley, people want to try them out, especially since they look good on a college application. According to GJHS BEST Grant application, which seeks state funding to help build a new school, the campus also doesn’t have a Career and Technical Education area at the school to help support current students’ growth both academically and personally. For students in sports, the application noted that the school’s practice fields are deficient. Principal Meghan Roenick said students can use school of choice to attend other schools, and school of choice in the past was sometimes a challenge. “We used to let almost anyone who applied through school of choice. My third year here was the year Mr. Bilbo retired and we were overcrowded, our classes were over filled; they were over caps,” Roenicke said. “The principal who came really limited our school’s students of choice enrollment, and then contained a limited amount of school of choice enrollment, just because we couldn’t get every kid into all the classes they needed.” “I think a lot more young families are moving to rural areas, which includes schools like Palisade and Fruita. A lot more older groups are moving into the city to be more near facilities, while families move to the rural areas”, said Tim Leon, Director of Safety and Security for D51. This explains why Fruita’s enrollment is rising and Grand Junction’s is dropping. With little room for new construction in GJHS area, it is hard to gain more population for the school and there is a decreasing number of youth in the school’s area.
D R O P P I N
G Grand Junction
Central
Palisade
Fruita
22 | Success
The Orange and Black combed through all the documents we could find about the bond and mill levy money and where it was allocated. We also spoke to board member Paul Pitton and Phil Onofrio, chief operations officer for District 51. Before the bond and mill levy was passed, the board proposed how much money would roughly be given to each school and to what areas of each school in phase one.
Funding
DelaneyKidd & AspenLeman
Fruita Monument High
Priority 1
$5.2M
*Secure main entrance, multiple roofing projects, relay parking lot, replace clock system, replace bleachers in North Gym, refinish multiple areas of flooring, replace exhaust system
Palisade High School
Priority 1
$7.2M
*Replace HVAC/air handling units, replace roof, relay parking lot, replace walk areas in poor condition, new sewage system in lift station, refinish some floors, replace cafeteria tiles
Central High School
Priority 1
$6M
*Multiple roofing projects, repave parking lot, replace worn carpet, replace clock system, replace bleachers in aux. gym, replace worn tile, replace auditorium seating, add new exhaust fan
Grand Junction High School
Priority 1
$5.5M
*Multiple roofing problems, replace fire alarm system, replace clock system, replace multiple areas of flooring, repave parking lot, balance math building
*According to Phil Onofrio, D51 chief operations officer, the priority 1 budget is on hold for GJHS until a potential 2019 bond ballot is determined.
03/12/19
Chromebooks 6,810 for students 2,258 for educators
*The graph is based off the general government fund: $193,815,770
Funding from 2017 bond: $29,275,887
Funding from 2017 mill levy: $8,869,759 *Mill Levy money comes from property taxes
*Bond money comes from investors who then are paid back over time with interest
$7,730 Per Student
Annual per pupil funding
*The district plans to add $452 per pupil funding
National Average: $11,392
Colorado’s average is $9,575
24 | Success
District 51 Asks For The Community’s Support DelaneyKidd Amy Davis, board member
For the past three years District 51 “That money is still in the bank. Right now has applied for a BEST grant, but until we are waiting to make sure that money 2018 has never been able to secure the is not wasted on a school that will be torn community’s support for approval. On down,” Phil Onofrio, chief operations November 7th, 2017, the community officer, said. voters finally approved measures 3A He said the district did understand and 3B. Ultimately, the voters accepted Grand Junction’s dire need for new facilities paying higher property taxes to support and applied for a $270,000 bid in 2017 education in District 51. for a new parking lot, but the estimated The support from the valley convinced amount was almost double at $400,000, so BEST grant to give the district $13.9 the new parking lot plans were canceled. million to build a new Orchard Mesa Now, the district is bidding for new Middle School. BEST grant is a Colorado West gym bathrooms. The estimated cost is specific competitive grant that is used for $125,000. structural construction or renovation and “We are at the point where it is almost was formed in 2008. the same cost to replace the building as Now, District 51 is applying for a BEST repair it. If we spend tens of millions of grant again to hopefully build a new dollars on the existing building we have a Grand Junction High School. The district is repaired but obsolete building,” Davis said. applying for a $9.9 million grant to help GJHS has an estimated life expectancy build the $125 million school. To fulfill the of 0-5 years and multiple security issues. rest of the estimated amount voters will “[If the bond’s not passed] we will likely be filling out a ballot later this year continue trying to pass a bond and make to the are “We to either approve or deny another bond. do until we can. We believe the community point where it is “The Board of Education will decide will support their children and provide a what to include on the bond package to secure and safe building,” Davis, said. almost the same give it the best chance to pass. We have The decision is ultimately in the cost to replace the needs at all of our high schools, so we will community’s hands, and the district hopes building as repair it,” likely want to have all areas of the valley citizens hear the plea of the educators and included,” Amy Davis, board member, students. Grand Junction was built in 1955 Amy Davis said. and has been a home for four generations Since 2017 the district has moved from and the district knows it’s time for the phase one to phase two of the bond. building to retire. This means most repairs and security projects are currently in “The request needs to come from the community, which the the process. GJHS was rewarded $5.5 million dollars through board can facilitate,” Davis said. the 2017 bond and mill levy, but that money is currently being withheld awaiting the potential new bond in the fall.
