March 19, 2015 VOLU M E 9 1 | I S SUE 31
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Student ambassadors from the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design work with students from Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation work on clay creations at a “Masterpiece Making Event” at the college. Courtesy photos
RMCAD, JDRF bring art to students Youth ambassadors host ‘Masterpiece Making Event’ By Clarke Reader creader@colorado communitymedia.com The Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design (RMCAD) is working with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to show the power of collaborative partnerships. Six of RMCAD’s youth ambassadors
and faculty worked with 15 students from JDRF on March 1 for a “Masterpiece Making Event” that let the students — children ages 7 to 18, living with Type 1 Diabetes — work with ceramic artists and learn how to throw clay on the wheel. “The kids really seemed to love it — they wanted to stay longer,” said Amanda O’Neill, development director of the foundation. “They made a bunch of different things, and some of those pieces will be auctioned off at an event for our group.” The pieces selected will go up for auction at the JDRF’s 2015 Dream Gala — License to Cure on April 11.
The organization has done youth art projects before, and wanted to work with the college to build a greater sense of community, O’Neill said. The school got involved thanks to the efforts of the college’s CEO Christopher Marconi, whose own son has diabetes. “I invited JDRF to RMCAD and they fell in love with the campus,” he said. “We want to build a partnership and a collaborative event with them — to leverage the art making ability of RMCAD with the work JDRF is doing.” Moving forward, Marconi wants to keep the two organizations working closely to-
gether. He already has plans for JDRF to hire the college students as interns, which allows the students to give back to their community. “The work we’ve done with RMCAD is just the first part, and we’re looking to do more and more,” O’Neill said. “It’s great to see these kids coming together, relate to one another and be normal kids.” These kinds of partnerships are crucial for organizations to flourish, and Marconi welcomes a chance to help people. “This is helping young kids to create art to save lives,” he said.
Foundation awards grants to impacted schools Stein and Peck recognized for great achievement despite challenges
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tudent achievement is something all schools strive for, and this spring two of Jeffco’s most impacted buildings are recognized for their success in fostering a culture of achievement.
Jeffco’s Peck and Stein Elementary will receive grants from the Foundation for Great Schools, a coalition recognizing success in education. A collaboration of five Colorado nonprofit organizations, The Anschutz Foundation, The Daniels Fund, Fox Family Foundation, Gates Family Foundation, and the Piton Foundation joined together to reward
schools with a higher percentage of free and reduced lunch students for the success they’ve seen both in and outside the classroom. “There are some really amazing schools out there, who, with some difficult circumstances, are doing very well,” said Tom Kaesmeyer FGS spokesperson.
STEIN ELEMENTARY
PECK ELEMENTARY
Arvada’s Peck Elementary, with 322 students, will receive $15,000 from the foundation. “With this grant, we will use that money to continue what we’re doing,” said Principal John Katsanis. “We are so appreciative of it.” After seeing an increase in the school’s free and reduced lunch population and a dip in assessment scores, Katsanis decided it was time to take a deeper look at their strategies for success. Those included Peck faculty implementing Success In Sight, a research and data-based school improvement program, offering free, full-day kindergarten for all students, maintaining two teachers per grade level and maintaining intervention for students who aren’t at grade-level. Using this model and other strategies the school began to change, developing a familylike culture which encourages and celebrates achievement. “This is a place you walk in and you know we care about each other,” said Lauren Kreider, a sixth grade teacher at Peck. “Once you’re here, you don’t want to leave because there is this community with our kids and with each other.”
The program begins looking at schools in the fall, nominating those with an increased free and reduced lunch population and assessment scores. From there, the organization goes into individual schools and evaluates them on a variety of traits, such as leadership, teacher effectiveness, school culture and data analyzation and management.
Kaleigh McCabe logs on to her chromebook, a lightweight laptop used in her fifth-grade class to create presentations on the human body, among other projects at Peck Elementary.
In Lakewood, Stein Elementary, a school of more than 700 students and a 92 percent free and reduced lunch population will receive $20,000 from the foundation. Money, Principal Samantha Salazar said will go help increase and update the school’s technology. “We have a technology gap in our school in comFrom left, Jesse Del Rio Hernandez, Joanna Minor and Kiara Lopez, read parison to the surrounding out loud a Spanish children’s book, sounding out their words and spellareas,” she said, “something ing new vocabulary at Stein Elementary. we’re striving for over the next four years is to be a one-to-one school with some kind of mobile device.” This year, the staff at Stein have been working to develop strong Professional Learning Communities, or PLCs, a form of collaboration among teachers to help increase student achievement. Salazar said with this model she hopes to have staff work better in collaboration and using technology to better meet the needs of students. Stein has received this grant five years in a row now, something Salazar attributes to the work her teachers are doing to help their students, in and outside the classroom. “We are doing great things here in this school,” she said, “the teachers are passionate about the work that they do and they are committed to seeing their students succeed.”
STORY AND PHOTOS BY CRYSTAL ANDERSON / CANDERSON@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM