Tribune Tri-Lakes 9-11-2013
September 11, 2013
Tri-Lakes
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
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Tri-Lakes Region, Monument, Gleneagle, Black Forest and Northern El Paso County • Volume 48, Issue 37
District 38 enjoying a spike in enrollment Attendance is up about 60 students from last school year By Danny Summers
Dsummers@ourcoloradonews.com
ing until the students were reunified with their parents. Once New Life was cleared, teachers returned to the building to be briefed on the events and collect their belongings,” the letter stated. The district also laid out its plan for future actions. “Now that the building has been checked, school will take place as scheduled today. Police will do all they can to find who made the threat ... false reporting of a bomb is a serious felony. DCC, District Staff, CSPD and the Bomb Unit will debrief on the events and make sure that all procedures took place as they should have. If adjustments are needed, we will modify our plans to best meet the needs of our students.” Wednesday afternoon, parents received the message that said DCC students and staff had been evacuated as a precaution after a tip about a bomb threat was brought to the attention of the
Enrollment is on the rise in Lewis-Palmer School District 38. “We’re on the upswing,” said Cheryl Wangeman, assistant superintendent of the district. “It’s great to see growth. That hasn’t been the case the last few years.” After several years of either declining or stagnant enrollment, District 38 saw a spike this fall of about 60 students. At the school board meeting on Aug. 22, District Superintendent John Borman noted that the district prepared the 2013-14 budget in anticipation of the increased enrollment. “We anticipated all but seven of (the new students),” Wangeman said. “Kindergarten came in 20 kids larger than we predicted. Second grade was over 10. Our freshman class is at about 540, that’s an increase over 50 from last year. “The Home School Academy is up 10 students from last year to 71.” More students mean more teaching positions are needed. Wangeman said the District hired the equivalent of 10 full-time teachers to meet the need. “When we have a class size that gets too high, we go out and hire new teachers,” she said. “That’s above and beyond what we already have. We want to keep classes where they are now.” Just a few years ago, the district was cutting teachers because of a decrease in enrollment - mostly in 2009 and 2010. Enrollment remained flat in 2011 and 2012, according to Wangeman. The district enjoyed its largest spike in attendance from the late 1990s through the mid 2000s. By 2007, Lewis-Palmer High School grew to more than 2,000 students in ninth through 12th grades. Palmer Ridge opened in the fall of 2008, alleviating the strain on Lewis-Palmer. Last May, there were about 550 graduates between the two high schools. “A lot of people seem to move here when their kids are between fifth and 10th grades,” Wangeman said. “Most of them are coming from Texas and California, as well as a lot of military. “There are a lot of new homes coming in up here. I see the trend continuing.” Palmer Ridge’s enrollment is about 1,070 this year, with Lewis-Palmer being about 1,020. Wangeman said the District is more than prepared to meet the needs of a huge influx of students. “We plan for it and we have capacity for it,” she said. Wangeman added the district sees a steady enrollment of kids each year from
Threat continues on Page 5
District continues on Page 5
A bomb scare prompted the evacuation of nearly 2,500 students and staff from Discovery Canyon Campus Tuesday, Sept. 3. Parents gathered in an auditorium at New Life Church to pick up their children. Photos by Rob Carrigan
Bomb threat forces evacuation Students and staff were relocated to New Life Church By Rob Carrigan
rcarrigan@ourcoloradonews.com Students and staff were evacuated from Discovery Canyon Campus Wednesday afternoon because of a bombthreat tip and relocated to New Life Church, where they went to wait to be reunited with their parents. “Today at approximately 11:45 a.m., we received a bomb threat at DCC. In collaboration with the Colorado Springs Police Department, the decision was made to evacuate the campus. Once the decision was made, we were very pleased with the evacuation process evacuating over 2,500 students and staff in just over an hour. I also want to personally thank you for the cooperation and patience you and your students displayed during today’s evacuation and reunification at New Life Church,” said a message to DCC parents from D-20 Superintendent Mark Hatchell Wednesday night. “I apologize that the process to reunite with your students at New Life Church took longer than anticipated. We made every effort to release students to the correct adults because safety of students is our priority.” “I also want to thank all DCC staff members who supervised their students throughout the process. I also want to thank our transportation department, our Sodexo staff and the staff at New Life Church,” Hatchell said. “District Security and the Colorado Springs Police Department have thoroughly checked the campus and we will resume normal school operations on Thursday,” he said. According to the district, Discovery Canyon Campus received notification Wednesday from Safe2Tell of reports that someone had planted explosive dePOSTAL ADDRESS
Parents line up at the entrance to New Life Church and complete paper work Tuesday, waiting to reunite with their children. vices, one at each level, in the Campus. After the surrounding area (parking lots, fields, etc.) was checked for safety by the Colorado Springs Police Department and District Security, all students were evacuated to a safe place away from the building. At that time, CSPD, the Colorado Springs Fire Department and District Security brought in the K9 units to clear the building. Upon hearing that it would take at least two hours to do so, and taking into consideration the heat, the decision was made to evacuate to New Life Church, a letter to parents said. The purpose of the letter was to let parents know what happened to initiate the campus evacuation, what happened during the evacuation, what happened during the reunification and what will happen in immediate future. “Obviously evacuating over 2,500 students and staff is a major event. The good news is that students and staff performed remarkably! Everything was orderly from the moment we left the build-
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