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

 

Aurora Public Schools Evening Cancellations for Feb. 26

NEWS RELEASE #35
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 26, 2015

WHAT: Evening Cancellations for Feb. 26
WHEN: Feb. 26, 2015

Aurora Public Schools Evening Cancellations for Feb. 26

Due to changing  weather conditions, all elementary, P-8 and middle school athletics and activities have been canceled this evening, Feb. 26. In addition, there will be no middle or high school after-school activity buses running this evening. Please note: After-school childcare programs and facility rentals will be open as normal.

APS Board of Education Discussion

NEWS RELEASE #34
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 26, 2015

WHAT: APS Board of Education Discussion
WHEN: March 3, 2015
WHERE: 1085 Peoria Street, Aurora, CO  80011

APS Board of Education Discussion

On Tuesday, March 3, 2015, the Aurora Public Schools Board of Education, the Aurora Education Foundation and Aurora Public Schools Leadership Team will be holding a dinner conversation related to recruitment and retention. The dinner will take place from 4:30-6:15 p.m. in Conference Room C at the Educational Services Center 4, 1085 Peoria Street, Aurora, Colorado 80011.

Crawford Elementary School leader named National Distinguished Principal of the Year for Colorado

                                                                                                                                      

NEWS RELEASE #33
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2015

Crawford Elementary School leader named National Distinguished Principal of the Year for Colorado

Jennifer Passchier, Principal of Crawford Elementary School in Aurora Public Schools, has been named the 2015 National Distinguished Principal of the Year for Colorado by the Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE), and will represent Colorado in the national award program.

An educator for more than 16 years and in Aurora Public Schools for all but her first year, Passchier has served as a principal for the past seven years. Upon starting at Crawford Elementary School two years ago, Passchier made the strategic decision to focus on a standards-based teaching learning cycle and writing across all content areas. She attributes this decision as the reason why Crawford achieved the highest overall proficiency increase of all elementary schools in Aurora based on 2014 TCAP (Colorado’s state assessment) scores.

Passchier also 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.  Teacher turnover decreased four-fold resulting in a strong community of educator professionals committed to the vision and sustaining the work.

Superintendent of Aurora Public Schools (APS) Rico Munn said, “Principal Passchier will be humble and defer to the great work of her students and staff, but we also want to recognize her incredible work. She is an incredible asset to the families at Crawford Elementary, Aurora Public Schools and the greater community.”

Jocelyn Stephens, Passchier’s supervisor and APS P-20 Learning Community Director, states, “I count it a gift to have a leader like Ms. Passchier in our learning community; she models how the work of a principal can be relevant to the true needs of a school community in a passionate, authentic and strategic way.” 

Upon being notified of this honor, Passchier stated, “It is a great honor and a humbling experience to be recognized in this way.” She adds, as Superintendent Munn anticipated, “In addition, this honor is a reflection of the hard work that our students and teachers have taken on this past year through our work together.”

Crawford Elementary School has a diverse student population of 755 students and is heavily impacted by poverty. Twenty percent of its students are refugees. Passchier has addressed some of the challenges of meeting students’ basic needs by creating community partnerships and family supports, such as classes for families to educate them on how to support reading at home.

Passchier was selected for this honor by her peers through a rigorous and competitive process facilitated by the Colorado Association of Elementary School Principals (CAESP), a department of CASE and affiliate of the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP). The National Distinguished Principal of the Year program is sponsored by NAESP, in corporate partnership with VALIC.

“As studies indicate, principal leadership is second only to strong instruction when it comes to impacting student achievement,” stated CASE Executive Director Bruce Caughey. “CASE is proud to honor Jenny Passchier and to recognize the leadership she has demonstrated at Crawford Elementary School and throughout her education career.”

CASE and CAESP will formally present Passchier with her award at an upcoming school event on April 2. She and other CASE award winners also will be recognized at an awards ceremony this spring, as well as at the 46th Annual CASE Education Leadership Convention this summer in Breckenridge.

About CASE
The Colorado Association of School Executives (www.co-case.org) is the preeminent professional association for public school administrators in Colorado. The organization’s mission is to empower Colorado education leaders through advocacy, professional learning and networking to deliver on the promise of public education. 

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

Nephew of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. To Deliver "Season for Nonviolence" Keynote Address

                                                                                                                    

NEWS RELEASE #32
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 11, 2015

WHAT: 18th Annual Season for Nonviolence Program
WHEN: February 13, 8:30-10:30 a.m.
WHERE: Hinkley High School, 1250 Chambers Road Aurora, CO 80011

Nephew of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. To Deliver "Season for Nonviolence" Keynote Address

Rev. Dr. Derek King (nephew of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) will deliver the keynote address at Hinkley High School on Friday, February 13. The school is participating in the 18^th annual Gandhi King Season for Nonviolence, a global campaign. The event is in partnership with New Dawn Center for Spiritual Living and the Aurora Police Department.

Rev. Dr. King will be delivering an inspiring message on “Alternatives to Violence”. Students will also participate in breakout sessions which will be facilitated by Aurora Public Schools staff and the Aurora Police Department.

The Gandhi King Season for Nonviolence is an annual 64-day campaign. It was co-founded in 1998 by Dr. Arun Gandhi and The Association for Global New Thought, an educational, media and grassroots awareness campaign.

The purpose of Season for Nonviolence is to focus educational and media attention on the philosophy of attaining peace through nonviolent action as demonstrated by legendary leaders Mohandas K. Gandhi, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar E. Chavez, and President Nelson Mandela and others.

Community leaders from 900 cities in 67 countries have participated in the campaign since it began in 1998.

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