Westsider Westsider 11-15-2013
North Jeffco
POSTAL PATRON
November 15, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwestminsternews.com
North Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 12, Issue 45
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Stevenson announces retirement Jeffco superintendent stepping down after 12 years By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com There were few dry eyes and even fewer empty seats inside a packed Jefferson County school board meeting on Nov. 7, as supporters of Superintendent Cindy Stevenson showed up to hear the district’s longtime superintendent announce her retirement. “The past 12 years have been the best years of my life,” said Stevenson, often wiping away tears, while announcing that she would retire on June 30, when her contract expires. “This is an exceptional school district and it’s been my honor to lead an amazing staff of talented people.” Stevenson received a standing ovation at the conclusion of her remarks. Stevenson, who was appointed to her position in 2002, will retire as Jefferson County Public Schools’ longest-serving superintendent. A product of the school district that she has led for more than 12 years, Stevenson has worked as a teacher, a principal, or as a member of the superintendent’s office during a span of four decades. School board member Jill Fellman recalled meeting Stevenson for the first time in 1989, when Stevenson taught at Arvada’s Little Elementary School and Fellman was a first-year teacher at Moore Middle School. “I just kept thinking when I was that first-year teacher, ‘I want to be like Cindy Stevenson,” Fellman said after the board meeting. Stevenson was named the 2010 Colorado Superintendent of the Year, and was a finalist for the national award that year. Jeffco students have consistently scored above the state average in proficiency test scores during Stevenson’s tenure. And she was an instrumental campaigner for mill levy overrides that Jeffco voters supported in 2010, which allowed the district to stop the financial bleeding that was taking place during the economic downturn. “Her absence will be felt across the district,” said Patti DeLorenzo, a principal at Lakewood’s Devinny Elementary School. “As hard as it may be, administrators will continue to work toward your vision.” But not everything has been sunny for Stevenson as of late. She was a key sup-
Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Cindy Stevenson speaks in support of a school finance act tax hike during an Aug. 15 rally at Lakewood’s Green Mountain High School. File photo
‘This is an exceptional school district and it’s been my honor to lead an amazing staff of talented people.’ Superintendent Cindy Stevenson porter of Amendment 66, the school finance tax hike that voters flatly rejected on Nov. 5. And Stevenson took a lot of heat from parents for her support of a company with whom the district was to partner with to store student information as part of a data dashboard — inBloom, a Georgia-based nonprofit that has been the subject of national controversy over privacy and secu-
rity concerns. After an outcry from parents, Stevenson announced in September that she would allow students to opt out of the data dashboard, after she had previously said that doing so would compromise the dashboard’s data. On the night of Stevenson’s retirement announcement, the board voted to sever ties with inBloom, altogether.
And Stevenson’s announcement comes at a time when the district is going through significant personnel and political changes. With conservatives about to control the school board, it would not have been a given that Stevenson’s contract would have been renewed any way. Board members-elect Julie Williams, Ken Witt and John Newkirk handily won their races on Nov. 5 and their collective conservative ideology will surely mean a change of policy direction for the 5-member board. But Stevenson said after the meeting that the board’s upcoming changes played no role in her decision to step aside. “You don’t leave because it’s difficult,” she said. “You leave because it’s the right time, and you’ve done good work, and you’ve got strong people around you and they can carry on. And if I was going to leave because of tough times, boy I could name much harder times.”
Bowls bring in donations to feed the hungry By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com
On Nov. 7 Standley Lake High School hosted the 7th annual Empty Bowl project event to raise money for Arvada Community Food Bank. Photo by Austin American-Statesman
The Empty Bowls Project is an international grassroots effort to fight hunger, and for the past seven years, the students and staff of Standley Lake High School have done their part to help feed people in need in their community. The project was created by The Imagine Render Group and according to the project website, www.emptybowls.net, the basic premise is simple: potters, craftspeople, educators and others work with the community to create handcrafted bowls. For SLHS’s participation, students made clay bowls and then sold them during an open house on Nov. 7 for a suggested donation of $5 each. All of the event proceeds were then donated to the Arvada Community Food Bank. “Standley Lake High School and surrounding elementary and middle schools wanted to bring awareness to the issues of hunger affecting our community,” said SLHS art teacher and event organizer Carolyn Valter. “Over 30,000 children die in our world each day of malnourishment diseases. This is one way we can come together
‘This is one way we can come together and help those who are hungry.’ Carolyn Valter and help those who are hungry.” Valter said as teachers, the Empty Bowls Project is a great opportunity to teach students about art, compassion, sharing and collaboration. She said the students involved are always very excited to help others. Some involved are actually the ones who need the food bank assistance, she added. “One of the best parts about being involved in the Empty Bowls Project is the chance to bring everyone together: parents, teachers and students,” she said. “The best part is the collective power that one bowl can make a huge difference for a hungry child in our community. And it’s a great opportunity for students to service their community and to learn the importance of
giving.” About 80 hand-crafted bowls were made by high school students and another 170 were created by elementary and middle school students. Although the event is over, teachers and staff will continue to buy bowls for about a week. Walters said in years past, $1,200 to $1,400 was collected annually and donated to the Arvada Food Bank.
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