Pickens Technical College HVAC Students Participate in National Signing Day

Story Submitted by Eric Ward, Pickens Technical College Assistant Director

Five students from Pickens Technical College Heating and Air Conditioning program (HVAC) recently participated in the inaugural SkillsUSA National Signing Day. Similar to "National Signing Day" events for high school student athletes, these high school seniors announced their commitment to pursue a career or continue with their education in the HVAC industry or skilled trades. Several of these seniors will have received job offers and will begin their careers upon graduation.

Official spokespeople NFL quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and his father, Tony Garoppolo, a career electrician, celebrated SkillsUSA National Signing Day with the students at Silicon Valley Career Technical Education in San Jose, CA.

"Signing Day was a big moment in my life," said J. Garoppolo. "It solidified my decision to attend college and play football, putting me on course to where I am today in my NFL career. The students we are celebrating today are making that same kind of commitment. This is their first step on the path to a rewarding and vital career. From here, they'll need to work on the skill, patience and hard work required to succeed as a trade professional, a lesson I learned from my dad, who supported our family as a professional electrician. Congratulations to all the hardworking students who are signing their official 'letters of intent' today."

Students participating in the first-ever SkillsUSA National Signing Day received a Klein Tools signing kit, which includes a hat, t-shirt, bag and a pair of professional-grade Klein Tools pliers to start their careers.

Pickens Technical College is home to the largest SkillsUSA chapter in the state of Colorado, and students from its programs earned a total of 48 gold, silver and bronze medals at the SkillsUSA Colorado State Leadership and Skills Conference in April. The gold medalists will advance to the National Leadership and Skills Conference in June in Louisville, KY.

 

 

Hospital Staff Treat Yale Landscape with New Look

When students at Yale Elementary return to school this fall, they’ll enjoy a new beautiful landscape that also functions as an outdoor classroom. The entire rear face of the school now features new trees, plants, walking paths and even sitting areas. Students will find even more magic in reading their favorite books in a setting like this.

Volunteers with Children’s Hospital Colorado made the landscape transformation possible. Dozens of hospital employees dedicated a day to digging, planting and beautifying the school’s outer appearance. This is the 11th consecutive year Children’s Hospital Colorado staff have dedicated their time and talents to sprucing up our schools. Thanks to this amazing partnership, APS has saved more than $1.4 million in school makeovers!

As the APS 2020: Shaping the Future strategic plan highlights, one of our core beliefs is that community partnerships provide vital resources and opportunities for students and families. We thank each volunteer for their service. We are also grateful to our sponsors who helped make this project a reality.

Together, the sponsors below contributed more than $37,000 in landscaping and other materials to create a beautiful school environment at Yale:

A&B Builders
Ballard Group Inc.
Basalite Concrete Products
Children’s Hospital
DBC
Grainger
Helena Chemical
Munding Design
Pioneer Sand
Rain Bird
Rocky Mountain Sunscreen
Ron Bath Masonry LLC
Sand Creek Wholesale Nursery
Singing Hills
Southwest Mobile Storage, Inc.
Straightline Sawcutting
Tagawa Gardens
Trion Promotions
Wold Architects and Engineers
Wagner

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Community Partners Shine the Spotlight on Aurora Public Schools' Top Ten Ceremony

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    
April 13, 2016

WHAT:   Aurora Public Schools’ Top Ten Ceremony
WHEN:   Friday, April 15, 2016, 6 p.m.
WHERE:  City of Aurora Municipal Building, 15151 E. Alameda Pkwy., Aurora, CO 80012

 Community Partners Shine the Spotlight on Aurora Public Schools' Top Ten Ceremony

Aurora Public Schools is proud to partner with generous community organizations to celebrate Top Ten scholars from each of our high schools. Xcel Energy and the Medical Center of Aurora are lighting the way to help sponsor a special event at the City of Aurora’s Municipal Building.

Top ten scholars from Aurora Central, Aurora West College Preparatory Academy, Gateway, Hinkley, Rangeview and Vista PEAK Preparatory high schools will be honored for their outstanding academic achievements.

The City of Aurora, Falck Rocky Mountain, the Aurora Chamber of Commerce, FirstBank Aurora, RBC Capital Markets and Colorado State University Global have also teamed up to help sponsor this event.