What do you want the board to know? We all have a voice, and yours should be heard. Here are ways to get in touch with the board of education.
Phone (970) 254-5100 2115 Grand Ave, Grand Junction, CO 81501 Find them on Facebook: Mesa County Valley School District
03/12/19 02/28/19
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It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their Constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.
”
Fifty years ago, the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in Tinker v. Des Moines, ensuring public school students’ voices—and their First Amendment rights—would never be stifled. Today, that legacy is the foundation of student media at GJHS. Thank you for supporting scholastic journalism. Students who participate in student journalism learn: • The power of truth and knowledge • To distinguish fact from fiction • To verify important information • How to participate in essential civic duties • Communication skills between peers and adults • Job readiness thanks to real deadlines and real projects
To learn more about joining student media at GJHS, contact adviser Megan Fromm at mfromm@ d51schools.org.
26 | Success
The Future AnnikaSisac
Of GJHS?
Walls of glass, vaulted ceilings, crystal water, and a state of the art gym; the essence of Alexandria High School in Minnesota is not just a school dedicated to cultivating knowledge, but a home to students. A group of GJHS teachers that visited this school were awed and inspired, believing an improved GJHS could be just that, a home. “The feeling that you get from the students and just that energy was something that’s hard to even explain,”Chris Mack, counselor, said, “There is a sense of accountability there that is just a byproduct of the design of the school.” According to Kayla Blackmer, math teacher, Alexandria High School’s classrooms are built primarily out of glass providing an open layout that promotes trust and a mutual respect for both students and staff. This layout also creates the optimal space for project based learning through classroom flexibility and passively monitored student activity. “The flexibility of the building was amazing. You can move the space around to kind of fit the needs of the students and the teachers,” Megan Read said. So, for example if you need a large classroom, you can move the walls and make it larger or smaller from year to year. The seating and tables are also on wheels.” According to Mrs. Roenicke, students could be working on their own, in a close location, not in the classroom, and their teacher still could have an eye on their activity. This enables students to work independently or in small groups but still be supervised through the transparent structure. “The question kept coming up as we kept moving forward to this academy model, could you do this in our building? We could definitely try, but there’s a level of needing to just passively supervise that you can’t do at Grand Junction High School,” Roenicke said. Grand Junction high school holds many memories deep in its bricks and although it is an old school, that’s part of its charm. “I’m really proud of our building, and how hard we work to keep it functioning.” Roenicke said. We want our kids to own the building their grandparents went to, but they just don’t look at it that way.” Even if the school is a blast from the past, reality takes hold and schools like Alexandria are a fresh start many people can’t say no to. “Our building is old,” Chris Mack said, “All of us get a new car and take really good care of it and you know my kid spills his milk in the back seat and then out of nowhere I care a little bit less about it,” Chris Mack said, “Our building is at that point. That rejuvenation, that excitement that these [Alexandria] kids have coming to this nice fresh school is just amazing.”
Alexandria Area High School, Minnesota
“When you go and see how invested a community can be in the education of students, it’s empowering and inspiring. Every kid deserves the chance to go to a school that they love and that they want to be proud of.” Roenicke said. With a school designed similarly to Alexandria high school, Grand Junction high school can foster a new kind of education that involves more than just the students and staff. With a structure tailored exactly to the needs of our school and community, Tiger pride could be elevated by a whole new warmth and energy topped with a new sense of ownership.
What would you want in a
New School? “Add some actual doors on stalls in the boys bathroom.” - Jasper Sawyer, Junior
“A greenhouse. I’m in aquaponics and one of the things we really need is a greenhouse to promote kids to eat healthier.” -Gabby James, Junior “I like the idea of the open areas with the windows because the natural light in classrooms is pretty helpful.” - Evan Ancell, Junior Courtesy District 51