APS Board of Education Dinner Conversation

NEWS RELEASE #41
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2015

WHAT: APS Board of Education Dinner Conversation
WHEN: April 21, 2015
WHERE: 1085 Peoria Street, Aurora, CO  80011

APS Board of Education Dinner Conversation

On Tuesday, April 21, 2015, The Aurora Public Schools Board of Education will host a dinner conversation with Matt Cook and Amy Prince to discuss general bond background information.

The dinner will be held from 5:20-6:15 p.m. in Conference Room A at Educational Services Center 4, 1085 Peoria St., Aurora, CO 80011.

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APS Board of Education Executive Session

NEWS RELEASE #40
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2015

WHAT: APS Board of Education Executive Session
WHEN: April 21, 2015
WHERE: 1085 Peoria Street, Aurora, CO  80011

APS Board of Education Executive Session

On Tuesday, April 21, 2015, the Aurora Public Schools Board of Education is expected to recess into executive session under the authority of C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(b), to receive legal advice. The executive session will be held from 5:00-5:20 p.m. in conference room A at Educational Services Center 4, 1085 Peoria Street, Aurora, CO  80011.

Columbia Middle School Teachers Get Creamed With Pies, Sponges for Great Cause

                                                                                                                               

NEWS RELEASE #39
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 15, 2015

WHAT: Fundraiser for the Aurora Mental Health Center
WHEN: Friday, April 17, 2015 from 12:10-12:45 p.m.
WHERE: Columbia Middle School Cafeteria
                 17600 E Columbia Ave, Aurora, CO 80013

Columbia Middle School Teachers Get Creamed With Pies, Sponges for Great Cause

Students at Columbia Middle School are passionate about finding creative and fun ways to help others. This year, they convinced a group of teachers to get creamed with whipped cream pies and wet sponges for a great cause.

Columbia’s Tri-M Music Honor Society is hosting a fundraiser for the Aurora Mental Health Center on Friday, April 17. Students will get the chance to pay to see their teachers get creamed.

Prices are as follows:
$1 to toss a pie at a teacher
$2 to gently smush a pie in a teacher’s face
$2 to throw a sponge at a teacher 

Last year, Tri-M students organized a duct tape fundraiser. Students paid to duct tape teachers to the wall. All proceeds were donated to Children’s Colorado.

About Tri-M
The Tri-M Music Honor Society is a music honor society for middle and high school students. It is designed to recognize students for their academic and musical achievements, reward them for their accomplishments and service activities, and to inspire other students to excel at music and leadership. 

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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

Crawford Elementary School Celebrates National Distinguished Principal of the Year for Colorado

                                                                                                                                      

NEWS RELEASE #37
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2015

WHAT: Crawford Elementary Celebration
WHEN: Thursday, April 2, 1:45 p.m.
WHERE: Crawford Elementary School, 1600 Florence St, Aurora, CO 80010

Crawford Elementary School Celebrates National Distinguished Principal of the Year for Colorado

Crawford Elementary School students, teachers, parents and community members are celebrating Principal Jenny Passchier. The Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE) recently named her the 2015 National Distinguished Principal of the Year for Colorado.

Passchier has been an educator in Aurora Public Schools for more than 15 years and has served as a principal for the past seven. Upon starting at Crawford Elementary School, she focused on drastically improving student achievement. In fact, Crawford achieved the highest overall proficiency increase of all elementary schools in Aurora based on 2014 TCAP (Colorado’s state assessment) scores.

Passchier attributes the positive, trusting and collaborative culture in the building as a factor to the school’s success. The building climate survey results improved significantly under her leadership and teacher turnover decreased fourfold.

Crawford Elementary School has a diverse student population of 755 students and is heavily impacted by poverty. A fifth of its students are refugees. Passchier and her staff have met students’ basic needs by creating various community partnerships and family supports.

CASE and CAESP will formally present Passchier with her award at an upcoming school event on April 2. Please join us to celebrate with the Crawford Elementary School community.

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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 Alumni Make Prom Affordable For Students

NEWS RELEASE #36
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2015

WHAT: The Prom Dress Project 2015
WHEN: Thursday, March 19, 5-8 p.m.
WHERE: Aurora Central High School, 11700 E 11th Ave., Aurora, CO 80010

Aurora Central High School Alumni Make Prom Affordable For Students

The Friends of Aurora Central High School are pleased to announce “The Prom Dress Project 2015”. This event will provide low-cost prom dresses, some shoes and accessories for high school students seeking to attend prom. 

“Prom should be accessible to any young woman regardless of financial status,” said organizer Liz Wiler.

There will be more than 200 dresses available for sale, most of them within the $10- $15 price range. In addition to offering low-cost dresses for purchase, the association will also loan dresses on a case-by-case basis.

This event is scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m. on March 19, near the theater of Aurora Central High School. All proceeds will benefit The Friends of Aurora Central High School Alumni Association in their efforts to support the next generation of ACHS Trojans.

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

Aurora Central's Dena Joslyn-Custer Earns Prestigious Service Award

Aurora Central High School staff member Dena Joslyn-Custer is a dedicated professional who values helping those who may not know how to help themselves. Her work with exceptional students has made her a go-to resource in the field, and she recently earned the 2014 Joe Todd Annual Service Award from the Colorado Council for Exceptional Children. The award recognizes an education professional or paraprofessional who has contributed outstanding service for exceptional children in Colorado.

Congratulations, Dena on your outstanding award! Thank you for your service to APS students.

 

 

 

I love seeing how students can thrive and grow into productive young adults through the work I do with them. Social work practice in the schools is an essential component to ensuring student success.  My job is to address the social and psychological barriers that can block academic progress.  Through collaboration with families, community systems and crisis intervention ... our students can overcome the barriers to their academic success, and as a result, give themselves a better chance to succeed in school and in life.

- Dena Joslyn-Custer