Thanks to these generous community partners, students will be escorted in stretch limousines from their schools to the event. A ceremony will be held outside (west of the building) as long as weather permits.

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Interested media may contact APS News Media Specialist
Patti Moon at 303.326.2755 for more information

Aurora Public Schools and Cherry Creek Schools Partner To Close Opportunity Gap

                                                                               

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 24, 2015

Aurora Public Schools and Cherry Creek Schools Partner To Close Opportunity Gap

As we start a new school year, Aurora Public Schools and Cherry Creek Schools have entered into an unprecedented partnership. Together, the organizations are committed to narrowing and closing Aurora’s equity gap based on race, ethnicity and culture.

The two districts brought Dr. Adeyemi Stembridge, former Director of the Center for Strategic Solutions at New York University, to Colorado. He will help staff members work on school-based equity work to design strategies that help ensure all children have the opportunity to be successful.

“Aurora Public Schools recently restructured our organization and created a Division of Equity in Learning,” said APS Superintendent Rico Munn. “This is a priority for us and we are excited to continue this important work in creating equitable learning opportunities for all of our students.”

The neighboring school districts serve students in the city of Aurora. Cherry Creek Schools also serves students in Cherry Hills Village, Centennial, Glendale, Greenwood Village, Foxfield and unincorporated Arapahoe County. More than 82% of students in APS are students of color while CCSD has more than 45% children of color.

“We don’t know of another partnership in the nation like this,” Cherry Creek School District Superintendent Harry Bull said. “We are both urban/suburban school districts. In each district, our children of color have more in common than our two districts have differences.”

Dr. Stembridge, began his career as a middle/high school English teacher in Norfolk, Virginia. He has an undergraduate degree in English, a master’s degree in Literature and a doctorate in Educational Leadership. Dr. Stembridge has extensive experience working with urban and high-needs schools to identify strategies for addressing of inequities and patterns of underperformance.

Based on his experience and research, Stembridge said that isolated solutions to closing opportunity gaps for children of color haven’t worked. 

“It makes us feel like we have to make wholesale changes,” Stembridge said. “Instead, we’re reorganizing those things we know work.”

Successful strategies will require a more complex approach and “won’t look the same for any two schools,” he said.

Stembridge begins the process of working with schools and teachers using the human-centered “design thinking methodology.” He asks educators to:

• Step out of their comfort zones
• Collaborate to find successful strategies
• Ask “What if?”

By doing those things, teachers and leaders may find that some perceived problems are actually “opportunities in disguise.”

What makes Stembridge’s approach unique is that he believes including students’ voices in the conversation leads to better outcomes.

“Data tells us what works,” he said. “Students’ voices tell us why it works.”

To be successful, educators must share a belief in kids, commit to planning and engagement and demonstrate consistency of expectations and mindset, Stembridge said. The school communities themselves name the initial parts of some phases of the work. This ensures that the strategies they identify empower educators to think with an equal mind to sustain the momentum they create and meet the schools' needs.

“The master teacher doesn’t make the strategy, the strategy makes the master teacher,” Stembridge said. “Let’s start with the one thing we know works and build on that.”

At the end of the year, both districts will use what they learn to build capacity and expand the work.

“Closing the equity gap doesn’t just happen, it has to be intentional, rigorous and collaborative,” Stembridge said.

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Interested media may contact APS News Media Specialist
Patti Moon at 303-326-2755 for more information

Aurora Welcome Center Hosts First Annual Cultural Celebration

                                                                                                                                       
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 2015

WHAT: Aurora Welcome Center Cultural Celebration
WHEN: Saturday, June 6, 2015 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
WHERE: APS Educational Services Center 4
                  1085 Peoria St., Aurora, CO 80011

Aurora Welcome Center Hosts First Annual Cultural Celebration

Please join Aurora Welcome Center, Aurora Public Schools, the City of Aurora and many community partners in celebrating the First Annual Cultural Celebration.

We will start with a friendly co-ed soccer game between immigrants, refugees and service providers at 9 a.m. We have players from: the Colorado African Organization (including the CAO’s Executive Director), Aurora Public Schools, the City of Aurora, Families Forward and the Global Bhutanese Community of Colorado. Participating immigrants and refugees are from Mexico, Bhutan, Eritrea, Iraq, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal.

