Serving Lakewood, Wheat Ridge and beyond
WEEK OF MAY 1, 2025
VOLUME 41 | ISSUE 39
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Lack of immediate 911 call at Ralston Valley High School sparks safety concerns ARVADA BREAKS GROUND ON POLICE HONOR GARDEN
BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Each panelist described how dyslexia shaped their school experiences and how earlier support might have changed everything. Panelists repeatedly emphasized that different doesn’t mean deficient. “Feeling dumb isn’t fun,” Yankovich said, reflecting on the emotional weight many students carried before their dyslexia was recognized and supported. Her words and the reactions they drew from the audience captured a shared truth that echoed throughout the event: what students with dyslexia need isn’t pity, but understanding, tools and respect.
In September, a Ralston Valley High School student walked into the school clinic after a suspected head injury. He was disoriented and nauseated, with visible bruising and, according to health technician Alex Marin, eventually began vomiting blood, according to a report from an investigation into the incident conducted by Jefferson County Public Schools According to reports filed by Marin, a certified nursing assistant with more than 30 years of experience, he said he immediately recognized signs of a serious concussion. He guided the student to a cot, applied ice and notified the gradelevel administrator that he planned to call 911 if the student’s parent didn’t respond within minutes. When Principal Mica Buenning entered the room, Marin recounted, she looked at the student and told him, “I don’t see that,” before instructing him to contact the oncall nurse instead. During a speakerphone call with the nurse, Sara Sanders, Marin described the student’s symptoms. Both Sanders and another nurse on the call recommended an immediate 911 call. According to Marin, the principal insisted that Sanders come in person to observe the student. When Sanders arrived and again recommended calling 911, Marin said the principal left the room without confirming next steps. “I kept asking, ‘Are we calling 911?’ The student was calling my name from the bed, saying, ‘Alex, help me. It hurts so bad,’” Marin said. “Later, he started coughing up blood and vomiting.” It took roughly 90 minutes from the student’s arrival in the clinic before paramedics were called.
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River Gallegos, a junior at Alameda Jr./Sr. High School, shares his story during the “Dyslexically Successful” panel hosted by Jeffco Public Schools. PHOTO BY SUZIE GLASSMAN
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WESTMINSTER ‘Feeling dumb isn’t fun’
Jeffco students share their stories as dyslexia screening effort expands
VETERINARIANS FACE MASSIVE MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS P10
MINSTER ALAMEDA INT. WINS FIRST LEAGUE BASEBALL TITLE SINCE 2002 P15
As Colorado lawmakers prepare to vote on a universal dyslexia screening bill, Jefferson County Public Schools is putting student voices front and center. On April 23, the district’s department of Teaching and Learning and the Expanded Academic Learning team and Jeffco KID (Kids Identified with Dyslexia), a parent-led advocacy group, hosted Dyslexically Successful, a panel event featuring students, educators and community advocates who shared personal stories of learning and thriving with dyslexia. The gathering comes as the district prepares to launch a new K-3 dyslexia screener and as Senate Bill 25-200, which would require early screening in every Colorado public school, awaits approval in the state House. “We’re here to listen to the
people who live this every day,” said Renee Nicothodes, Jeffco’s chief academic officer. “We want to shift from awareness to action. No child should feel ashamed because of how their brain works.” The evening highlighted the emotional and academic toll of late identification, alongside the resilience, creativity and advocacy skills dyslexic students develop in response. Panelists, parents and educators all stressed that early identification is critical, not only to improve literacy outcomes, but to reduce the frustration, selfdoubt and delays in support that many students described. Identifying risk in the early grades gives children a chance to thrive before they internalize a sense of failure. “I thought I was just dumb,” said Holly Yankovich, a high school junior who struggled in silence for years before being diagnosed. “That feeling
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VOICES: 8 | LIFE: 10 | CALENDAR: 13 | SPORTS: 14
stays with you. But once I got the right support, everything changed.”
Students and administrator lead with honesty and humor
JEFFCOTRANSCRIPT.COM • A PUBLICATION OF COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA