Herald Englewood
November 23, 2012
75 cents
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourenglewoodnews.com
Arapahoe County, Colorado • Volume 92, Issue 41
Charter school proposal unveiled Englewood Academy organizers hope for August 2013 opening By Tom Munds
tmunds@ourcoloradonews.com
Cherry Creek High School student Ashley Klingbiel takes a Thanksgiving food box to a car during the Nov. 17 Inter-Faith Community Services distribution. Photo by Tom Munds
Inter-Faith distributes food for holiday Boxes contain enough for traditional Thanksgiving By Tom Munds
tmunds@ourcoloradonews.com There were tears in her eyes as Lucia Hernandez talked about what a Thanksgiving food box from Inter-Faith Community Services meant to her and her family. “I am a single mom with three children. I have three part-time jobs. The pay is enough to get by but there is nothing for extras,” the Littleton woman said as she waited to pull her car into Inter-Faith to receive the box. “This box will be such a blessing for us. I try to be thankful for what we have but this food will make Thanksgiving special for us.”
Hernandez’s car was among several hundred in line Nov. 17 for the annual InterFaith Thanksgiving food-box distribution. This year, the organization distributed 800 boxes to needy families and seniors, so a small army of volunteers were on hand to make the project work. There were volunteers from schools and service clubs. For example, there were a number of volunteers from the Centennial Rotary Club, members like Ken Hope. “This is a great way to give back to the community,” the former Englewood resident said. “There are a lot of folks out there who had a job last year but are now are out of work and can use a little help.” A short distance away, Cherry Creek student Ashley Klingbiel was helping set up the food boxes before the distribution began. “I am a member of the Enact Club, the high school version of Rotary,” she said.
“There are seven of us here today. I think being here is a great idea because we are doing something that will help a lot of people have a nice Thanksgiving.” Brad Bernero of Parker was among volunteers delivering boxes to seniors. “I am glad to do this,” he said. “All the seniors are nice people and a lot of them are happy to see us and talk to us. I like to do this as a way to give back to the community. It is a lot better than just sitting around the house.” Even as food was being distributed, additional food donations were coming in. “Our church, Abiding Hope Lutheran, held a food drive and collected 100 boxes and 100 pounds of potatoes,” Littleton resident and church member Ron Siegfried said as he unloaded several boxes out of his car. “It is our way to help Inter-Faith and to help needy families in the area.”
Pilot program offers hope for spinal injuries Chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage among treatments By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews. com A 67-patient pilot program in Colorado has a chance to change the health-care landscape in America, specifically for those suffering from severe spinal cord injuries. Based out of Progressive Health Center, on the campus of Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, the program exists because of the hard work of Chanda Hinton Leichtle, 30, who has spent the past 21 years as a quadriplegic. Shot in the back of the neck
accidentally when she was just 9 years old, Hinton Leichtle spent much of her life on a heavy diet of pharmaceuticals. At one point she was on as many as four high-dose painkillers a day. Since she began integrating alternative treatments nine years ago, everything has changed. Hinton Leichtle discovered not only the physical and emotional benefits but the financial impact as well. The only problem was, despite her newfound treatments — acupuncture, massage and chiropractic — being preventive and more cost-efficient, Medicaid did not cover them. Her response? She launched a nonprofit, the Chanda Plan Foundation, which operates on a $250,000 annual budget
POSTAL ADDRESS
Jan Ruscio, an acupuncturist from Highlands Ranch, will see patients with severe spinal injuries at Progressive Health Center in Englewood. Photo by Ryan Boldrey and helps about 20 individuals cover the costs of their alternative therapies per year. But that wasn’t enough, and she knew it. So, with the help of state Sen. Suzanne Williams and state Rep. Nancy Todd of Aurora, Hinton Leichtle took her fight to the state Legislature, which
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has approved Medicaid funding for the experimental program in Colorado. If successful in Colorado, Hinton Leichtle said they plan to fight to pass similar legislature through three other states Spinal continues on Page 9
Members of the Englewood Academy founding board of directors explained facts and answered questions about their proposal to establish a charter school in Englewood at a Nov. 13 public meeting. The board of directors submitted the application to establish Englewood’s first charter school, which has not yet settled on a location, on Oct. 1. As part of the application process, the board is required to hold two public meetings. About 50 people attended the Nov. 13 meeting, which was the first of two regarding establishment of a charter school in Englewood. The second meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Nov. 27 at Maddox Elementary School, 700 W. Mansfield Ave. Englewood School Board members attended the Nov. 13 meeting to hear comments from the public, and they also will attend the Nov. 27 meeting. The board will hold a workshop on Nov. 27, following the meeting, to discuss the charter school proposal. The school board is tentatively set to make a decision on the application at its Dec. 11 meeting. The proposal is for the charter school to have at least 200 students attending kindergarten through fifth grade when it opens in August 2013. Plans for expansion call for the school to eventually serve 420 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. At the Nov. 13 meeting, the charter school board members made a presentation and took questions from the audience. Former Englewood teacher Mary Zachariah, charter school founding board president, was the first to speak about the charter school. “Englewood Academy will create a school of choice that offers a program based on core knowledge, offering an alternative educational opportunity for Englewood students,” she said. “It would be a public school and, like public schools, students will not be charged tuition to attend charter school classes.” Plans call for the curriculum to include all core subjects as well as art, music and physical education. Spanish instruction would begin in kindergarten and continue through all grades. Sandy Schoob, an academy board member, talked about financing for the school. She said the school would receive the state per-pupil allocation as the foundation of the budget needed to pay staff and provide a facility for the school. She said Englewood Academy is also applying for a state grant program to help charter schools get started and a private grant program. “We do not have a location yet but we are looking at several different buildings. But we can’t move forward until we know the application has been approved,” she Charter continues on Page 9