We will also have food and entertainment available for families including a jumpy castle, face painting, and a Zumba class.

About the Aurora Welcome Center: The Aurora Welcome Center is a newly-emerging center located in Original Aurora. The center serves as a shared multi-tenant facility offering a variety of services focused on the international/immigrant community in Aurora. Partner organizations include: Aurora Public Schools, the City of Aurora, El Centro Humanitario, Focus Points, Rights For All People, Families Forward Resource Center, Colorado African Organization, Global Bhutanese Community Colorado, the Strengthening Neighborhoods Program of the Denver Foundation and African Women Empowerment Group.

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Interested media may contact APS News Media Specialist
Patti Moon at 303-326-2755 or pamoon@aps.k12.co.us for more information

Aurora Public Schools Celebrates Earth Day by Flipping the Switch on New Solar Panels

NEWS RELEASE #42
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2015

WHAT: Earth Day Celebration
WHEN: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 from 9-9:30 a.m.
WHERE: Elkhart Elementary School
                 1020 Eagle St., Aurora, CO 80011

Aurora Public Schools Celebrates Earth Day by Flipping the Switch on New Solar Panels

Aurora Public Schools is celebrating Earth Day by “flipping the switch” on new solar panel installations. Last year, 12 APS schools competed for three $20,000 energy-saving solar panels at their schools. The ReNew Our Schools competition inspired students to form 11 new environmental clubs and take action to conserve energy in their schools and communities.

Student-led teams worked with a teacher-sponsor and program mentor from the energy industry to reduce energy use in their schools in a points-based contest. The students used energy consumption monitors, provided by e-Gauge and Magnelabs, to conduct classroom and school-wide energy audits and devise energy-saving plans.

Three APS schools will celebrate their new solar panel installations this week: Elkhart Elementary, South Middle School and Aurora Quest K-8. Students will be handing out green ribbons to symbolize Earth Day and raise awareness for sustainability efforts.

Thanks to the following community partners and mentors for supporting the competition: Custom Solar, Center for ReSource Conservation in Boulder, eGauge, Magnelab, CU Denver, Xcel Energy, SlaterPaull Architects, NREL, Johnson Controls, Amplidyne, Green Schools Alliance, Waste Management, Transpower Company and the U.S. General Services Administration.

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Interested media may contact APS News Media Specialist
Patti Moon at 303-326-2755 for more information

Aurora Welcome Center Provides Array of Services to Refugee and Immigrant Families

                                                                                                                               

NEWS RELEASE #38
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 6, 2015

WHAT: Aurora Welcome Center Open House
WHEN: Tuesday, April 7, 2015 from 4:30-6 p.m.
WHERE: APS Educational Services Center 4
                 1085 Peoria St. Conference Room C, Aurora, CO 80011

Aurora Welcome Center Provides Array of Services to Refugee and Immigrant Families

Please join Aurora Welcome Center, Aurora Public Schools, the City of Aurora and many community partners in celebrating the opening of the Aurora Welcome Center.

The celebration will include a ribbon cutting, entertainment, international food and tours of the welcome center. Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan and Superintendent Rico Munn will take part in the program.

About the Aurora Welcome Center
The Aurora Welcome Center is a newly-emerging center located in Original Aurora. The center serves as a shared multi-tenant facility offering a variety of services focused on the international/immigrant community in Aurora. Partner organizations include Aurora Public Schools, the City of Aurora, El Centro Humanitario, Focus Points, Rights For All People, Families Forward Resource Center, Colorado African Organization, Global Bhutanese Community Colorado and the Strengthening Neighborhoods Program of the Denver Foundation. The center is conveniently located in Aurora Public Schools Educational Services Center 4 and serves APS students and families as well as the community at large.  

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Interested media may contact APS News Media Specialist
Patti Moon at 303-326-2755 for more information

Children’s Hospital Colorado Staff Gives APS School Extreme Makeover

NEWS RELEASE #59
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 2014

WHAT: Children’s Hospital Colorado Transforms an APS School
WHEN: June 6, 8 a.m.
WHERE: Jewell Elementary School, 14601 E. Jewell Ave. 80012

Children’s Hospital Colorado Staff Gives
APS School Extreme Makeover

On Friday, June 6, Children’s Hospital Colorado employees won’t just be saving lives – they will be enriching APS students’ lives. Nearly 100 Children’s Colorado staff volunteers will join dozens of other volunteers at Jewell Elementary School at 8 a.m. to give the school a landscape makeover.\

This is the eighth year APS has partnered with Children’s Hospital Colorado on this school improvement community project:

Montview Math & Health Sciences Elementary – 2007
North Middle School Health Sciences & Technology Campus – 2008
Park Lane Elementary – 2009
Sable Elementary – 2010
South Middle – 2011
Laredo Elementary – 2012
Vaughn Elementary – 2013
Jewell Elementary – 2014

Dozens of organizations have donated nearly $70,000 from across the metro area. This project would not be possible without these generous sponsors:

A&B Builders
AJI Fence
All City Floor Company
Aquacita
Arvada Pump
Ballard Group
Bath Masonry
Belfor Restoration
Blind Solutions
Borgert
CenterPoint Energy
CRP Architects
Colorado Best Block
Colorado Doorways, Inc.
Colorado Hazard Control
CPS
DBC Irrigation
Diversified Underground
EAP Glass Service
ETG Systems
Elite Balancing
Energy Management
Ferguson Enterprises
Hayward Baker Inc.
Helena Chemical
Himmelman Constructions
Huddleston Brothers Plumbing
Hunter Industries
Intermountain Lock &Security Supply
James Nursery
Kelly Electric
KWAL Paint
Long Bldg Technologies
M.A. Meyer Construction
Munding Design
Nick’s Garden Center
Peak Environmental
Pickens Technical College
Pioneer Sand Company
RB&B Architecture
Recreation Plus
Recreation Systems
Risk Management
Sand Creek Wholesale Nursery
Singing Hills Landscape
Staples
Straight Line
Swire Coca-Cola
TPM Staffing Services
Trion Promotions
Terminix
Wagner
Ward Construction Co.
Watts Up LED
Waxie Sanitary Supply
Welby Gardens
Wilderness Construction 

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Interested media may contact APS News Media Specialist
Patti Moon at 303-326-2755 for more information

APS Middle School Girls Star in Tech Camp

NEWS RELEASE # 51
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2014

WHAT:   APS Middle School Girls Star in Tech Camp
WHEN:   April 29, 2014, 9 a.m.
WHERE:  APS Professional Learning and Conference Center, 15771 E. 1^st Ave., Aurora, 80011

APS Middle School Girls Star in Tech Camp

Men outnumber women in nearly every scientific field by college graduation. According to a recent report from the Census Bureau, only about a quarter of workers in science, technology, engineering and math fields (STEM) are women. Aurora Public Schools is committed to tackling the dramatic under-representation of women in STEM.

In partnership with CounterTrade and Hewlett Packard, APS is hosting its fourth annual Girls Technology Camp.  The day-long event takes girls through a series of workshops that include:

• Electronic guts
• Rocketry
• Snap circuits
• 3-D Design Challenge

The camp will be held on April 29 at the Professional Learning and Conference Center, located at 15771 E. 1^st Ave., Aurora, 80011.  Media is welcome to attend at 9 a.m.

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Interested media may contact APS News Media Specialist
Patti Moon at 303-326-2755 for more information

Aurora Central High School Hosts CO Court of Appeals

NEWS RELEASE # 50
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2014

WHAT: Aurora Central High School Hosts Colorado Court of Appeals
WHEN: April 21, 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: Aurora Central High School, 11700 E. 11^th Ave.

Aurora Central High School Hosts CO Court of Appeals

Aurora Central High School will host the Colorado Court of Appeals on Monday, April 21. The visit is part of the Colorado Judicial Branch’s Courts in the Community – the outreach program the Colorado Supreme Court and Court of Appeals initiated on Law Day (May 1, 1986).

The program gives Colorado high school students first-hand experience in how the Colorado judicial system works and illustrates how disputes are resolved in a democratic society. These are not mock trials. The court will hear actual arguments from which it will issue opinions. The court generally issues opinions within a month of the arguments.

A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals – Judge Dennis Graham, Judge Steve Bernard and Judge Michael Berger – will hear oral arguments in these two cases:

• Case #2011CA1279: People v Derick Campbell: Campbell was charged with possession of 4 grams of schedule II substance/crack cocaine.  He was initially stopped because of failure to use a blinker.  Police said he matched the description of an African-American man who had just committed a home invasion.  This occurred in late 2010.  Campbell did not give permission for police to search his car. Even though officers had probable cause, warrants were not issued.  He is appealing his conviction on the grounds of unreasonable search and seizure.  He is claiming a violation of his 5^th, 6^th, and 14^th Amendment rights. 
• Case # 12CA2551: Madrigal v. City of Aurora: On July 23, 2011, Juan Contreras was shot and killed in an Aurora Family Dollar store by an undercover police officer.  The officer claimed that Contreras was trying to extort him and then pulled a knife on him.  Contreras was shot 3 times and died. Juan’s wife requested information on the case from the Aurora Police Department. She was denied because the case was under heavy scrutiny and investigation by higher powers in the state. She is currently appealing all rulings for records, plus seeking court costs and attorney fees. 

A question-and-answer session, during which the students can ask questions of the attorneys, will follow the presentation of arguments in each case. At the conclusion of the second argument, the students also will be given the opportunity to participate in a question-and-answer session with the Court of Appeals judges.

*** IMPORTANT NOTE***
Media interested in attending must first contact:
Jon Sarché
Colorado Judicial Department Deputy PIO
jon.sarche@judicial.state.co.us
720.625.5811 

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Interested media may contact APS News Media Specialist
Patti Moon at 303-326-2755 for more information

 

Vista PEAK P-20 Campus Selected For Colorado Legacy Schools Initiative

NEWS RELEASE # 48
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Vista PEAK P-20 Campus Selected For Colorado Legacy Schools Initiative

The Colorado Legacy Foundation selected the Vista PEAK P-20 Campus to get additional funding to add to its Advanced Placement program. The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) is funding the local Colorado Legacy Schools Initiative, which recently selected 11 schools across the state.

The Colorado Legacy Schools Initiative supports students in both geographically and demographically-diverse schools to increase accessibility and success in rigorous math, science and English Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

The initiative provides funding for extensive teacher training, student exam fees, classroom equipment and supplies, awards for those who excel, and extra study time for students during Saturday Study Sessions. Vista PEAK will receive support for three school years beginning in 2014-2015.

The first 13 schools to participate in the Colorado Legacy Schools Initiative increased the number of students earning qualifying scores on AP math, science and English exams by 68% in just one year. In this same year, these schools increased the number of female students earning qualifying scores in math and science by 78%, and the number of African-American and Hispanic students earning qualifying scores by 106%.

About Colorado Legacy Foundation

The Colorado Legacy Foundation (CLF) is an independent non-profit working in partnership with the Colorado Department of Education and public education stakeholders to accelerate bold improvement in student achievement through innovation, collaboration, and capacity building. CLF believes that increased student achievement for all Colorado students requires effective leaders in every school, effective educators in every classroom, and healthy and engaging environments that ignite a passion for learning in every student. CLF equips teachers, leaders, and organizations with the knowledge, tools, guidance, and resources to drive improvement outcomes while creating the conditions to innovate together, share knowledge, and explore new possibilities. CLF works to accelerate the achievement of a high-quality K-12 educational system that ensures the success of every educator, leader and student.

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Interested media may contact APS News Media Specialist
Patti Moon at 303.326.2755 for more information.

Fletcher Students to Learn Helmet Safety

NEWS RELEASE # 50
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2012

WHAT: Students learn about safety and receive helmets from Colorado AHEC and University of Colorado
WHEN: Wednesday, March 14, 8:30 a.m.
WHERE: Fletcher Primary School, 10455 E. 25th Ave., Aurora, CO 80010

Students to Learn Helmet Safety

Students at Fletcher Primary School are learning that wearing safety helmets is cool.  Representatives from Colorado Area Health Education Center (AHEC) and the University of Colorado Hospital will visit the school on March 14 to teach students about helmet safety.   

Students will learn about the rules of the road, the importance of always wearing a helmet on every bike and other wheeled sports rides, and how to properly wear a helmet to help prevent injury.  

To culminate each session, the health care representatives will fit every student with a new helmet.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012
8:30 a.m.
Fletcher Primary School
10455 E. 25th Ave.
Aurora, CO 80010

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Interested media may call 303-365-7805 for more information.